188G 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUilE. 



997 



0O]R POME?. 



Render unto Cesar the things that are Cesar's, and 

 unto God the things that are God's.— Matt. 22: 21. 



Y mind has been of late running quite 

 a little on this thought of getting ac- 

 quainted with people; of getting ac- 

 quainted with our domestic animals ; 

 of getting acquainted with vegeta- 

 tion and tlie vegetable woild. and especially 

 with plants that furnish our daily food and 

 our luxuries. You know how much happi- 

 ness I have found in getting accjuainted 

 with the strawberry, and in learning its 

 (lueer and wonderful ways of propagation 

 and growth ; and since then I have told you 

 about getting acquainted with lettuce, cel- 

 ery, etc. I have also spoken about getting 

 acquainted with the small boys who often- 

 times annoy us. 1 have recommended a reg- 

 ular attendance at our county and State 

 fairs, for the reason that we may, by this 

 means, get acquainted with people,' with 

 their work, and with their industries. 1 have, 

 at different times, recommended attend- 

 ing bee-conventions, because of the wonder- 

 ful opportunity it gives tis of getting ac- 

 quainted with our brother bee-keepers. 



Just as we were leaving the hotel at Yp- 

 silanti for home, friend Hutchinson came up 

 and said, in a low tone, that he had some- 

 thing to say to me, just as he shook hands 

 to bid me good-by. AVhat do you think it 

 wasV The remark was made for my private 

 ear ; but I am sure he will excuse me for 

 giving it to your private ear, as it came to 

 mine. It was, in substance, this : 



•' Mr. Eoot, I have noticed that, whenever 

 I attend a bee-keepers" convention, I go 

 away thinking better of some one than I did 

 when I came." 



It seemed a little odd just then, to be 

 obliged to confess that he had expressed my 

 feelings exactly. I felt a warmer friendship 

 and l)roader charity, and a real honest re- 

 spect and admiration for quite a good many 

 of the friends who were there, that I did 

 not possess when I started on my trip to 

 Michigan. At the same time, I felt more 

 conscious of my own faults and shortcom- 

 ings. Xow, if nothing else was accomplish- 

 ed than just these two results I have men- 

 tioned before, can any candid man or 

 woman come to any other conclusion than 

 that bee-keepers" conventions are an ex- 

 cellent institution, and ought to be encour- 

 agedV Any thing that tends to make us 

 love our neighbors more and ourselves less, 

 strikes toward godliness, and strikes heav- 

 enward, does it notV Any thing that takes 

 the conceit out of our own hearts, and helps 

 us to '• see ourselves as others see us."" raises 

 us up, does it not? 



One of the best topics for discussion that 

 came up was the matter of ripening honey. 

 Shall we allow the bees to ripen it in the 

 liives, or shall we throw it out of the combs 

 l)efore it is capped over, thus saving labor in 

 two AvaysV First, because it flies out of the 

 combs with so much less power applied to 

 the crank of the extractor ; snd, secondly, 

 because all of the slow, dauby work of mi- 

 capping is saved. Of course, there were dif- 



ferent opinions. Prof. Cook and good friend 

 Muth have for years declared there was no 

 need of waiting "for the honey to be capped 

 over ; that it would ripen in crocks or large 

 tin cans, with a cloth tied over the top, just- 

 as well as it would in the hive. Friend Cook 

 is about as good authority on most subjects 

 as you can tind in the State of Michigan, or 

 any other State ; that is, such is my opinion. 

 Friend Muth has handled more liqiiid honey 

 than perhaps any other man in the world ; 

 and he has a reputation for handling only a 

 good article, almost (if not quite) second to 

 none. Notwithstanding this, I once almost 

 ruined our honey - market by extracting 

 honey when it was too thin, and bottling it 

 up and putting it on the market in that 

 sliai)e. Friends Cook and Muth say that I 

 ought to have left it in an open vessel until 

 it got thick and thoroughly ripened. Friend 

 Cook stated that his brother had, during this 

 past season, secured l(j,OUO lbs. of honey by 

 throwing it out before the combs were cap- 

 ped, and then evaporating it in sap-pans 

 placed in his granary. This granary is in a 

 very warm place, exposed to the sun"s rays. 

 To keep out the dust, the pans were covered 

 with coarse cotton cloth. Prof. Cook pro- 

 nounced the crop equal to any honey he had 

 ever seen, and called upon Mr. John Key, 

 who was present, to state how it has passed 

 among the people ; for Mr. Eey had pur- 

 chased the entire crop. Mr. Rey rose and 

 stated that it pleased everywhere, and that 

 it was the best honey he ever handled. At 

 my suggestion a bottle of it was passed 

 around, and I called it almost if not quite 

 eiiual to our very best honey from white 

 clover. Friend Bingham and others, how- 

 ever, took the opposite side of the question ; 

 and when friend B. submitted to me a jar of 

 honey that was ripened in the hive, and 

 bottled up as soon as extracted, I was forced 

 to admit that it had a richness of flavor that 

 the other honey did not. One reason, how- 

 ever, that the latter sample was more agree- 

 able to my taste, was, that it had just a trace 

 of basswciod — just enough to spice it a little. 

 Friend Bingham, as I thought, bore down on 

 friends Cook and Muth a little too hard, and 

 he vehemently objected to having their re- 

 port published in the journals— especially 

 in Gleanings. The point he made was 

 this : That in many places we have, most of 

 us, almost ruined" the demand for liquid 

 honey ; but we have since pretty nearly re- 

 covered it by being very careful to furnish 

 none but an "excellent (piality of nice honey, 

 thoroughly ripened on the hives by the bees, 

 and that, if we attempt to put off on our 

 customers honey ripened by artificial means, 

 we shall get into trouble again, and may be 

 never get out of it. Novices in bee culture, 

 and greedy, selfish men generally, will neg- 

 lect to ripen the honey as thoroughly as they 

 ))iig]it do by artificial means, and thus do us 

 noend of damage. 



Just now an incident occurs to me that I 

 did not mention then, but I want to mention 

 it now : Some four or five years ago I under-- 

 took to assist the farmers in our vicinity, 

 by taking their crop of maple syrup olT their 

 hands. I decided to buy nothing but a first- 

 chiss article, and have it immediately solder- 



