1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



395 



get more clearly before them the point at is- 

 sue, we submit the question below : 



Question 5(>.-y>" j/iiK tliiiiJi a pcrfdratcd zinchou- 

 rjl-Jxiard, woo<l-h(iinid, so as to p)'t)iUilc a hfr-spucG 

 (ilxtve and below, indperly utrcnythencd throuuh the 

 middle hy a traiisverse slat, ivoiUd aiixwcr the purpose 

 of an ordinani slatted wood zinc honey-hoard °l 



Now, then, friend Ileddon, we are ready 

 to deal with Question 5(i. Yes, we do think 

 the l)est queen -excluding honey-board that 

 has been yet devised can be made of full 

 sheets of zinc, and not only at proportional- 

 ly less cost, but <ni]y a little over one hlilf 

 the price of slatted wood-zinc honey-boards. 

 We liave made such honey-boards with a 

 bee-space on both sides, for about a year ; 

 but heretofore we have never considered 

 them quite equal to the slatted wood-zinc 

 boards. Very recently we have l)een exper- 

 imenting on different modes of construciiug 

 them, and we now have a full-sheet ziuc 

 board, wood-bound, break-joint, and with 

 sufficient rigidity through the middle, with- 

 out stiffening. See engravings and descrip- 

 tion elsewhere in this issue. Perhaps we 

 should add, that we tried various modes of 

 stiffening. If any is required at all, a three- 

 cornered slat, point downward, is the best, 

 and that fastened on the under side of the 

 zinc transversely. You are aware, that, the 

 shorter the length of the stick, the greater 

 is its strength. Therefore such a stick will 

 be stronger crosswise than lengthwise of a 

 honey-board. Not only that, but it can rest 

 directly on and across the frames. In an 

 article elsewhere in this number you will 

 see we think it necessary to have one of our 

 honey-boards strengthened through the mid- 

 dle, and with wood, in the manner describ- 

 ed. Y"ou mention strips of tin in the form 

 of a V. We find that such stifleners, made 

 of even the heaviest tin, are very fragile in- 

 deed, not even possessing any niore rigidity 

 than the zinc itself. Your manner of form- 

 ing a rim around the honey-board is doubt- 

 less all right, on the Ileddon hives, or 

 on those hives which have no beveled 

 edge ; but in the Simplicity, a bee-space 

 must be provided for on hoth sides ; hence 

 we use, for a rim, strips of wood a trifle over 

 i inch thick. On the inside of each of these 

 strips a saw-kerf ,'; inch deep is made. A 

 sheet of zinc a trifle smaller than the inside 

 dimensions of the hive is fitted into each of 

 the saw-kerfs of each of the side and end 

 pieces. These pieces are then nailed at the 

 corners. As to your last suggestion, con- 

 tained in the second letter, we suppose such 

 a honey-board could be made ; but for rea- 

 sons jiist explained, it would not do for 

 hives with beveled edges, for it would pro- 

 vide for only one bee-space. In regard to 

 the setting of the dies, we discuss this else- 

 where. 



^ I ^ 



IS IT A LOTTERY? 



DB. C. C. MILTiER TAKES US TO TASK FOK INSERT- 

 ING AN ADVERTISEMENT OF THE AMERICAN 

 GARDEN. 



"JIP ND now, friend Root, you've put your loot in 

 qilk it, sure. Oh! won't you catch it, it' some 



J^ one happens to rertd closely that " ad " of 

 ■'^^ the Ameriean Gardrn, on i)ag-e 'Z'.i'.)'^ The un- 

 relenting enemy of all dishonest transac- 

 tions, lending his aid to publish a lottery scheme! 



Now, how much " hush money" will you give me to 

 say nothing about if;* A half-dollar, or even a 

 quarter, might go a good way with mo, and I await 

 sealed proposals. 



Triumphantly yours,— C. C. Miller. 



Marengo, 111. 



Now look here, doctor, I wonder if you 

 suppose I am going to take that half-dollar, 

 and get into the mire deeper and deeper? 

 Ernest and i both felt trouble<l about that 

 offer of the Atncrican Garden; but you 

 know there are differences of opinion' in 

 these matters, aufl the American (iarden is a 

 great big institution, and they are very nice 

 pet)ple too. Now, you editors of the Ameri- 

 can Garden, will you please answer Dr. 

 Miller yourselves, then it will be off from 

 my shouldeis entirely? I want to say, how- 

 ever, that I Ufver like any form of adver- 

 tising that tiives one of your patrons some 

 privilege you do not give to othe-rs, especial- 

 ly where chance or " happen-so " decides 

 who is to be the privileged man and who is 

 not. 



FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS, 



THOROUGHLY KIPENED HONEY A CONPECTIO/JERY. 



TN the Canadian Bee Journal of April 18, 

 m under the head of Our Own Apiary, 

 ^l friend Jones gives an incident in regard 

 ■^ to extra super-ripened honey. As the 

 matter will prove to be of considerable 

 interest to our readers, we give the item as 

 follows : 



At our home we have had a coal-stove burning for 

 over two months without interruption, keeping the 

 temjierature high, consequently very dry. Near 

 this stove is a i^aiitry with only a lath and plastered 

 wall between. In the pantry was a large fruit-dish 

 containing several jioiinds of very fine, well-ripened 

 honey. The dish had been sitting on the shelf next 

 the wall for about a week, and when it was brought 

 out the spoon was resting on the top, which was 

 tough and had a glassy appearance. When pressed 

 with a spoon it seemed like a itapcr covering. We 

 scratched a hole in it to ascertain the depth, and 

 found it to be between one-quarter and one-half an 

 inch. When placed on paper it looked like soft wax, 

 and one would hardly believe that honey, by a hot 

 dry atmosi)here, would evaporate its moisture and 

 become so thick. We thought this a good opportu- 

 nity to test the difference in quality and flavor; 

 taking some of the honey from a sixty-jtound tin 

 and comparing it in texture, color, and flavor with 

 this better ripened, it did not seem the same. The 

 contents of the tin was specially selected, and we 

 considered it as good as could be produced; but 

 tests go to prove that the honey in ihe dish was so 

 nuich superior that any one comparing them would 

 not hesiiate to give two or three cents a ])Ound more 

 for it. We do not know how much loss there would 

 he in evai)orating honey to that extent; but we sup- 

 pose the loss to be from ten to twenty per cent. 

 We believe this class of honey would ttnd a market 

 at a price sufficient to warrant the experiment. It 

 would be necessary to place it on very shallow ves- 

 sels, and subject it to a very low temperature that 

 the color might not be changed. We fancy a room 

 properly arranged, with coils of steam-i>ipes to 

 raise the temperature to a desirable height, at the 

 same time allowing a current ol' air to pass through, 

 would soon reduce our ordinary honey to the con- 

 sistency of jelly. It could then be placed in tum- 

 blei'S, or any kind of ves«el; in fact, i)aper bags 

 could lie miiuuracturcd of ii size and shajie suitable 

 to hold it. and sold in .5c.. 10c. , ir)c., and 30c. pack- 

 ages. It might even be sold by the pennyworth, 

 which would Increase its consumption. 



