1897 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



423 



carelessness reported on the part of a bee-keep- 

 er who ought to be severely reprimanded by 

 the whole fraternity. 



.T. VAN DKVSKN. 



In our issue for May 1 appeared an obituary 

 notice of Mr. .7. Van Deusen, senior member 

 of the firm of J. Van Deusen A: Sons. Mr. V. 

 was 83 years old at the time of his death, and 

 one of the veterans in the bee business. For 

 years the firm with which he was connected 

 has been noted for turning out a beautiful 

 translucent, flat-bottom foun ation. The old 

 gentleman had a secret process of sheeting, 

 and by this process he was enabled to turn out 

 a beautiful article of foundation. 



Mr. Van Deusen's face was quite familiar to 

 those who were in the habit of attending the 

 national conventions. One would hardly think 

 that a man of his years could make as long 

 journeys as he did, and yet seem to be hale and 

 hearty, notwithstanding his age, at all the 

 conventions at which we had the pleasure of 

 meeting him. He always had with him sam- 

 ples of his goods, both wired and unwired. 



He is the only one, I think, who ever, in a 

 commercial way, incorporated wires into the 



J. VAN DEUSEN. 



foundation itself, the wire being inserted, evi- 

 dently, in the process of milling. It is doubtful 

 whether the wire could be inserted in the natu- 

 ral-base foundation. It could be put in, but 

 would be kinked up by the faces of the mill, so 

 as to make it practically a rail fence that would 

 stretch as much as the foundation itself. 



The firm is still operating, the younger mem- 

 ber, I believe, having charge of the business, 



and I have no doubt the quality of goods will 

 be up to its former high state of excellence. 



It is a pleasure for me to stale that the half- 

 tone portrait is very natural, and will be in- 

 stantly recognized as such by ail who have had 

 the pleasure of meeting the senior Van Deusen 

 at the various conventions. 



A HONEY-LEAFI.ET IN ENGLAND. 



A LITTLE pamphlet entitled "Koney and its 

 Uses," by Rev. Gerard W. Bancks, is being cir- 

 culated, as I judge, among honey-consumers in 

 England. There are several good things in it, 

 and from among them I make the following 

 extracts : 



Apart from the consideration of the many other 

 valuable properties claimed for honey, the follow- 

 ing' facts, which see-n well authenticated, must cer- 

 tainly go far to recommend its use as an article of 

 food: 



1. The snj?ar of honey, being in the most suitable 

 form for assimilation, requires hardly any diges- 

 tion. It is in a condition to enter at once into the 

 system. ^3: ; •il8fc«?...-Sif'WiS — = -i:^ 



2. It is, in a usml way, not liable to occasion any 

 disorder of the system, and may therefore general- 

 ly be used by those with wliom ordinary sugar is 

 found to disagree. 



3. The grape sugar of honey does not cause decay 

 of the teeth as cane sugar does. 



These statements, of course, have reference only 

 to honey that is absolutely pioc. Erroneous opin- 

 ions, and much mistaken prejudice, have unfortu- 

 nately arisen with regard to the u«e of honey, ow- 

 ing to the unpleasant effects upon many persons of 

 the various compounds, consisting chiefly of glucose 

 made from potatoes or rice, and sulphuric acid, 

 which of late years have been in such large quan- 

 tities sold as a substitute for pure honey. It is of 

 the greatest importance, if its beneficial effects are 

 to be enjoyed, that the honey consumed be pure. 



Till comparatively recent times honey was the 

 chief sweetening agent In use. After the introduc- 

 tion of cane sugar, however, the use of honey in 

 this and other countries largely declined. But there 

 is no doubt that of late years it has been more and 

 more realized that pure honey does possess qualities 

 which it is impossible to replace. There has been a 

 larger and over increasing demand for it. till there 

 seems every prospect of its coming again into gen- 

 eral use in every household. Thousands of tons of 

 honey are now annually consumed in this country; 

 while in North America alone, it is estimated that 

 more than a hundred million pounds are produced 

 every year. 



But it is not only as a palatable and nourishing 

 food that honey has again come to be so highly ap- 

 preciated. It is now pretty generally acknowledged 

 to be a really valuable medicine. And when we 

 bear in mind that the nectar gathered by the bee is 

 a secretion in whicli we may expect to find the essen- 

 tial virtues of the plant from which it is obtained, 

 that there is more or less pollen always present, and 

 that, when converted into honey, it contains. In 

 addition, a certain amount of formic acid, we can 

 easily account for its wonderful medicinal proper- 

 ties. 



Honey is especially recommended as likely to 

 be beneficial in cases of dyspepsia, rheumatism, 

 asthma, hoarseness, shortness of breath, and all 

 affections of the chest. Consumptive people are 

 known to have derived great benefit from its con- 

 tinued use, and it is said to have been recently of- 

 ten used as a substitute for cod-liver oil, with very 

 satisfactory results. 



In bronchitis great relief may be obtained by tak- 

 ing a small (luantity at frequent intervals. Ttie 

 regular use of it is sa d to aid digestion, and to 

 strengthen the nerves. As a gentle laxative, and 

 purifier of the blood, no better medinine can be tak- 

 en; while its peculiar acid property has caused it to 

 be generally recognized as a valuable medii'ine in 

 oases of sore throat. Indeed, for coughs, colds, and 

 all affections of the throat it is universally acknow- 

 ledged to be the best of remedies. 



