590 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 1. 



bees in preference to ordinary foundation, in 

 every instance. 



Perhaps some may think that a dollar a 

 pound for foundation is rather expensive. So 

 it is, but it is in the experimental stage. Even 

 at a dollar a pound it is not too expensive to 

 use as starters one inch deep top and bottom ; 

 that is to say, it costs no more than ordinary 

 foundation in full sheets, and I am of the 

 opinion it will be better bait for the bees — far 

 better. However, we solicit tests of it in full 

 sheets so that we can determine whether it 

 will be advisable to make larger dies whereby 

 we can reduce the cost of drawn foundation so 

 that it will be within the reach of bee-keepers. 



SLANG IN BEE-JOURNALS 



The critic of the Reviezv, Mr. R. L. Taylor, 

 singles out some of the slang phrases that have 

 appeared in Gleanings. For instance, he 

 refers to the word scrooch where I speak of 

 bees " scrooching down " to pass under an ob- 

 struction ; to the word sass, where I in a 

 friendly way say " I would rather sass Dr. 

 Miller than any one else ;" to the word sinoled 

 instead of smiled ; to the word snide (I bor- 

 rowed this from the Am. Bee Jour. ) when re- 

 ferring to a commission house. I grant that I 

 do, once in a great while, use some expres- 

 sions that are not in the dicticmary ; but if I 

 do so it is because they convey for me a cer- 

 tain shade of meaning that can not be impart- 

 ed by any of the dignified, staid synonyms. 



But, friend T., why single out Gleanings? 

 How about the expression ' ' hoopee ' ' from 

 the dignified editor of the Bee-keepers^ Re- 

 vieic f And how about another expression he 

 uses in the last Review, wherein he says the 

 Western people, referring to Omaha, will take 

 care of us in "great shape"? and another 

 expression that he used, wherein he said that 

 bee-keepers were " on to " certain commission 

 houses that were carrying on certain practices 

 that are not entirely above reproach ? 



I am no advocate of the free use of slang; 

 but there are times when, in a limited way, it 

 seems to me it may be used without offense. 

 Besides, we should not forget that the correct 

 idiom of to-day was the slang of yesterday. 

 The word " outsider " is as good a word as 

 there is in our language ; but it was made to 

 meet a demand in 1841, when it was denounc- 

 ed as pure slang. The word "mugwump," 

 formerly slang, is now recognized by the 

 Standard Dictionary. The word popocrat is 

 perhaps serving its probation. \V. P. R. says 

 slang is language in gestation — formed but 

 not born. The expressions that I picked from 

 the Review were very expressive, and they 

 did not in the least jar on my sensibilities. 



If some of my English is not as good as it 

 might be, it is because all that I " vmte " for 

 Gle.\nings is dictated to a stenographer, oft- 

 en amid frequent interruptions, and when I 

 hardly know how to spare the time even to 

 talk it off. 



HONEY-DEW — its source. 



Along in the early '80's, especially in 1882 

 and '84, honey-dew was a good deal more 



talked of than now. Indeed, it was causing 

 trouble by spoiling otherwise first-class honey, 

 and it was found to be, in many instances at 

 least, a very unsuitable food for winter. Since 

 1885 we have seen very little of it. In fact, ' 

 there have been almost no references to it in 

 any of the bee-journals, and I have hardlj' 

 seen or tasted any thing of it since. But this 

 year, when the season has been an almost 

 entire failure in most localities, the old famil- 

 iar "bug juice," as the stuff was sometimes 

 called, is being reported from various sections 

 of the country. Several have sent us samples 

 of their extracted honey, wanting to know 

 what was the matter of it. Examination 

 shows a small amount of honey-dew. White 

 clover started out well, but later in the season 

 the bees gathered some dark stuff, and this, 

 when extracted with the white honey, made 

 for them an inferior grade of extracted. 



Over and over again samples of honey-dew 

 (pure stuff) are sent, and we are asked what 

 the " stuff " is. Sometimes the flavor is sick- 

 ening, and the color almost black. Then, 

 again, it is light in color, and rather pleasant 

 to the taste. I fear there will be some ex- 

 tracted honeys this year that will be off in 

 flavor, just because of a little mixture of 

 honey dew. 



For the benefit of some of the later readers, 

 perhaps it will be well to explain what honey- 

 dew is. It is a secretion or excretion usually 

 found on the leaves of trees ; and in most 

 cases it is the product of an insect. This 

 saccharine matter sometimes dries on the 

 leaves. After a light rain it is moistened, 

 and then the bees will roar around the trees 

 and tumble into the entrances as if they were 

 working on basswood. If the storm continues 

 the sticky stuff will be washed off the leaves, 

 and the poor bees will be humming around for 

 that which has suddenly disappeared ; and 

 then, my, oh my! how they will sting! just as 

 if you and I were to blame! 



This peculiar secretion is usually found on 

 the leaves of maple-trees. In such cases it 

 comes from the maple-bark louse. Sometimes 

 it is present on the leaves of hickory, and 

 then, again, on low-spreading bushes. Wheth- 

 er the insects deposit it or not, this peculiar 

 kind of " dew " sometimes falls in the form of 

 spray, and many and many a time the side- 

 walk under the trees will be marked or spot- 

 ted with the "juice." Honey- dew was for- 

 merly supposed to be a real dew from heaven, 

 hence its name; but it is now known that the 

 greater part of it is the product (or, more 

 properly speaking, perhaps, excreta) of insects. 

 But there is a kind of honey-dew that is a se- 

 cretion from certain fungi, and also the leaves 

 of certain plants. That this is true is proven 

 without doubt. 



But perhaps some of you may say, "What 

 am I going to do if I find some of the stuff in 

 the brood -frames ? " I would do nothing 

 about it at all — just leave it there. Our knowl- 

 edge of wintering has progressed so far since 

 1885 that I believe the majority of bee-keepers 

 will be able to winter their bees on this food 

 almost as successfully, perhaps, as on the best 

 sugar syrup. Indeed, I am coming to believe 



