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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 1. 



It seemed almost impossible to reconcile these 

 differences of opinion until the fact leaked out 

 that sweet-clover honey must be thoroughly 

 ripened before its delightful flavor would be 

 brought out; that green sweet-clover honey 

 has a sort of bitter taste, which disappears 

 upon thorough ripening, as just stated. The 

 honey that Mr. York, editor of the Auierican 

 Bee Journal, produced, has been pronounced 

 as being of very fine quality, and he was of 

 the opinion that it was largely sweet-clover. 

 When I first tasted some of his honey a couple 

 of years ago, I remember I thought it had the 

 most delightful flavor of any thing I had ever 

 tried ; but at that time neither Mr. York nor 

 myself knew its source; but on my last visit 

 he was quite certain that it was from sweet 

 clover. That same delightful minty taste was 

 present. At the convention some thought 

 that sweet-clover honey was a little better 

 when mixed with something else. Perhaps 

 this is true, for Mr. York's honey, besides the 

 sweet clover, has evidently a mixture of other 

 flora that abounds in his vicinity at Engle- 

 wood. 



DR. MILLER'S SALT-PETER RAGS FOR LIGHT- 

 ING SMOKERS. 



While visiting at Dr. Miller's I saw him 

 pull out a piece of rag from his tool-basket, 

 light it with a match, or apparently attempt 

 to light it, and put it down the smoker. There 

 was no flame, and it seemed the rag had gone 

 out. 



•' Here, that's gone out ! " I exclaimed. 



"Oh! that's all right," replied the doctor; 

 "it will go ;" and then he proceeded to cram 

 in some planer shsvings. 



' ' You will put it out now, I am sure, ' ' said I . 



" I think not," he replied ; and at this he 

 began working the bellows, when it immedi- 

 ately began to send out quite a volume of 

 smoke. 



" The rags in our locality do not burn that 

 way," I remarked. 



" Pehaps not," returned the doctor; "but 

 we dip ours in saltpeter water, and then dry 

 them. See ? Just the moment the flame of a 

 match touches the rag it will catch fire, and 

 stay lighted." 



Dr. Miller formerly soaked his rotten wood 

 in saltpeter water, and then after it was dry 

 used it for lighting his smoker. But the rag 

 Ights instantly, and is then pushed into the 

 smoker. No crammiug-in of other fuel will 

 put it out. This saves much annoyance in 

 lighting the smoker. 



THE CRITIC criticised. 



It has seemed to me that the critic of the 

 Reviezv has rather departed from the legitimate 

 field of work assigned to him by the editor of 

 that paper. I was under the impression that 

 he was to criticise the theories and practices 

 of bee-keepers in the line of their favorite 

 pursuit; but a large part of his criticisms have 

 been devoted, not to the supposed fallacies 

 and fads in apiculture, but to the literary 

 infelicities in the writings of Dr. Miller, Ed- 

 itor York, and myself. Indeed, we three have 



been almost the only ones who have claimed 

 the critic's attention. 



I have tried to console myself with the 

 thought that I was in good company, or that 

 our writings were more important than the 

 writings of those ignored; but the critic some- 

 what upsets this by saying that, when he goes 

 blackberry in g, he picks where the berries are 

 thickest. 



Mr. Taylor generously admits that he lives 

 in a glass house, and that " even Homer nods, 

 and that Addison himself, a noted pattern in 

 style, makes many slips." He enters a strong 

 plea for pure, perfect language, and concludes 

 by saying, " Beautiful typography is a treat: 

 pure choice language is a feast." To all of 

 this I give my most hearty assent; but " pure, 

 choice language," however much it may be 

 admired, is not a gift possessed by all, and I 

 fear not by my poor self. I am not editing a 

 literary journal, but just a bee-paper that 

 strives to give ideas about bees, in plain 

 English, without embellishment. I know I 

 have made some "slips," and am always 

 thankful to have my attention called to them. 

 I appreciate it more if they are pointed out 

 privately, and I believe I am profited quite as 

 much. 



But Mr. Taylor seems to be very thankful 

 for the public mention of two grammatical 

 errors of his, and adds that " helpful criticism 

 is more than meat and drink " to him. While 

 I think si;ch things have no place in a bee- 

 journal I can not refrain from referring to 

 two more since he thrives on that sort of diet. 



In the very article where he speaks so feel- 

 ingly of "pure, choice language" being a 

 "feast," he says, "I would be pleased" for 

 " I should be pleased," and uses a superlative 

 form of adverb* for the comparative in 

 referring to two classes of colonies. I have 

 not had time to examine critically his other 

 articles for "slips;" but " W. P.," our proof- 

 reader, says there are a few " nods " in these 

 also. 



I do not know what dictionary Mr. Taylor 

 takes as his authority ; but if he had used 

 Webster's International or Funk & Wagnalls' 

 Standard, authorities recognized by scholars 

 everj'where, he would not question the use of 

 the word ' ' boil " as a noun in the phrase 

 "bring it to a boil," nor would the crimson 

 fluid from his sympathetic heart have suffused 

 his cheeks when he says, " I am afraid a blush 

 covered m} face when, in the account of Mr. 

 Cowan's visit, where that cultivated English- 

 man would be sure to see it, I found the word 

 'canine' used for dog or puppy." If Mr. 

 Taylor will turn to the Standard Dictionary he 

 will find canine as a noun, and meaning dog 

 in just the sense I used it. The joke is on 

 Mr. Taylor, and Mr. Cowan has the laugh. In 

 the same manner he questions the use of some 

 other words concerning which there is a dif- 

 ference of opinion among authorities ; but 

 there is no use in discussing them here. 



No wonder Editor Hutchinson raised the 

 question whether Mr. Taylor were h^'percritical 

 or not. He who sits in judgment over his 



♦Earliest for earlier. 



