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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 15. 



the fall fruits that will soon be loaded on the 

 market. 



INKY BLACK HONEY. 



I have before me a sample, quite a large 

 one, of black honey — so black, indeed, that 

 even the bright light from a clear sky will not 

 penetrate its inky darkness. At first I 

 thought it might be some product from 

 aphides ; but it does not have the character- 

 istic flavor by which all such are recognized. 

 Its flavor is not really bad, and our corre- 

 spondent is of the opinion that it comes from 

 post oak. If any one else has produced 

 samples of genuine honey, not " bug juice," 

 that is as black as ink, I wish he would send 

 samples of it. 



ROBBING BEE-KEEPERS. 

 We regret to be obliged to warn our friends 

 against sending any honey to E. R. Hayes, of 

 Topeka, Kan., or trusting him in any way. 

 D. S. Jenkins, of Las Animas, Col., sent him 

 a lot of honey last October. Hayes said, 

 when Mr. J. offered the honey, " I will send 

 my draft on arrival of goods." Since then 

 friend Jenkins can not get a word from him, 

 and we have written to Mr. Hayes twice, the 

 last time telling him we would publish him 

 unless he made some sort of answer ; and al- 

 though we have given him several weeks' 

 time to make a reply, we can not get a word 

 from him in any way, shape, or manner. Will 

 the other journals please pass his name along 

 unless he can be made to talk or give some 

 reason why he does not talk. 



A SOURED BEE-KEEPER. 

 Some bee-keepers are, unfortunately, sour 

 (when they ought to be sweet) — soured on 

 particular people who, for some slight cause, 

 have gained the ill will of that person. This 

 thought came to me after reading a communi- 

 cation in one of our bee-journals. The writer 

 of said article — a chronic pessimist — seems to 

 be leaving no stone unturned to say some 

 mean thing of some one person whom he does 

 not love, evidently. I feel sorry for such folks 

 not the ones picked at, but those who do the 

 picking What miserable lives they must 

 lead! The most unhappy person in the world 

 is the one who is continually finding fault 

 with others ; and the happiest person in the 

 world is the one who loves all the world — 

 even those who have faults. 



" A GOOD CATCH," AGAIN. 



Already several photographs showing a 

 young woman in the act of catching a swarm 

 of bees have been received. One defect with 

 some of them is what an amateur photographer 

 would call a " lack of contrast. ' ' For instance, 

 in several pictures the swarm of bees hanging 

 in the air has a background of foliage, which 

 in the pictures is of the same color, almost 

 entirely obscuring the outline of the cluster 

 of bees. Such pictures, if reproduced in half- 

 tone, would show the swarm quite indistinctly. 

 I have at least one photo that I can use. In 

 the mean time our artist, R. V. Murray, has 



entered into competition with brush and pen. 

 He has in his mind's eye a beautiful young 

 woman holding forth a swarm of bees. Just 

 over the fence, and leaning on it, is a young 

 farmer of marriageable age admiring one part 

 of the scene before him — which part I need 

 not say. If Mr. Murray catches the inspira- 

 tion, there will be a rare combination of ease 

 and grace, with a touch of romance. 



The successful contestants will have their 

 productions shown in half - tone, both in 

 Gleanings and in the A B C of Bee Culture. 



FANCY HONEY AT THE PHILADELPHIA CON- 

 VENTION. 



Mr. F. Danzenbaker, of Washington, D. 

 C, in a letter recently received, suggests the 

 wisdom on the part of the members of the 

 convention of bringing in samples of honey 

 for exhibition, the same to be displayed at the 

 place of meeting, and examined by a commit- 

 tee appointed by the convention, and that 

 said committee be empowered to award prizes, 

 or to report "honorable mentions" for the 

 best honey brought and shown. As a further 

 incentive, Mr. Danzenbaker makes the follow- 

 ing offer : 



I shall be in Philadelphia Sept. 1, and during the 

 bee-keepers' convention, to receive and care for honey 

 free of charge that may come for exhibition. I will 

 pay 50 cents each for the best 20 -1x5 plain sections 

 made in Danzy hives: 25 cents each for the second- 

 best 20; 20 cents each for the third-best 20; 15 cents 

 each for all other -1x5 plain sections made in Danzy 

 hives. The honey may be brought to the convention, 

 or sent by express prepaid to me at Philadelphia, to 

 arrive on or before September 5. 



Washington, D. C. F. Danzenbaker. 



WHY CLOVER DID NOT YIELD HONEY THIS 

 SEASON. 

 One of our subscribers, Mr. R. J. Cary, of 

 Reading Center, Ct., suggests, in answer to 

 my question why clover failed to yield this 

 year, that it was owing to the very severe 

 winter. He says he has noticed that, after a 

 very cold winter, clover does not yield well 

 the following summer. Well, now, here is a 

 chance for some of our subscribers who have, 

 perhaps, been keeping record, to give us a 

 few data along these lines. Perhaps many 

 can remember whether or not a failure of the 

 clovers to yield honey was preceded by a cold 

 winter. 



But, you say, granted this is true, what can 

 we do to help ourselves? Nothing; except 

 that, if we knew, say, in March, after a very 

 long cold winter, that clover, our only source 

 of white honey, would probably not yield, we 

 would not be laying in a big stock of sup- 

 plies when it would be unnecessary. A very 

 cold winter is apt to be followed by a warm 

 spring. The warm weather and the balmy- 

 air lead the bee-keeper to feel that there is 

 going to be a big yield of honey; and the con- 

 sequence is, he sends a large order to his deal- 

 er. We know that many did so last year, and 

 a good many this year ; and both winters, in 

 many localities, were very cold, and yet clo- 

 ver did not yield honey to any extent, either 

 in 1898 or '99. But all this may be a myth. 

 There may be uothing in it. I do not say 

 there is. But why not compare notes ? • 



