802 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov 1. 



course, make two places for leakage instead 

 of one. 



You say that tin cans are far ahead of the 

 leaky wooden things, to your notion. That is 

 not answering my plea for a wood-fiber or pa- 

 per keg, which has no staves, no hoops, but 

 could be made all in one piece — no shrinkage, 

 no swelling, presenting nothing but a clean 

 smooth surface which no acid can touch. 



I also know the way you describe will make 

 a honey-tumbler proof against leakage ; but 

 does it make it proof against breaking the 

 tumbler in opening ? I wish you would give 

 the wood-fiber or paper package, either in keg 

 or square-can form, your second thought. I 

 should like to see them put on the market. 

 This package would suit any climate, and 

 there is none more able to make the exper- 

 iment of introducing them than The A. I. 

 Root Co. The American Tramp. 



[Perhaps the kegs are more convenient for 

 you at your end of the line ; but our expe- 

 rience is that nearly all kegs and barrels of 

 honey, by the time they get to Medina, are 

 leaking slightly, and some of them badly. 

 Our honey-man, Mr. Boyden, is completely 

 disgusted with these wooden packages. On 

 the other hand, he says honey in square cans 

 holding 60 lbs., usually comes through in good 

 order, and is much more convenient to sell 

 again, because the packages are smaller, and 

 the honey can be sold in large or small lots. 

 This seems to be the experience of Mr. Geo. 

 W. York, of the American Bee Journal. 



So far as I know, we have never had a com- 

 plaint of the little honey-gate that goes with 

 the square cans. While the bunghole strain- 

 er we send out may be inefficient for some lo- 

 calities, the cost is insignificant, and it can be 

 thrown away, and something better used in 

 its place; but in some of the large extracting- 

 yards that I have visited, no strainers were 

 used at all. The honey was run into large 

 cans or barrels, and after it had stood a little 

 while it was skimmed off at the top, after 

 which it was drawn off from the bottom of 

 the receptacle into the regular marketing- 

 packages. 



There is no doubt at all that kegs are much 

 more convenient for the producer; but they 

 are a great nuisance to the average buyer ; and 

 in many cases it is the producer who has to 

 pay for the leakage. He in turn becomes dis- 

 gusted with his honey-man, as he naturally 

 thinks he has misrepresented. 



With regard to the wood-fiber or paper kegs, 

 we gladly join hands with you in these ; but 

 if you can find something that can compete in 

 price with square tin cans or kegs you will do 

 more than we can. We have had a good many 

 samples of butter tubs and pails sent us, but 

 they were too expensive. 



Of course, there is always the permanent 

 objection to glass packages, that they are not 

 proof against breakage ; but for the purpose 

 of retailing there is nothing else quite so good 

 as and nothing cheaper than the jelly- tumbler. 

 The self-sealing glass packages are better, but 

 they cost a good deal more. 



We are always glad to get criticisms and 



suggestions, and you may be sure that The A. 

 I. Root Co. will do all in its power to intro- 

 duce new and better devices. We shall be on 

 the watch; and if we can find a paper or wood- 

 fiber package such as you describe, and within 

 the reach of bee keepers, we will gladly bring 

 it before our bee-keeping friends. — Ed.] 



COLOR SAMPLES FOR CLASSIFICATION OF HON- 

 EY. 



Friend Root : — Reading your footnote to 

 Dr. Miller's Straw, p. 674, in regard to color- 

 cards for classifying honey, I am reminded of 

 seeing, years ago, a little scientific toy in the 

 semblance of a fish, which, when placed in the 

 palm of the hand, would curl and twist from 

 the heat and moisture of the hand. I was 

 told, if I am not mistaken, that it was made 

 from gelatin in sheet form. It was as thin as 

 paper, and transparent. The color was a 

 bright red. As I said, it is some years since I 

 saw it, and I do not know where to get a sam- 

 ple to send you; but perhaps you know what 

 I am referring to. Would not this material 

 answer for color samples ? The question is, 

 whether the colors would fade in course of 

 time. 



It might be cut into squares of a size to go 

 into an ordinary letter envelope. For mail- 

 ing, it should be placed between two pieces of 

 thick pasteboard to avoid injury from the 

 postoffice-stamps. I see that our postmaster 

 has a handle attached to his receiving-stamp, 

 and strikes the back of each letter with a force 

 that equals the blow from a hammer of the 

 same weight. The gelatin sheets might be 

 placed between two pieces of clear glass, to 

 protect them from dust, etc. If gelatin won't 

 answer, how would colored glass do ? 



Wm. Muth-Rasmussen. 



Independence, Cal., Sept. 28. 



[Your scheme of using some transparent 

 substance like gelatine, properly colored, 

 would represent more nearly the exact shade 

 or color of the honey than any printer's ink 

 on cardboard. But I suspect it would cost 

 considerable to get gelatine properly colored 

 to represent the various shades. 



But there is one general objection to this 

 whole scheme ; and that is , that the colors of 

 the various honeys vary according to the dif- 

 ferent localities. An exact shade that would 

 answer for Ohio might not be at all practica- 

 ble for New York. 



A NOVEL MOTH-TRAP. 



I have for years been fighting moths, and 

 therefore never have any trouble with their 

 getting into the hives and ruining colonies. 

 A six-gallon lard-can, with some cider in it, is 

 always kept in my apiary. I leave the can 

 open during the night, and in the morning I 

 put on the cover ; and when coming there 

 again in the evening to take off the cover I 

 take my dead enemies out of the cider and 

 leave the can open. This is repeated all the 

 time', and I never have any trouble with moths 

 getting into the hives, as all the moths and 

 bugs come right for the cider, and, of course, 



