304 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



April 15. 



saw-blade), so that it will be just long enough 

 to fit inside the 12^^ entrance. Then a piece 

 of lath holds it with one or more nails. This 

 gives all the ventilation needed for spring and 

 fall hauling. 



But the wet cloth is far and away ahead of a 

 wire entrance-guard when it comes to shutting 

 bees in the hive when carrying in the cellar. 

 Shut bees in with wire, and they are more 

 anxious than ever to get out, the excitement 

 being mischievous. They shrink from the 

 wet cloth, and conclude they donH zvant to 

 get out ; so the cloth can be taken away as 

 soon as they are placed in the cellar, leaving 

 them quiet. Ordinarily, however, there ought 

 to be no necessity for fastening the bees in 

 when carrying them in cellar. 



Answering your question broadly, friend 

 Pettit, I should say that it matters little in 

 what part of the cellar the thermometer is 

 hung, providing it is alwavs hung in the same 

 place. Mine hangs close bj' the door, because 

 convenient. Neither do I think 38, 40, 45, or 

 any other number of degrees the right place 

 to set for every bee-cellar. The right temper- 

 ature {or your cellar vi'iih your therinotiieier is 

 that temperature at which the bees remain 

 most quiet, whether it be 40° or 50° ; and that 

 temperature is to be determined, not by any 

 single observation, but by a number of obser- 

 vations at diiferent times. There is no little 

 variation in thermometers. I've stopped long 

 enough to put seven thermometers together 

 down cellar, and let them get settled, and they 

 read as follows : 36, 42, 42, 42, 44, 44, 44. The 

 first was a rather fancy affair, more for looks 

 than for use. But I've seen a greater variation 

 than that among a lot in a drugstore, all look- 

 ing about alike. C. C. MiivLER. 



Marengo, 111. 



MARKETING EXTRACTED HONEY. 

 Liquid vs. Candied ; the Other Side Discussed. 



BY CHAIvON FOWLS. 



It's ludicrous to me, the way so many edi- 

 tors and correspondents are now running to 

 embrace Mr. Aikin and his plan of selling his 

 honey candied. I can imagine Root, Miller, 

 and all the rest, shouting in chorus, "Oh! 

 come to my arms, my dear fellow ; your plan 

 is just what I've always wanted ; of course, I 

 believe it will work ; I've ahvays wanted to be- 

 lieve it. " It is said he has succeeded, " grand- 

 ly succeeded," as Dr. Miller puts it, but^suc- 

 ceeded in what? In disposing of his crop? 

 Yes. But is the price remunerative ? Ah ! 

 That's the vital point with me. This reminds 

 me of an old story. A very learned though 

 somewhat conceited man was being rowed 

 across a swift-running stream in an old leaky 

 boat. Oblivious to his danger, the learned 

 man sat studying the heavens ; but at last, 

 noticing the boatman straining at the oars to 

 get the boat across before it swamped, he said: 



"Do you understand astronomy? " 



" No," said he. 



"Then," said the learned man, "one-fourth 

 of your life is gone." 



As this seemed to have little effect, and see- 

 ing the birds and fish, he said : 



" Don't you understand any thing about zo- 

 ology?" 



" No," said he. 



"Then," said the learned man, "half of 

 your life is gone." 



At this juncture the old boat struck a rock, 

 and began to leak rapidly. 



" Do }'ou know how this rock came here? 

 Do you understand geology ? " 



"No," said the man, taking off his coat. 



" Then three fourths of your life is gone." 



"That may be," said the man ; "but I am 

 going to quit this sinking boat, and swim 

 ashore. Can you swim ? " 



" No," said the man of learning.. 



" Then the whole of your life is gone," said 

 he, as he struck out for the shore. 



Now, supposing I have bees enough to gath- 

 er enough honey, when sold at remunerative 

 prices, to support my family, and the seasons 

 are such that there is honey in the field to be 

 gathered, and I am skillful enough in manage- 

 ment to harvest a good well-ripened and fine- 

 flavored article, and am still lacking in this 

 vital point — am unable to get a fair price for 

 it, all my skill and learning will profit tne 

 nothing. The great flood of adulterated hon- 

 ey, thin unripened honey, bid-flavored and 

 dirty stuff, will overwhelm me, and I shall go 

 down. In other words, I must get more than 

 the price of sugar, and more than glucose 

 mixtures, to make my living at the business. 

 If I can't get more than the price of sugar I 

 had better quit the business and go to raising 

 beets and make sugar. 



Now, I don't want to find fault with Mr. 

 Aikin or his methods, for it may be the best 

 that he can do in his localitv, as his honey is 

 alfalfa, and candies so quickly ; but granting 

 his plan to be the best in Colorado, it does not 

 follow that it is best in the eastern part of the 

 country, where we have different honeys. 



I want to make an earnest protest against 

 all this talk about classing honey with sugar 

 and other sweets. I never let my customers 

 work any of that heresy on to me. I say to 

 them, " I am not selling you honey for sweet- 

 ening ; it's flavor I'm selling — the aroma of 

 the flowers — and all you pay in excess of the 

 price of sugar you are paying for flavor, just 

 as you do when you buy maple syrup." 



I suppose the advocates of selling in the 

 candied state will claim that it is safer to ship, 

 which I freely admit ; but that does not apply 

 when selling in one's own vicinity. They will 

 claim that it is less work, which I am not so 

 willing to admit. At any rate, the work comes 

 at a time when I am not so busy, which I 

 think will offset the little extra work entailed 

 in sealing it up tight. 



Dr. Miller speaks of gathering up honey 

 from the groceries to remelt ; but if the work 

 was properly done the first time, there will be 

 very little of this to do ; at least that is my 

 experience with clover and basswood honey. 



I have just been to examine my stock that 

 has been taken back, and find there is less 

 than one per cent taken back within a year. 

 The grocers often offer to melt up the small 



