340 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 1 



buildings, etc., is devoted to alfalfa. He sold three 

 calves tor S60, and SloO worth of hogs, besides S200 

 worth of honey. Total, f3967. No account has been 

 kept of the money received by Mrs. Boyd from poul- 

 try, eggs, etc.. but the above figures show a pretty 

 good income from 40 acres. 



The foregoing will show what can be done 

 on a 40-acre ranch planted to fruit and bees. 

 The above is only a type of many. There are 

 but few vacant houses in this locality ; no per- 

 sons out of employment ; no tramps, no bed- 

 bugs ; fleas scarce, and general prosperity. 



A bee-keeper in the South writes me : " Is 

 there a chance for more apiaries in your vi- 

 cinity ? ' ' 



Reply. — It is 12 miles from Reedley to Tra- 

 ver. Within that 12 miles are now over 1200 

 colonies of bees. That's about the size of the 

 chance. 



Rather peculiar, Bro. Root, that this young 

 State, and sometimes considered wild and 

 woolly, is ahead of the staid old Ohio in tem- 

 perance work. Here the voters have the pow- 

 er to establish sanitary districts, and that 

 means the exclusion of the saloon. Several 

 districts have been recently formed in this vi- 

 cinity. The following quotation from a local 

 paper will show you the way they do it : 



A noticeable feature of the election was the great 

 number of ladies in attendance. Almost every 

 voter was accompanied by his wife. And the ladies 

 came prepared with all the good things to eat imag- 

 inable Dinner was served free to every one under 

 the big tent which E. S. Philips, the Atla merchant, 

 had furnished them for the occasion, and no one went 

 away hungry. The presence of so many women and 

 children on the grounds gave Atla the appearance 

 more of being a picnic ground than of a voting-place. 



With the heavy vote cast for the formation of sani- 

 tary districts, including the votes of many men who 

 either tipple or are hard drinkers, it proved that those 

 who patronize the retail saloons will vote to down 

 them when given an opportunity. 



Page 219, bees on shares. So far as my ob- 

 servation and experience go in this State, the 

 owner of bees does not allow the party of the 

 second part to have any of the increase. The 

 plan usually followed, and one that seems to 

 be the most satisfactory to all concerned, is 

 for the owner to furnish the bees, hives for in- 

 crease, and receptacles for his share of the 

 hone)^ The party of the second part has half 

 of the honey and wax ; provides receptacles 

 for his portion of the honey, and leaves enough 

 honey in the hives at the close of the season 

 for the sustenance of the bees. As both par- 

 ties are after the most profit possible in the 

 amount of honey, it is for the interest of both 

 parties to prevent swarming as far as possible; 

 and where the extractor is used the swarms 

 are few. The equal division of the products 

 is easily accomplished, and there is seldom 

 disagreement. If Mr. Coney will come over 

 to Reedley, Fresno Co., he can see just how 

 Mr. McCubbiu and I are doing it. 



Central California has a flourishing associa- 

 tion for the marketing of their product. They 

 have started in right, and in line with Arizona 

 and Colorado — no salaried manager and other 

 useless expenses. The sales are made at a 

 minimum expense to the producer. 



From the foregoing Echoes the reader will 

 notice that I am one of those bee-keepers who 

 have migrated to Central California, and have 



just enjoyed an old-fashioned thunder-shower. 

 About an inch of rain fell in half an hour. It 

 is putting in its best licks in this locality to 

 make up for lost time. I hope the same con- 

 ditions of moisture extend to the brethren 

 south of the Tehachapi Mountains. 



^' 



*^^— -^-"■''T <!r:^ ,.-^5:?:=^ *^^%^ «)<*^ 



THE CANDYING OF HONEY. 



Candied Honey Recommended; a Possible Explana- 

 tion of the Fact that One Jar of Honey will 

 Candy, and Another Not, Both from the 

 Same Lot: How to Hasten Granula- 

 tion. 



BY S. T. PETTIT. 



Air. Root : — At the Colorado State Conven- 

 tion, page 117, American Bee Journal^ you 

 say : " Bee-journals have not done their duty 

 in recommending the sale of candied honey." 

 That may be true ; but I blame bee-keepers 

 more thati the journals. I have always advo- 

 cated selling in the candied form, and also ex- 

 hibiting largely in that form. Much good can 

 be done in that line at expositions. I am glad 

 to see the tide rising. Let us talk it up every- 

 where. 



At the same convention Mr. H. Rauchfuss 

 said : " I sold some honey in a can that was 

 poured into jars. One jar remained liquid, 

 and the rest is solid." A quarter of a century 

 ago I had the same experience. The grocer 

 wanted an explanation, and I was troubled. 

 But now I think the explanation not difficult. 

 The specific gravity of dextrose is greater than 

 that of levulose ; hence the former gradually 

 drops below the latter ; and the greener or 

 thinner the honey, the more rapid the process. 

 In filling the jars the thin levulose would first . 

 flow out. In filling, drawing off through a 

 gate, very largely the same thing occurs. 

 Even in well-ripened honey, though to a less 

 degree, the dextrose, in warm weather, gradu- 

 ally moves toward the bottom. Levulose 

 granulates exceedingly slowly, if at all. 



The above facts may serve to explain why 

 one jar poured or drawn from the same con- 

 tainer may remain liquid while the others from 

 the same container granulate readily. All 

 honey should be well ripened by the bees ; 

 and, before being filled into small containers, 

 it should be well stirred and mixed from bot- 

 tom to top ; then the samples will be uniform, 

 and each contain its proper proportion of the 

 ingredients of honey ; neglect in this regard 

 is the cause of much lopsided honey on the 

 markets. 



Then, again, you are reported as saying: 

 "The fact that the honey is solid is absolute 

 evidence that it is pure." May I suggest that 

 that is a dangerous thing to say, for I know 

 you are quite mistaken ; but fearing harm 

 wotild result from giving the process of adul- 



