74 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jax. 15 



catch a car going- at full speed, then walk- 

 ed half a mile and rode in a crowded train. 

 During the whole trip I carried the pound 

 of honey in my hand with no inconvenience 

 whatever. Lastly, I shipped six packages 

 of the liquid honey a distance of two hun- 

 dred miles by express. They were placed 

 in an ordinary basket with a little packing 

 underneath and around the sides, and with 

 a paper tied over the top. There being no 

 caution marks to indicate the contents, the 

 honey was subjected to all the ordinary 

 rough handling by the expressmen. Each 

 package stood the test in good condition. 

 These results have led me to think that 

 the liquid honey might be sold in the oys- 

 ter-pail as well as oysters. 



HOW TO HASTEN THE CANDYING OF HONEY. 



I have not yet satisfied myself as to what 

 will hasten the crystallization or candying 

 of honey. Although it is true that some 

 kinds of honey candy much more readily 

 than others, yet that which affects the can- 

 dying of one kind of hcney would also affect 

 anj' other kind in the same wa3'. It is clear 

 that a very thin layer of honey will candy 

 much more readily than the same amount 

 in a thick layer, which fact would prove 

 that the honey having the greatest amount 

 of surface exposed to the air will candy 

 first. Acting on this theory there are many 

 who believe that stirring hastens candying 

 because it introduces more air in the form 

 of minute bubbles throughout the mass; but 

 in my experiments on a small scale, the 

 bubbles of air have all risen to the top in 

 the form of a scum, and the honey has can- 

 died no more quickly than that which was 

 not stirred. However, since my tests were 

 relatively small it is possible that I have 

 overlooked some important fact. Some have 

 said that a few crystals of candied honey 

 added to the liquid honey will hasten the 

 crystallization of the whole mass, and in my 

 experiments this has seemed to be a fact. 

 Probably it is sufficiently well understood 

 that a man must create a market for can- 

 died honey before he can sell enough to 

 make it pay; but once his market is estab- 

 lished, he need worry but little about keep- 

 ing it up. When people learn to eat honey 

 in the candied state they will demand it in 

 that form and in no other. I think that, in 

 the near future, there will be three great 

 classes of honey instead of two; viz. , comb, ex- 

 tracted, and candied. Perhaps, too, in time 

 bulk comb honey will form a fourth class. 

 At any rate, we should be eager to improve 

 our methods, not only by adopting shorter 

 cuts but by putting our product in the 

 forms that will please the people of all "lo- 

 calities." 



COGGSHALL'S SMOKER FUEL. 



How Prepared. 



BY W. L. COGGSHALL. 



have a farm and some bees and men to 

 look after. More have inquired about smok- 

 er fuel than any thing else of late. Some 

 old phosphate sack (>2 lb.) and a dime's 

 worth of saltpeter is all the fuel I need in 

 an apiary of 100 colonies in one season. 



First lay the sacks out till they get a lit- 

 tle rotten (three months) ; then drive four 

 wire nails thraugh a one- inch strip about 

 ten inches apart. Now nail that to the op- 

 posite side of a work-bench, four nails 

 sticking up. Get a ball or two of cotton 

 twine, not the best. Wind it on a half inch 

 board, 5X20. Wind the short way around, 

 and the whole length. Now nail another 

 one on it, and nail it to the side of the 

 bench. After cutting all those wound 

 strings on the edge of the board you will 



For the benefit of those who have written 

 me and have not received a prompt reply, I 

 will say I hope they will excuse me, as I 



have a quantity of short strings to tie around 

 the sacking after it is rolled up. With an 

 assistant, hook the sack over four nails 

 lengthwise of the sack. Take a half-inch 

 rod and roll up the sack, not too tight, but 

 just right. Your experience will tell you 

 better than I can. Unhook the sack, and, 

 with the strings all cut, tie every four inch- 

 es. After all is tied up, take an ax and let 

 one man hold the rolls while the other chops 

 them off between the strings. Dissolve 2 

 lbs. of saltpeter, just as strong as it can be. 

 Put it in a pan one inch deep. Sprinkle in a 

 little red lead. Now dip one end of those 

 wads into the saltpeter water, then throw 

 them in a pile to dry. The red will tell 

 you which end to light. 



The beauty of it is, you will have a smoke 

 in ten seconds that will do business, and it 

 is light in weight in the smoker— wo sparks, 

 and it will last three to eight hours with 

 light work with bees, and never go out if 

 the material is all right. 



I do not expect to convince the world I am 

 always right, and have the best things of the 

 kind. You who try it will not be saying, 

 "The smoker is out; I wish I had some 

 good smoke. Then I would fix those crazy 

 rascils." But you may have to break the 

 string on the wad if you tie too tight. Do not 



