224 



GLEANINGS IN BKE CULTURE. 



Mar. 1 



have built an opening to the outer air from the top of 

 the upper bin of sand so there is a draft over the top of 

 sand to the outer air. In time we may get the dust all 

 out. 



There is " nothing to watch but the brake." Step on 

 the elevator; pull rope to valve at bottom of sand-bin. 

 Take off brake. She moves. Go to top floor Pull 

 brake-rope. Step ofT Pull valve rope at b ttora of 

 bucket. Walk around. Step on elevator. Take off 

 brake. Down we go. Fine. F. A. Salisbury. 



Syracuse, N. Y. 



wintp:r losses. 



Please send in postal-card reports of how 

 the bees are wintering' in your locality. It 

 is important to know this, as it will have 

 some bearing on the price of honey. We 

 will give a summary in our next and sub- 

 sequent issues. We fear heavy losses in 

 some localities. In York State heavy loss- 

 es are reported already. Make your re- 

 ports brief — not over three or four sentences 

 — or we can't use them. 



RETAILING CANDIED HONEY FROM SQUARE 

 CANS WITHOUT REMELTING; A VAL- 

 UABLE KINK OF THE TRADE. 



Mr. Jesse Warren, who has charge of 

 our retail-honey department, has developed 

 a plan by which honey that is candied sol- 

 id in square cans may be removed bodily, 

 cut into one-pound bricks, and wrapped in 

 waxed paper just as a grocer wraps up 

 bricks of creamery butter. We have taken 

 some photos; but before I can get these be- 

 fore the public the matter will be somewhat 

 out of season, so I give the essential princi- 

 ples now. His modus operandi is this: 



He takes a can of honey that he knows is 

 candied solid and hard to hold its shape. 

 He then takes a pair of tinner's snips, cuts 

 the tin down the sides, and then pulls it off 

 from the cake of honey. He now takes a 

 piece of iron or steel wire, about No. 20, or 

 a small strong fishline a yard long. To 

 each end of this is secured a wooden han- 

 dle. The cake of solid honey is laid on its 

 side on a board, when he slips the wire un- 

 der the cake, back, say, two inches. He 

 draws it around the cake, crosses the two 

 ends of the wire, grabs the handles, then 

 pulls slowly, when the wire passes easily 

 and nicely right through the whole cake. A 

 paddle or thin-bladed knife is then inserted 

 in the crack where the wire passes, cleav- 

 ing a slab of honey two inches thick, the 

 size of the top of the square can. Another 

 slice is taken off in a like manner. These 

 slabs are then resliced the saine way into 

 one pound bricks. They are next wrapped 

 in paraffine paper. Another paper wrap- 

 ping with suitable label, and directions 

 how to handle, makes a very neat and pret- 

 ty package that costs almost nothing. The 

 only expense is the sacrificing of the can. 

 But this is offset by the saving of the labor 

 of melting the honey to get it out, and then 

 recandying after it is poured into paper 

 baps. 



The wire method of cutting originated 

 with Mr. Warren, so far as I know. It 

 must be remembered that a knife will not 

 cut a solid cake of candied honey. 



While we have used alfalfa honey for 

 cutting up into bricks, we can use some 

 clover. Try it and be convinced. A little 

 later on I will have illustrations showing 

 more exactly the method of procedure. 



As I have before stated, all candied hon- 

 ey should be sold to the local trade, or to 

 the trade that knows jc" personally- After 

 you have once introduced it, it will sell of 

 itself. Paper-bag honey sells without any 

 effort among our employees. Solid alfalfa- 

 honey bricks, put up in the manner I have 

 explained, sells equally well. Try some, 

 then go out among your friends and neigh- 

 bors and see how it will sell. 



Honey in barrels that has candied solid 

 can be treated with a wire, and cut into all 

 shapes and sizes. Loosen the hoops, pull 

 off the staves, then slice the honey with a 

 wire just as you want it. I should, per- 

 haps, explain that, when the wire passes 

 through the honey, the cake will cleave to 

 the larger piece; but a thin-bladed knife or 

 paddle will effect a separation very easily 

 after it is cut with the wire. 



HOW TO nearly double YOUR MONEY. 



I hold in my hand a sample of candied 

 honey the size and shape of a two-inch 

 cube. This was cut with a wire as ex- 

 plained just above. It is wrapped in par- 

 affine paper, and retails for a nickel. It 

 has a very neat and toothsome appearance; 

 and the package — well, it does not cost any 

 thing comparatively. One solid chunk of 

 candied honey, as it comes from a square 

 can, will furnish 160 of these cubes, which, 

 at 5 cents each, will make the entire con- 

 tents net the bee-keeper $8 00, or 13^ cents 

 per lb. for honey costing 6 or 7 cents. The 

 time of cutting up the chunk from a square 

 can, and wrapping, will occupy about three 

 hours. If this is done on a rainy day, or 

 by the children, the expense will be nomi- 

 nal. Try the experiment, and report re- 

 sults. You will find it (the honey, I mean) 

 goes off like hot cakes. 



GOVERNMENT AID FOR APICULTURE. 



We have been aware for some time that 

 the United States Department of Agricul- 

 ture was anxious to do a great deal for the 

 apiarian industry of this country, as, in- 

 deed, we believe it is disposed to do for 

 every branch related to the tilling of the 

 soil; but naturall}', since there are so many 

 great agricultural industries, such as cot- 

 ton, corn, and wheat raising, the stock in- 

 dustry, and all of those matters upon which 

 these depend, such as the development of 

 irrigation, methods in forestr3', and the im- 

 provement of the soil through the use of fer- 

 tilizers, our own branch has, in a great 

 measure, had to be patient for its due rec- 

 ognition. We have also been aware that 

 Mr. Frank Benton, charged at the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture with attention to cor- 

 respondence relating to apiarian matters, 

 has never, during his connection with that 

 Department, allowed to pass unutilized an 



