1911 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



ers' associations, and other similar agencies is be- 

 ing urged. 



In view of the fact that these diseases are so 

 widespread, every person interested in bee-keeping 

 should find out as soon as possible how to recognize 

 and treat these maladies, and be on the lookout for 

 them. A publication containing a discussion of 

 the nature of these diseases and their treatment 

 will be sent on request to the Department of Agri- 

 culture. 



Washington. D. C, Dec. 6, 1910. 



The facts here given will be very interest- 

 ing and valuable. Our Uncle Sam is doing 

 bee-keepers a great service by the energetic 

 way into which he is going into this. 



NOMENCLATUEE OF HONEY; SHALL WE 

 "STAND pat" on "EXTRACTED"? 



There has never been any question in re- 

 gard to the terms "comb honey" or "can- 

 died honey;" and "bulk comb honey" 

 seems to find favor with more bee-keepers 

 than the less dignified and less accurate 

 term, "chunk honey." But "extracted 

 honey," as used to designate honey throwTi 

 out of the combs, has been open to criti- 

 cism. Not a few bee-keepers, perhaps, in an 

 effort to shorten terms, speak of "extract " 

 honey, and we have even seen it on quite a 

 number of letter-heads. This is bad policy 

 in more ways than one, for it is suggestive 

 of an article that contains some honey, pos- 

 sibly, but that is more in the nature of an 

 extract — honey extract, etc. But, is the 

 term "extracted honey " very much better? 



Remembering that in the American Bee 

 Journal, a number of years ago, this same 

 question was discussed quite freely, we turn- 

 ed back and found in the year 1887 a large 

 number of suggested terms, all of which 

 were advanced by the various correspon- 

 dents as being more suitable than the term 

 "extracted." We give herewith a list of 

 the adjectives that were suggested, some of 

 which would be more appropriate for a fun- 

 ny paper than a bee-journal. Here is the 

 list: 



Combless, slung, uncombed, divorced, 

 separated, centrifugal, free, squeezed, nec- 

 tar, divided, clear, excomb, liquid, fluid, 

 drained, expelled, extricated, extruded, 

 strained, emitted, evolved, thrown, thrash- 

 ed, rendered, bulk, loose, discharged, ex- 

 comated, and selected. The number of com- 

 munications on the subject, even at the 

 start, almost overwhelmed the editor, Mr. 

 Thos. G. Newman, and he suggested, after 

 using two or three, that perhaps nothing 

 would be gained by changing the term, and 

 that the space might better be used in 

 another way. The volley of letters did not 

 cease, however, and so a little later Mr. 

 Newman emphatically stated that he could 

 not take space in the journal to prolong the 

 discussion. We can imagine his dismay in 

 finding that it was impossible to keep it 

 down; for almost every issue from then on 

 toward the close of the year contained one 

 or more articles, each in all seriousness 

 sounding the praises of one of the terms 

 given in the list above. Quite a good many 

 felt that the term "extracted" was good 

 enough, and another class insisted that ex- 



tracted honey should be known simply as 

 "honey." In desi^eration the editor kept 

 trying to call off the fight, saying that the 

 matter should be dropped until it could be 

 submitted to the National Convention in 

 the fall, but his pleading apparently had no 

 effect. We assume that the Convention, 

 after considering all the terms, decided ei- 

 ther that "extracted " was the best, or else 

 that it had become so firmly fixed as to be 

 impossible of change. 



One of our subscribers recently suggested 

 the terms "separated" and "separator," 

 and these really appeal to us much more 

 than "extracted" and "extractor." We 

 give herewith his letter in full: 



At home here we have fallen more or less into the 

 habit of saying "separated " honey, and calling the 

 extractor the " separator." The suggestion is offer- 

 ed for what it may be worth. The cream-separator 

 is almost universally known and understood, and 

 there is no prejudice against it. Centrifugal force 

 does the work in each case, and the honey is just as 

 truly Separated from the wax as the cream is sep- 

 arated from the milk. 



P. W. Richards. 



Mast Yard, N. M., Nov. 19, 1910. 



We find that on page 476, American Bee 

 Journal for 1887, Mr. T. Pierson suggested 

 the same words and gave the same reasons 

 for their use. Also, a little later in the 

 year, another correspondent suggested these 

 terms. We do not know that a change 

 could be made, and we are not even sure 

 that it would be advif^able, although of one 

 thing we are certain: However well fixed 

 the term "extracted honey " is among bee- 

 keepers, the average consumer of honey is 

 unfamiliar with it-^the less dignified term, 

 "strained honey," being more popular, be- 

 cause it is really more used by the buyers 

 of honey. Even in the advertisements of that 

 glucose product Karo Corn Syrup, this "as- 

 good-as " phrase appears: " Clear as s^rom- 

 ecZ honey." 



All this goes to show, we think, that, to 

 the average person, "extracted honey" 

 means little or nothing. As a suggestion, 

 would it pay all producers and dealers to 

 have printed on their labels the following: 

 "Pure extracted honey: (Honey thrown 

 from the comls by centrifugal force)"? 

 We realize that this might not find favor 

 with perhaps a majority of producers, and 

 it is very possible that our suggestion is not 

 a wise one. However, of this much we are 

 sure: In spite of all that has appeared in 

 bee-journais during the last thirty years, 

 say, comparatively nothing has gone out 

 before the consumer s of honey, to indicate 

 that extracted honey means the same hon- 

 ey as that in the comb, the only difference 

 being that it is separated from the comb. 

 Some effort ought to be made to disabuse 

 from the popular mind the implication that 

 "extracted honey" means an "extract" of 

 honey. This is not a point that is vital 

 when the question of selling one individ- 

 ual's honey is considered, for the one indi- 

 vidual may have no trouble with his par- 

 ticular class of educated customers; it is a 

 point that concerns the whole bee-keeping 

 fraternity. 



