AUGUST 1, 1914 



595 



"z^'^m-:^! 





merely driving off the 

 excess of water." Then 

 you further remark, in 

 order to point out the 

 mistake the writer re- 

 ferred to has made, 

 that "All chemists 

 know that theie is a 

 decided chemical dif- 

 ference between the 

 sugai' found in the 

 nectar of flowers and 

 that in ripened honey. 

 By the time tlie evap- 

 oration is accomplished 

 by the bees, the inver- 

 sion, as it is technical- 

 ly called, has been 

 bi'ought about." 



As I believe I was 

 one of the first to ad- 

 vance the theory you 

 take objections 1 o, 

 and have not yet seen any authoritative 

 statement refuting it, I still hold that the 

 evaporation of excess moisture constitutes 

 the principal process of ripening honey so 

 far as the care to be exercised by the bee- 

 keeper is concerned, and that this can be 

 done as well outside as within the hive. 

 That there is a chemical change in the sugar 

 or sugars going on during the course of 

 ripening I have no doubt. Chemical analysis 

 has proved this; but you imply that this 

 change (" inversion ") can be brought about 

 only by the bees when honey is ripened 

 within the hive. This appears to be only an 

 assertion on your part. You quote no chem- 

 ical authority in proof of your statement. 

 If proof can be brought that such changes 

 in the sugars (whatever they may be) re- 

 sulting in complete inversion take place in 

 honey ripened outside the hive, then your 

 argument on this point falls to the ground. 



Now, the two samples of honey I sent 

 from our government apiary to Dr. Phillips, 

 which he very kindly had analyzed for me 

 by Dr. Wiley, then Cliief of the Chemical 

 Bureau of your Department of Agriculture, 

 were part of two crops of, honey saved in 

 following years, and saved under the system 

 of ripening outside the hive. In the one 

 case the sucrose content was 0.29 per cent, 

 and in the other, 0.00 per cent, indicating, 

 as Dr. Phillips remarked, " complete inver- 

 sion." He also added : " The water content 

 is very low in both (samples), indicating 

 well-ripened honey. I sent you the full re- 

 port of the analysis some time ago. The 

 above are facts which speak for themselves. 

 There is no speculative assertion of what 

 the bees do or they don't do. We need facts 





Fig. 2. — The milkweed, which is Letoming an important honey-plant in 

 many parts of Michigan. 



in a question of so much importance to tlie 

 beekeeping industry. 



You yourself point to the fact that un- 

 capped honey, which, presumably, the bees 

 had little to do with beyond storing it, can 

 be as "thick (ripe) ancl the flavor equal to 

 the best." You also admit that an " expert 

 may succeed," but you " can not recommend 

 the practice for the average beekeeper under 

 the average conditions." In point of fact 

 you have all along condemned the process, 

 which condemnation, coming from the editor 

 of Gleanings, has, I know, influenced oth- 

 ers. Even in New Zealand I have been told 

 by some who have been influenced without a 

 trial, " Oh ! the editor of Gleanings con- 

 demns riiDening honey outside the hive," and 

 this is sufficient for them. They don't want 

 to try it after that. 



You strongly advocate making all the 

 " short cuts " possible in bee culture ; and 

 yet when a clever and reliable man like the 

 late E. W. Alexander shows a way to get, as 

 he says, " twice the amount (of honey) with 

 much less labor and waste," and which he 

 was practicing himself, you condemn it. 

 You have stated in other places that you are 

 afraid there are some who would not carry 

 the work out properly. Therefore you do 

 not advocate the system, which means that 

 you would keep all beekeepers back to the 

 same level of these people — a very unsound 

 argument. 



Auckland, New Zealand, Nov. 20, '13. 



[Without taking up the question in detail 

 as to whether the chemical change between 

 the nectar of the flowers and well-ripened 

 honey takes place wholly in the honey-sac 



