GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



combs from the different yards, involving a 

 risk of bee disease if one yard has foul 

 brood. This does not necessarily follow. 

 The combs of an individual yard can be 

 kept separate with a central outfit for ex- 

 tracting, but it will be necessary to wash 

 out and clean thoroly the extractor and the 

 tools for doing the work for each individual 

 yard. They ought to be cleaned anyway, 

 and hence the risk of bee disease will be no 

 greater in the one case than in the other. 



We have been in quite a number of^^x- 

 tracting-yards where a little outfit was used 

 in eaela yard. Some of the worst robbing 

 fracases we have ever seen was where ex- 

 tracting was carried on in an outyai'd build- 

 ing or under a tent, and where it was prac- 

 tically impossible to screen out robbers. 

 When we consider the further fact that a 

 central outfit will extract ten per cent more 

 honey, the outyard operator can hardly 

 afford to consider the individual outfit. 



Of course, where one has only one apiai'y, 

 and does not expect to make a very large 

 increase, a small hand-power outfit is the 

 only thing that can be or should oe con- 

 sidered. 



Is it Possible to Secure Samples of 

 Honey Each from One Individual 

 Source, without Admixture from 

 Some Other Source? 



A CORRESPONDENT has widtten, saying he 

 would like to secure several samples of 

 clover, basswood, alfalfa, mountain sage, 

 orange, buckwheat, each without the mix- 

 ture of any other honey, for exhibition 

 purposes at this county fair. He wishes to 

 know how many of these he could secure, 

 and how he could vouch for each being free 

 from any other honey. For his benefit and 

 that of others, it may be well to make a 

 general statement. 



Most years, and especially this year, it 

 would be possible to secure a pure clover 

 honey. Indeed, where there is no alsike 

 grown one may be able to get a pure white 

 clover; but as a general thing clover would 

 include alsike and white, with a little of red, 

 perhaps. Some years it is possible to secr^e 

 a pure basswood; but usually it will have a 

 little admixture of clover, because in most 

 localities basswood begins before clover is 

 over. But the aromatic flavor of basswood is 

 so pronounced that if it is two-thirds bass- 

 wood and one-third clover it Avould natural- 

 ly be classed as a basswood honey. Gener- 

 ally speaking, we would say it would be 

 difficult to get a pure basswood without 

 clover; but for educational purposes a 

 sample of honey that is largely basswood 



would answer quite as Avell as one that is 

 basswood only. The same statement might 

 be made concerning buckwheat. The flavor 

 is very jDronounced ; and even if there is an 

 admixture of aster, goldenrod, or clover, if 

 it is two-thirds buckwheat it will be classed 

 as a buckwheat; but we doubt very much if 

 there is any such thing as pure buckwheat 

 honey, as there M'ill probably be something 

 else in bloom either at the beginning or at 

 the close of the buckwheat flow. 



A pure alfalfa honey can be secured in 

 many localities; for when alfalfa is the 

 only source of nectar it can be had in all 

 its purity. The same may be said of moun- 

 tain sage up in the mountains, because 

 nothing else may be in bloom at the time, 

 altho there may be alfalfa in the valleys, 

 and orange in the groves. Mountain sage, 

 while largely such, may contain some orange 

 and perhaps a little alfalfa. 



There are some seasons and some locali- 

 ties where pure orange honey can be pro- 

 duced. Last year Prof. Baldwin, at De 

 Land, Fla., produced an orange honey that 

 was as nearly pure as it is possible to se- 

 cure, and it was indeed a beautiful honey. 

 But usually orange will have a little of 

 palmetto, and perhaps a little gallberry. 

 Orange in California will have both alfalfa 

 and perhaps a little mountain sage, altho 

 there are seasons and localities in Califor- 

 nia when the pure article can be produced. 



When i( com.es to the fall honeys, they 

 are generally mixtures of everything. In 

 our locality the asters and goldenrods will 

 have a little buckwheat, and perhaps a little 

 second crop of red clover. There are some 

 localities in the western states where pure 

 heartsease may be secured; but heartsease 

 will generally have a little aster and golden- 

 rod mixed with it. 



For general trade purposes we would say 

 that a honey that is two-thirds basswood, 

 two-thirds sage, two-thirds orange, two- 

 thirds alfalfa, could be sold under the name 

 of the two-thirds source. For example, a 

 basswood that was made up of one-third of 

 other honey could be sold as basswood, be- 

 cause it is very difficult to get basswood that 

 does not have at least some other source. 

 Whether it would be safe to bottle honey 

 and label it as a basswood under the federal 

 law we do not know. Generally it is wiser 

 to err on the safe side, and call the honey 

 somebody's brand of pure extracted, not 

 naming the exact source. As a rule it is 

 not possible to secure, year in and year out, 

 any one flavor; and large bottlers are in the 

 habit of making up a blend of several pure 

 honeys and keeping that blend entirely uni- 

 form fi'om 3-car to year. 



