36 



GLEANINGS IN BF:E CULTURE 



Jaxuary, 1920 



HEADS OF GRMNl QmlQ fl DIFFERENT FIEPSS 



pliances, under the direction of the society. 



There was a large display of bees in ob- 

 servatory hives, comb and extracted honey, 

 beeswax, cakes, cookies and doughnuts 

 made with honey, berries and fruits preserv- 

 ed with honey, jams, jellies, and marmalades 

 made with honey, and a good display of api- 

 ary apj)liances. Our hustling secretary was 

 on the job each day with a committee to 

 answer questions, talk honey, and hand out 

 samples of honey. At different periods we 

 would demonstrate how the combs were un- 

 capped and the honey thrown from the 

 combs with the extractor, the combs being 

 displayed before and after extracting. At 

 the same time we would explain the differ- 

 ence between comb and extracted honey, 

 and also the difference between extracted 

 and strained honey. 



The samples of honey were handed out 

 by placing small round crackers on a small 

 platter and about a half teaspoonful of 

 honey deposited on each cracker, which 

 made a very suitable and delicious sample. 

 It w^as very rarely that a drop of honey was 

 lost from the cracker. As fast as the sam- 

 ples were handed out we uncapped and ex- 

 tracted a new supply. One of the committee 

 was talking honey all the time, and we al- 

 ways had a good audience. During the four 

 days of the fair we handed out about 150 

 pounds of honev as samples, and on one day 

 about 2,000 of i)r. Miller's leaflets on "Food 

 Value of Honey. ' ' 



We did not go to the fair to sell honey, as 

 this season 's croj) of honey in this county 

 is nearly exhausted. We went to advertise 

 honey, educate the public in the more gen- 

 eral use of honey, create a demand, and es- 

 tablish a fair price for our product, and to 

 improve our knowledge of beekeeping by 

 exchanging ideas, so as to raise more and 

 better honey by scientific management. 



While this is a county fair it was surpris- 

 ing how many were present from othpr 

 States, and how much interest was displayed 

 in our exhibit and talks on honey and its 

 uses. It was also surprising how few ever 

 heard of extracted honey or knew how it 

 was produced. We feel that we have given 

 honey a boost and have done some good 

 advertising, that will be of great benefit in 

 helping the sale of honev in this localitv. 



Norwich, N. Y. " T. R. Gordeii. 



ao^ W= 



Propolis Makes Wliether or not propo- 



Grood Floor Paint. lis has any commercial 



value (I have seen the 

 statement made that it has not), I have 

 found that it makes a very satisfactory 

 stain and wax for floors. After being charg 

 ed by a painter several dollars for putting 

 a coat of stain and then a coat of prepared 

 wax or varnish on my hall floor I decideil 

 to try propolis on two other floors. I had 



for several years kept a box in my work- 

 room into which I had put the scrapings 

 from frames and sections until there was 

 an accumulation of several pounds. So I 

 put a lot of it into a large bottle and added 

 denatured alcohol and some turpentine, let- 

 ting it stand until the propolis was dissolv- 

 ed. I then painted the floors with it, using 

 more alcohol to thin it to the desired con- 

 sistency to spread jiroperly. One coat gave 

 as good color and surface as the two coats 

 on the hall floor; and the only cost for the 

 two rooms was about sixty cents for the al- 

 cohol, as I did the work myself. The propolis 

 gives the floor a tough waxy surface that 

 does not break nor show scratches as var- 

 nish would. As the painter claimed that 

 the cost of the material he used represented 

 the largest part of the charge for what he 

 did on my hall floor, I am satisfied that 

 propolis has a value whether it is commer- 

 cial or not. 



As the gum from the sweet-gum tree seems 

 to be the principal ingredient of the propo- 

 lis gathered by my bees, the odor from it is 

 very agreeable. I decided, after the first 

 trial, that it would be better, on account of 

 the odor, to use only alcohol and omit the 

 turpentine, as the latter has a very strong 

 odor that requires some time to dissipate. 



Since some of the scrapings had consider- 

 able wax, I decided to separate the wax 

 from part of the propolis used, which I did 

 by putting it into a pan on the stove with 

 an inch or more of water in the pan. When 

 all was melted, the wax was on top with the 

 propolis underneath. Letting it stand until 

 cold, the wax was taken off in a separate 

 cake and the propolis was in a separate nuiss 

 of hard guni. It was then pounded up and 

 added to the first lot in the bottle. Whether 

 I sliould have left the wax in or not I shall 

 know from the test of use later on. 



Sumter, S. C. N. G. Osteen. 



Cc 



.Of: 



Bees in the 

 Southland. 



The present year 1 

 started with four colo- 

 nies and increased to 

 lo by natural swarming. The 113 colonies 

 produced 750 pounds of honey which sold 



A Texas siiowbnl 



