1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE, 



1049 



position iu the case. Allow me to give my 

 supposition. If such a virgin should go 

 coui'sing through one of my hives in search 

 of the laying que^m I should consider the 

 workers very derelict if they did not prompt- 

 ly seize and imprison her without allowing 

 her the chance of touching the old laying 

 queen. Is it not true that a vii'gin returning 

 from her mating-trip is sometimes roughly 

 handled by her own bees, as testified by her 

 lacerated wings Y Would foreign bees l)e 

 likely to treat her with greater respect? 

 [The' first reference whii-h you give above, 

 you see, relates to a case somewhat similar 

 to that of a mating-queeu returning from a 

 flight — that is to say, conditions iu lioth cases 

 are practically the same. The interloper 

 gets into the hive, not as an introduced vir- 

 gin, but as a virgin ready for flight, acciden- 

 tally, as it were, going into a hive with a lay- 

 ing queen. You must not take too literally 

 the construction of the language. As to the 

 other points, although I may be mistaken. I 

 think you would have occasion to modify 

 your opinions if you were to take a hand in 

 rearing two or three thousand queens. I re- 

 ferred all of these points to our various 

 queen-breeders, and got liack practically the 

 same answer; so I feel sure I am right in my 

 premises, except that no one knows exactly 

 what the yoiing virgin thinks, or exactly 

 what she does, when the hive is closed. I 

 offered the theory to explain why an intro- 

 duced virgin is rejected when an interloper 

 is accepted: and let me say right here that a 

 virgin a day old is a weak and feeble affair: 

 and a laying queen is quite sure to recognize 

 such an "affair" as a rival — dangerous, not 

 for what she is th( ». l)ut for what she may 

 6e.— Ed.] 



A wave of warm humanity 

 Lifts, with its sweet fraternity, 

 Godward, and all is well. 



Santa Rosa, Cal. 



Frederick D. Webley, M. D. 



AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE A FIRE.— II. KISGS 19: 12. 



It is worth all we have suffered to have such a spir- 

 it called out. May we never go back to the old. — Sun 

 Francisco Exam iner. 



What of the niyht. brave captain — 

 What of the night ': Oh tell. 

 If thou dost know, 

 By the tides that flow. 

 That the morn with its ruin dire. 

 And the night with its doom of tire, 

 Have passed, and all is well. 



This of the night, brave comrade. 

 This of the night: The spell 



Of greed, of gold. 



And of self-love old. 

 Dies, and a spirit fraternal 

 Draws with a love eternal — 



God lives, and all is well. 



The hours are pregnant, comrade, 

 When high noon strikes. The swell 



Of the coming tide. 



As the ocean wide 



The above lines were sent me by the au- 

 thor, together with a photo representing the 

 total destruction of Santa Rosa at the time 

 San Francisco was destroyed. Dr. Webley 

 suft'ered the loss of all he had, and yet seems 

 to be in no way depressed by the terrible or- 

 deal to which he has been subjected. Anoth- 

 er friend in California says of that State, 

 "With all thy faults I love thee still;" but 

 he adds laconically, "She won't keep still." 



I make the following extract from the Ag- 

 ricultural (Jazcttc, of New South Wales, Aus- 

 tralia, concerning honey in England. It is 

 so comprehensive in its nature that it can 

 not fail to be of interest to the honey-produc- 

 ers of this country: 



The Acting Agent General for New South Wales, in 

 London, reports that the principal sources of supply 

 for imported honey into the British market are Ja- 

 maica, California, and Chili. The average importa^ 

 tions annually amount to about 1000 tons, of which 

 about 530 tons come from Chili, and the rest in small 

 lots from various sources. A few years back Chili 

 contributed a very much greater proportion of the 

 trade; and in 1901. which was marked by the greatest 

 importation of honey for many years. Chili supplied 

 586 tons of the total of 1.535 tons. Jamaica being next 

 with 4.50 tons. London is the principal distributing 

 center for Great Britain, the bulk of imports being 

 consumed at home, though shipments are also made 

 to all parts of the Continent. The chief characteris- 

 tics necessary to render honey suitable for the British 

 market are flavor, color, and clearness, flavor being 

 the most important. The best honey should be sweet 

 and clean in flavor, and "pale set clear " in appear- 

 ance. 



Amber honey is the next in grade, and brown honey 

 is regarded as inferior. Honey is used in England 

 both for manufacturing purposes and as a table deli- 

 cacy. California is the chief source of supply (outside 

 Great Britain itself) for table honey, and it comes 

 packed in cases, which are considered more suitable 

 for this class of trade. Jamaica honey is chiefly used 

 for manufacturing purposes, and for this branch the 

 most suitable packages are kegs and barrels contain- 

 ing 2 to 3 cwt. each. A certain proportion of Jamaica 

 honey also comes packed in cases for table use. Aus- 

 tralian is used, generally speaking, only for certain 

 manufacturing purposes, on account of the peculiari- 

 ty of flavor. 



The present prices of honey (Jan. 1, 1906) are: Fin- 

 est, 20s. to 25s. ($4.8.5 to $6.00) per cwt.; ordinary, 14s. 

 to 18s. The higher range of prices would be for the 

 finest table honey, and the lower range would repre- 

 sent the price of the ordinary commercial article. 

 These prices are considered moderate, and somewha 

 below the average. Much of the Jamaica honey is 

 sold at 17s. to 18s. per cwt. Australian is regarded by 

 the principal dealers here as being worth 5s. less per 

 cwt. than Jamaica; and under these circumstances 

 there does not appear to be much scope for our honey 

 in Great Britain unless it can be sent over at a cost of 

 not more than 12s. ($2.90) per cwt., including all 

 charges. 



Regarding the prejudice against Australian honey, 

 this feeling is apparently a deep-rooted one, and it is 

 quite possible that it is based o'n the experience of 

 mixed or inferior samples which have reached Eng- 

 land. If some of the excellent " box "' honey produced 

 in many parts of New South Wales could be sent here, 

 the bad impression might be removed. 



HONEY LEMONADE. 



For those who appreciate the taste of hon- 

 ey, and who enjoy cool drinks in hot weath- 

 er, the following may be of intei-est. Pre- 

 pare leiuonade in the usual way, but use 



