52 



THE AMEBIC AN APICULTURIST. 



that if honey were thoi'oughly cured 

 it would not granulate. 



In the March number of the Bee- 

 keeper's Magazine the editors say, 

 in referring to this matter, that 

 " the remark of Mr. L. C. Root, 

 that ' honey properly cured will 

 not granulate or candy,' must have 

 been incorrectly reported, as we 

 have seen thousands of pounds of 

 this gentleman's honey, white and 

 nice as a pin, yet all solid as butter 

 or lard. We think few practical 

 beekeepers will indorse such a 

 statement." I desire to say that 

 honey may be properly cured so 

 that it will granulate. It can also 

 be more thoroughl}'^ freed from 

 moisture so that it will not granu- 

 late. The great question of interest 

 is. Must our honey be left in the 

 hives and cured by the bees' and 

 capped over, after which the bee- 

 keeper must uncap it and throw it 

 from the combs with a great amount 

 of labor? or, may it be thrown 

 from the combs as soon as gathered, 

 when it is very easily removed, and 

 the bees are saved the labor of 

 curing and capping it, and the 

 operator saved the labor of uncap- 

 ping? In the latter case the bees 

 can be fully occupied in gathering 

 honej^ oiily- Can the honey be 

 equally well cured after being ex- 

 tracted ? These are questions of 

 very extreme importance. 



I earnestly hope this matter will 

 be fully investigated. The process 

 of evaporating honey will be seen 

 to be so simple that all may test it 

 for themselves. 



Iloncy so evaporated last season, 

 and which was kept in a very cold 



place all winter, is yet in a liquid 

 state not having candied in the 

 least. 



I see no reason why it ma}^ not 

 be kept indefinitely if kept free 

 from moisture. 



MoJiawk, N. Y., June 26, 1883. 



BEES IN POETRY. 

 By S. V. Cole. 



Of the little folk of nature the 

 bees are among the most inter- 

 esting. They shine not only in 

 the field of flowers, but in the field 

 of letters. They supply the hus- 

 bandman with food and the poet 

 with simile and metaphor. This 

 was especially true of the ancient 

 poets. The Muse, in coming hither 

 from the Golden Age of Saturn, 

 started like the linden in Tenny- 

 son's " Amphion," 



With all lier bees behind her. 



If we ask what has made the bees 

 so interesting, we find, among 

 other causes, that the}^ are crea- 

 tures with whom order seems to be 

 the first law. The sluggard may 

 go to the ant for lessons in the arts 

 of perseverance, but his education 

 is not complete until he has gradu- 

 ated from the bee in the science of 

 method, econom3', and the duties 

 of a good citizen. 



A bee makes wise plans and 

 works for the common weal of his 

 nation. And whatsoever ho fiudeth 

 to do he doeth with his might. 

 Even when he uses his sting he 

 puts his whole soul into it ; for he 



