20 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



January 



•'honey in cans is presupposed to be 

 out of the comb," according to some of 

 our Texas brethren no insignificant 

 quantity of honey in the comb is now 

 marketed in cans, and a wonderful 

 degree of popuhirity is anticipated for 

 this "bulk honey" in cans. 



Under existing conditions, we think 

 the word "extracted" should not con- 

 stitute a part of the leading line of a 

 display label. "Pure Honey,'' or "Ab'- 

 solutely Pure Honey,'' should be given 

 the greater prominence, and some 

 brief explanation accompany the "ex- 

 tracted" part thereof. In this connec- 

 tion we would state that the Southern 

 Drug Journal now uses the word "ex- 

 tracted" in its list of prices, instead 

 of "strained.'' honey, as formerly. This 

 is a result of our recent response to 

 the Journal's request for information 

 as to the difference in strained and 

 ■extracted honey. The following clip- 

 ping is from the December number: 



"'IS HONEY STRAINED OR EX- 

 TRACTED?" 

 "In reply to this question propounded 

 in the Journal for October, page 147, 

 the American Bee-Keeper for Novem- 

 ber says, in effect, "Both." The moss- 

 "backs and fogies in the business strain 

 their honey, but the up-to-date apicul- 

 turist extracts his in a centrifugal ma- 

 chine which does not destroy the comb 

 (which may be used over and over 

 again), and does not crush cocoons, 

 pollen, dead bees and other foreign 

 matter in such a way as to deteriorate 

 the finished product. 



"Mrs. Sarah A. Smith, of Grant, 

 Fla., writes us as follows: 



" 'I see by the American Bee-Keeper 

 for this month, that you can not see 

 the difference between strained and 

 •extracted honc.v. I am sure of the tAvo 

 were placed l)efore you, you would 

 soon see. The old idea that honey 

 made people sick, was caused b.v eat- 

 ing this strained hone.v with pollen and 

 bee larvae and other things which 

 should not be tliere. A dentist ex- 

 tracts teeth and we pull out the honey 

 with the help of an extractor, from the 

 •combs.' 



*' 'Strained hone.v' in our price list 

 -started the discussion. We have made 

 the change." 



Thus it will be se<»n how much good 

 may be accomplished by a slight ef- 

 fort along educational lines. But some 



effort is necessar.v. The public is will- 

 ing to learn, if a teacher be provided. 

 We see no reason why everyone may 

 not become quite as familiar with and 

 understand as fully the significance 

 of "Extracted Honey" as they now 

 do, "Boston Baked Beans." However, 

 this joiu-nal has been accused of be- 

 lieving that bee-keepers know better 

 than anyone else what they want, and 

 if they want the word "extracted," in 

 connection w'th market packages, rel- 

 egated to the background, or entirely 

 expunged, let's hear from the bee-keep- 

 ers. We are with them always for that 

 which gives promise of advancing fra- 

 ternal interests. 



BEEDOM AT HOME AND ABROAD. 



In its issue for October El Ck)lmen- 

 ero Espanol (The Spanish Bee-Keep- 

 er), simimarizes "The General State of 

 Apiculture," briefly reviewing the sit- 

 uation in the ITnited States. Ghili, 

 Cuba, Santo Domingo, Argentine Re- 

 public, Uruguay, Mexico, Germany, 

 Austria, Russia. Belgium, Switzerland, 

 England, France and Spain. 



Such a compendium of apiarian in- 

 formation, if reliable, would be of the 

 greatest interest, and we doubt not 

 tliat, for the greater part, this compi- 

 lation is quite so. However, after 

 paying a very high compliment to 

 American bee-keepers, and to the 

 American peoi)le. our esteemed eon- 

 temi)orar,v gives some statistical infor- 

 mation relative to the apiarian situ- 

 ation in the United States which is, 

 obviously, based upon rumor rather 

 than actual facts, wherein it is stated 

 that Mr. A. I. Root employes 700 

 workmen, and that Capt. Hethering- 

 toii's 7.00O colonies of bees yiekl an- 

 nually from fifty to sixty thousand 

 dollars worth of honey. 



(rerniany is credited with having 

 two million colonies in movable-comb 

 hives, and given first place among 

 Euro)teiui countries, in apiarian im- 

 portance. The annual production of 

 honey is given as 20,000 tons, which 

 is of fine <iuaiity and very white. 

 France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria 

 and England all come in for ver.v flaf- 

 tering notices, apiculturally. 



Altogether, the epitome is a most 

 interesting one. and bears evidence 

 of commendable enterprise upon the 

 part of the Colmenera. 



