230 



THE AMERICAl^ BEE JOaRNAL. 



The reader may wonder how this can 

 concern tlie bee-keeper. Let us see 

 how it does. The fancy syrups which 

 are now put on the market, look nice, 

 and compare favorably with honey in 

 this respect. And as they can be sold 

 for a low price, they prevent the sale 

 of enormous quantities- of extracted 

 honey. I am satisfied that were it not 

 for the abominable adulteration of 

 these syrups with glucose, the sale of 

 extracted honey would increase to such 

 an extent that the wliole resource of 

 the country would be taxed to supply 

 the market. 



iSIow the question arises, what shall 

 we do to suppress this growing evil '( 

 The first thing to do, is to educate the 

 people to an appreciation of a pure 

 article. It is their ignorance and de- 

 sire to get one hundred and (ifty cents 

 for a dollar, that makes the adultera- 

 tor's work easy, and builds him up a 

 trade that is as large as it is illegiti- 

 mate. This question suggests anotlier. 

 How can we educate tlie people V I 

 know of no better way than for bee- 

 keepers to write short articles for 

 their county papers, and for city 

 papers, showing up the frauds that 

 are being practiced to such an alarm- 

 ing extent. Do not coufine your writ- 

 ings to the honey question, but searcli 

 out and expose every fraud. Remem- 

 ber the object is to excite the indig- 

 nation of the people ; that done, they 

 will act as their own detectives, and 

 search out the genuine, and only be 

 satisQed when they tind it. 



When this re-action comes, the bee- 

 keeper can push his pure extracted 

 honey to the front, and it will take 

 the place of the gold-drop, and silver- 

 drop, and diamond-drop, and all other 

 " drop " syrups, and advance the 

 health of the people, and the interests 

 of bee-culture. Let us all go to work, 

 then, and see what we can accomplish 

 during the present year. 



Colerain, JSIass. 



B"or the American Bee Journal. 



"Wax Comb Gtiides. 



FAYETTE LEE. 



lo produce extracted honey, use 

 wax guides, the same as Mr. Doolittle 

 recommends. I have always used 

 such guides : and, last year, nothing 

 else. In ten days from the time the 

 colony began to work, the hive was 

 full of comb as straight as a board. I 

 have not a crooked comb in my apiary 

 of over 60 colonies. One and one-half 

 pounds of wax will make guides for 

 10 colonies. I do not want comb foun- 

 dation in the brood-chamber. To keep 

 out the drone comb, divide your bees, 

 and give the old queen the old stand 

 and one brood comb, and vou will get 

 nice worker comb. 



To produce comb honey, use comb 

 foundation to fill the sections.to make 

 the bees build comb all of one thick- 

 ness; and to get them to build in all 

 at the same time. When the honey is 

 ripe, they will cap it ; but they will 

 come just as close to the next comb, if 

 it is 1 or 4 inches over. 



I want to produce some comb honey 

 this year ; and I shall use boxes exe^j 



in wide frames, two boxes in a frame, 

 in a half story on top of the brood- 

 chambers. 1 shall try to have all the 

 boxes sealed over, even if I do not get 

 quite as much honey as though they 

 were not. Let us test the comb foun- 

 dation and wax guides, side bv side, 

 and see which is the cheapest. "If we 

 use comb foundation, we want pure 

 wax regardless of its cost. I once 

 used some foundation, and, owing to 

 adulteration, the bees would not 

 touch it. Death to adulteration in 

 every form, is my principle. 

 Cokato, Minn." 



For tbe AmerlcaD Bee Joamal. 



Call Things by their Right Names. 



F. A. MALTBY. 



I see an article from Mr. Wm. P. 

 Clarke, on page 9, criticising" the 

 vocabulary of bee-keeping words and 

 phrases given by the editor of the 

 Bee Journal in No. 48 ; in which he 

 made some errors. In the first place : 



Apiary.—'^ A place where bees are 

 kept." That is true, just as much as 

 a tract of land laid out for farming 

 purposes is a farm ; whether the 

 owner's stock or tools are there or not. 

 A man may have an apiary a mile 

 from home without a single article of 

 apiarian supplies there ; yet it is an 

 apiary. 



Bee Moth. — " A miller which preys 

 upon the combs."' " The bee-moth is 

 an insect whose larvae prey upon the 

 combs." There botli are at fault. 

 They are perfect in two states. AVhile 

 the miller, or what would naturally 

 be called insect, does no harm about 

 the hive, of itself ; yet it lays an egg 

 that develops into -a worm liliat does 

 much harm. So that the first defini- 

 tion would convey erroneous meaning. 



Manipidalion.—" The handling of 

 bees." In criticising this, he stubbed 

 his toe badly. Finding such a word 

 as this, under the head of •' things 

 pertaining to bees." is sufficient with- 

 out " lugging " another long syllable 

 and adding to the five already there. 

 No one would ever suppose it had any 

 reference to handling a horse or 

 shovel. He is also in the same " fix " 

 with "robbing." If it had occurred 

 under the reports,of the penitentiary, 

 it would not express the idea of rob- 

 bing by bees ; but under the head he 

 proposes to place it, its definition as 

 given in No. 48, is sufficient. Tbe 

 shortest and most concise meaning 

 that can be given, is best to avoid all 

 repetitions possible. 



rrof. John Phin made another error 

 of the same stamp as the above in No. 

 •51 ; when he tried to take " strong ex- 

 ceptions ■' to the definition of "worker 

 eggs." To say "drone eggs" or 

 " worker eggs " are the only ways that 

 the two sexes in the egg can "be ex- 

 pressed. It does not express what 

 kind of an insect lays them. It may 

 be the ant, or some other insect. If 

 thekind of eggs are inquired after, we 

 must say they are" bee's eggs," the 

 same as we say " hen's eggs," and that 

 gives an idea who or what produced 

 them. But " egg workers "' does not 

 convey an idea of anything. If we 



speak of " coral workers " or " ivory 

 workers," there is an idea of some- 

 thing being done to those things ; but 

 as eggs are not wrouglit or worked, 

 generally, that expression would be 

 seiLseless. 

 Bethlehem, Conn. 



For the A nierlcan Bee JonmaL 



Overstocking the Location. 



E. J. SCOFIBLD. 



In my opinion, it is not to the inter- 

 est of the man who is making the pro- 

 duction of honey his occupation and 

 support, to encourage others to engage 

 in apiculture, and settle down by his 

 side, thus dividing the field. A major- 

 ity of such will prove a detriment, by 

 producing a few pounds of honey, 

 taking it to market, and selling it for 

 whatever is offered, thereby ruining 

 the market for the specialist. Where 

 is the merchant or tradesman who 

 who would instruct and encourage 

 another of his craft, to come and locate 

 under his nose, to sluire the Held and 

 divide the profits with him "? 



Mr. I'ond, in his article on page 149, 

 alludes to No. 1 as owning a few 

 square rods of land, and No. 2 owning 

 all the surrounding territory. What 

 honey is taken by the bees of No. 1 

 from' the territory of No. 2, certainly 

 leaves No. 2 none the worse off, for if 

 it was not thus gathered by the bees, 

 it would go to waste, or, in other 

 words, "waste its sweetness on tlie 

 desert air." Moreover, No. 2 owning 

 so much territory, should devote his 

 time and attention to farming and 

 stock-raising, and buy his lioney of 

 No. 1 ; and No. 1, in turn, should buy 

 his bread and meat of No. 2, and thus 

 each get along better. 



Any locality can be overstocked ; 

 some much easier than others, es- 

 pecially in poor seasohs. I am always 

 willing to aid and instruct parties in 

 the fraternity, but do not want them 

 to settle under my nose. The world 

 is wide ; there is "room for all ; there 

 are many new fields, as good as the 

 ones already occupied. Fully one- 

 half of those who rush into bee-keep- 

 ing make a complete failure of it, and 

 leave it in disgust, poorer if not wiser. 



Not over one in fifty, take them as 

 they come, will make successful bee- 

 keepers. If I find one, who bids fair 

 to make a success of it, I always en- 

 courage and instruct him all I can. 

 Mr. Pond says he is surprised to see 

 the amount of selfisluiess that is 

 shown by some. I am surprised to 

 see the self-interest manifested by 

 others who may be more interested in 

 some 7!e«) bee publication or supply 

 trade, than the welfare of the honey- 

 producer. 



Hanover, Wis. 



^ The Western Bee-Keepers'^As- 

 sociation will meet at Independence,. 

 Mo.. Thursday, April 24, ISi^l. 



C. M. Ceandall, Sec. 



®°The Western Michigan bee-keep- 

 ers, will hold their spring meeting at 

 Berlin, April 24. F. S. Covey, Sec. 



