THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



537 



secreted only in the night-time, and 

 never in the" day. is all well kn^wn ; 

 and if the sun Comes up liriijht and 

 hot liy in a. in., it isall pme.alisorbed 

 or t'V;\poratfd. Hence. I conclude 

 that lioncy-dewcan he and is produced 

 without tiie aid of insects. 



AVell, you ask, " How is it produced 

 aiul wliere does it come from V" To 

 this (piestion I answer that I believe 

 it to lie produced through atmospheric 

 influences ; and if Prof. Cook will 

 e^plain just how the leaf of a tree or 

 plant grows, what gives it its shape, 

 color, and other characteristics, or 

 wliy one kind of tree contains sweet 

 sap', and anotlier bitter or sour, why 

 one kind of tree produces sweet fruit 

 and anotlier sour — when he does this 

 —then the process of the formation 

 of honey-dew will be easy of solu- 

 tion. 



Honey-dew is formed only upon a 

 hanl, smooth, glazed leaf, such as the 

 poplar, oak, and others of like char- 

 acter, while it is never found nvwn a 

 rough, soft, porous leaf. AVhy V Be- 

 cause the leaf of this kind absorbs it, 

 passes through the twigs into the sap, 

 and gives the sap of such trees its 

 sweet taste,- wbile the smooth, glazed 

 leaf holds it on the surface to be 

 licked up by insects, or evaporated by 

 the rays of the sun. 



I have often heard farmers say that 

 when honey-dew is abundant, that 

 " sugar- water" will be the sweeter; 

 and so it is. It will be found that 

 where there is a superabundance of 

 bloom of all kinds covering the earth 

 or any particular section of country 

 that honey-dew will be more abund- 

 ant, and "in proportion to the quan- 

 tity, the sap of the sugar-tree in the 

 spring will yield more syrup. 



In view of these facts, I am led to 

 believe that honey-dew is produced 

 from the aromatic exhalations of 

 flowers and bloom with which the 

 earth teems in the spring and early 

 summer under certain atmospheric 

 influences and conditions ; and by 

 some unknown process of Nature's 

 mysterious laboratory, is distilled, and 

 settles upon the trees, shrubs and 

 plants, certain kinds retaining it, and 

 others absorbing it. Is not the theory 

 here set forth— in so imperfect a man- 

 ner — more reasonable, and more 

 pleasant to contemplate than to sup- 

 pose that so necessary a product as 

 honey-dew is the work of insigniticant 

 insects V I have some of this stuff. 

 " unworthy the name of honey," 

 mixed with the honey stored in my 

 hives this season, and my customers 

 say it is the best lioney that they have 

 ever eaten. My family have eaten 

 honey this season that they have not 

 relished before. I have no fears of 

 any damaging effects on my colonies 

 for their having in possession honey- 

 dew mixed with other honey. 



Orleans, Ind., Aug. S, 1884. 



[There are many different kinds of 

 sweets called " honey-dew," and if 

 that mentioned by Mr. Kemp is so 

 nice, it is far different from the vile 

 " stuff" which we mentioned as being 

 placed on our desk, and all other 

 samples which we have seen. — Ed.] 



From the Current. 



Song of the Bee. 



KHNKS'r .M'C.VrFKV. 



( )ii wiiifTs that liiiisli the morning- dew, 



1 seiu-c-h \hv nu'iiilows over. 

 And ill iiiv wavwMiil tiijrlit t ili-ink 



Till- Uii-iitli iiii.l liri- of <?lr)vor: 

 The wine 1 .sip is <ii.'\v-distillcd 



For Smmner'.s luisy rovur, 

 111 lU'c-tiU- sweet that dwells within 



The wavinfr Holds of clovei-. 



Tlii-(iii(.'h all the p'dlden days of June 



A thousand knlKhts were scattered. 

 And as they eharycd adown the fields 



A million shields were shattei'ed. 

 A nii'lion shields at elovcr bloom, 



In inendows liiifjlit and sunny. 

 Were sliatlered on their native heath, 



To yiv]d a Jar id' honey. 



And thvongh the wintry days my hoard 



Weaves strange and mystic fancies, 

 Before meirs eyes, in grladsome guise, 



The light of Suiiimer dances; 

 Beneath a cloudless sky they see 



The clover-ttelds and tansy— 

 The siffhing- woods and velvet moss, 



The violet anci pansy. 



The lofty walls of crumbling stone 



Where honc>-snckles quiver, 

 As in the hree/e they nodding- bend— 



Toward the tlowing river — 

 And sprinyiiiij- ^rass, and rustling leaves. 



That weieonie e\ ry comer. 

 As in a dream will tioat along 



And softly whisper— "Sum iner I" 



For the American Bee Journal. 



The ftualities of " Honey-Dew." 



,T. A. BAYAKD. 



Is it really honey or simply a sac- 

 charine matter that exudes from the 

 leaves of the trees V Some persons, I 

 know, attribute the whole thing as 

 the result of aphidae or plant-lice. 

 This I hold to be impossible, as the 

 whole work appears to be done in the 

 night time, and it is found exclusively 

 on the upper surface of the leaves of 

 the trees, and in such quantities that 

 no number of insects could furnish 

 the fabulous supply. 



It is seldom ever noticed except 

 under peculiar conditions of the 

 atmosphere. Just such a drought as 

 we have now passed through, is pro- 

 lific of such results, especially when 

 it occurs so early in the summer. 



About June ij, 1 noticed that my 

 bees were diverted from the clover 

 (which was badly smirched by the 

 drought) to some other source of 

 supply, from early dawn until 10 or 1 1 

 a. m. They worked vigorously and 

 filled up rapidly with basswood and 

 sumac, as I supposed ; but I soon 

 found that the color of the honey was 

 about that of Orleans molasses, and 

 that of the combs when capped, was 

 about that of an old brown hat. 



The question comes up : What shall 

 I do with the honey, as I have in 

 store from 6U0 to .sOO pounds ? I do 

 not like to eat it, do not like to sell it, 

 and of all things would not feed it 

 back to my bees to winter on. 



As the drought affected a large 

 scope of country, there are doubtless 

 hundreds of bee men in the same 

 dilemma as myself. 



If Prof. Cook or Prof. Bnrrell, or 

 both, will give us. through the Bee 

 JouKNAL. the exact qualities of 

 honey-dew, I think it would be grate- 

 fully received. 



Athens, Ohio. 



For the American Bee JoumaL 



Philadelphia Picnic. 



The train which left the depot on 

 July 2(j for (ienuantown, shortly after 

 the dinner hniir. had on board a happy 

 band ot pleasiu'e-seekers. Large 

 baskets pa(-ke<l as full as was possible, 

 were stowed away, hearty tfi'eetings 

 exchanged, and anxious inquiries 

 made lor such membeis as had been 

 overlooked in the general melee. This 

 was the special summer picnic of the 

 Philadelphia F.ee-Keepers'Association 

 bound for the apiary of Vice-President 

 Arthur Todd, of Germantown. 



Arriving at the apiary, Mr. Todd 

 had all he could do to welcome the 

 bee keepers, who suddenly swarmed 

 all around him with a greater buzz 

 than ever soimded in his ears before, 

 even in swarming time. 



The apiary is situated on the slope 

 of the hills rising to great height on 

 either side of the stream, the dwell- 

 ing-liouse standing in the centre 

 closely surrounded by bee-hives on 

 every side, inimbering 80 or 90. The 

 house itself was as much adapted for 

 sight-seeing as the apiary proper ; for 

 here were rooms fitted up respectively, 

 as work-shop, honey-room, and a 

 room where the honey-extractor 

 standing prominently in the centre, 

 and surrounded by tioney-glasses, 

 jars and bottles, uncapping-knives, 

 uncapping-cans, comb-btickets, strain- 

 ers, and stacks of one-pound jars full 

 of honey neatly labeled and ready for 

 the market. In the work-shop were 

 hives and otlier fixtures in various 

 stages of completion, heaps of hives 

 and frames in the flat, cakes of wax 

 and sheets of comb foundation, 

 smokers and bee-veils, section-boxes 

 and other bee-fixtures too numerous 

 to mention. The honey-room con- 

 tained mostly extracted lioney, which 

 was being filled into jars for selling to 

 customers. 



Work was at once begun, veils were 

 brought forth, the ladies tucked under 

 the same witli particular caution, and 

 the members who " did not mind a 

 bee-sting at all." and who regarded a 

 bee-veil as superfluous, alike gath- 

 ered around the colonies. Hive after 

 hive was opened, frames lifted up, 

 the queen pointed out, tlie brood 

 carefuUv looked over, the bees shaken 

 and brushed from the combs of sealed 

 honey, and soon the extractor was 

 whirling out the liquid sweets. All 

 seemed to enjoy themselves highly, 

 everywhere could the happy faces be 

 seen, bending over the hives and 

 viewing their teeming population, 

 and discussing the relative merits 

 and honey-gathering qualities of each 

 colony. 



There were present bee-keepers from 

 the neighboring States of New Jersey 

 and Delaware, and from the adjoin- 

 ing counties in Pennsylvania. As the 

 afternoon advanced, the three-banded 

 Italians, of which Mr. Todd possesses 

 a magnificent strain, were much ad- 

 mired. Uuiing all these manipula- 

 tions not one sting was received by 

 anybody. 



At -5 p. in. the apiary had settled 

 back into its accustomed peaceful 



