THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



569 



It is also curious that so many con- 

 •thide tliat the deposition of lioney- 

 dew only takes plaee at iiislit, a state- 

 ment as' much at vaiiance with truth 

 as the opinion that stars exist in the 

 heavens only after the sun goes down, 

 and much easier proved to be false. 

 The fact is, in most cases the exuda- 

 tion is commonly greatest in day time, 

 but more rapidiv dries. The only rea- 

 son in the world that the substance is 

 seen on the upper sides of leaves 

 rather than the lower, is that it falls 

 from above. A piece of .glass or a 

 painted board put in the situation of 

 the smeared leaves, will soon be 

 found similarly spotted with the ad- 

 hesive, colorless material. With us 

 just now there is upon the leaves of 

 our soft maple trees multitudes of. a 

 peculiar louse, and from the latter 

 there is enough sweetish tluid exuded 

 to conspicuously wet the sidewalks 

 luider the trees. 



If we inquire why the little insects 

 produce the sweet substance, an in- 

 teresting study is opened. It must be 

 understood that the material is not 

 excrement. The elaboration is the 

 work of two special glands which 

 open through variously shaped ex- 

 ternal appendages, usually directed 

 backward, and situated one on each 

 side, near the hinder extremity of the 

 abdomen. The insects are provided 

 with sharply-pointed sucking organs 

 projecting from the mouth, by the aid 

 of which they all live upon the juices 

 of plants. A portion of this plant- 

 sap is, after absorption from the ali- 

 mentary canal, converted into honey- 

 dew and deposited at the will of the 

 insect, often collecting at the ex- 

 tremity of the opening in little 

 spherical drops which fall one after 

 another as it slowly issues. One 

 would at tjrst say that it must thus 

 be an expense to the internal economy 

 of the little creatures without coni- 

 pensating l)enefit. It is simply elab- 

 orated and [loured out. After more 

 i;areful study, however, it will be 

 ascertained that there is at least one 

 useful purpose subserved. It secures 

 the good-will and attention of friends 

 who act as guards against enemies. 



It is well-known that ants are ex- 

 tremely fond of sweet substances, 

 and honey-dew forms no exception in 

 their bill of fare. For it they ascend 

 trees in great numbers, and caress in 

 a most remarkable manner the honey- 

 dew producers. In response to their 

 petting, it is easy to observe the drop- 

 lets exude which the ants sip with 

 apparently great satisfaction. 



Plant-lice have many Insect ene- 

 mies, but so long as the ants are in 

 attendance, they are safe. Tlie ac- 

 tive, well-mailed, sharp-jawed crea- 

 tures make excellent police. They 

 are ever alert. They never accept a 

 fee from the enemy ; thev never bar- 

 gain for a share in the plunder. 

 Honey -dew seems specially provided 

 for ants. 



Now, as to the question of quality 

 as honey when collected by bees, 

 there may still be differences of opin- 

 ion among men, even after the source 

 and method of production is under- 

 stood. Xo doubt, however, most peo- 

 ple will prefer to have that gathered 



from flowers without admixture with 

 the plant-louse jnoduct. It may be, 

 to bo sure, that dillerent lice elaborate 

 different grades of liouey-dew, but 

 the best may not be considered good 

 enougli for" honiB use, whatever the 

 conscience dictates in regard to the 

 market. 

 Illinois Industrial University. 



For the American Bee JuumaL 



Honey Show-Case. 



A. H. DUTTOX. 



From all quarters the honey crop in 

 this section is reported as good. My 

 brother-in-law, G. A. Deadman, who 

 is one of the largest honey-producers 

 in the county of Huron, began the 

 season with .53 colonies, and up to 

 date has increased them to 130, and 

 has taken surplus honey, chiefly in 

 the extracted form, to the amount of 

 about .5,000 pounds. The crop is 

 principally from the white clover 

 and raspberry, and it is of superior 

 quality. The bass wood, of which we 

 have a considerable quantity, is prov- 

 ing almost a failure this season, on 

 account of the scarcity of bloom and 

 other causes, presumably, as the re- 

 mote cause, on account of the very 

 heavy bloom of last year, which was 

 one of the most remarkable basswood 

 honey seasons we have had for years 

 past. 



The bees kept by Mr. Deadman and 

 myself are the Heddon hybrids, Ger- 

 mans and Italians, and have given us 

 returns and consequent satisfaction 

 in the consecutive order in which 

 they are mentioned. We also have 

 several colonies of Syrians, but have 

 not sulHciently tested them to be able 

 to report definitely. The distinct and 

 well-established strains or breeds of 

 poultry, canary birds, dogs, cats, etc., 

 have been produced by the crossing of 

 two varieties, and then perseveringly 

 breeding to a pattern ; and why will 

 the rule not hold good in the case of 

 bees also ? Are they a solitary ex- 

 ception tp laws and conditions which 

 dominate over all the rest of animal 

 life merely possessed of greater mag- 

 nitude of body, and which under 

 human intelligence, within certain 

 limits, " is as clav in the hands of the 

 potter V 



We have found that it pays every 

 time, when running for extracted 

 honey, to wait until the frame is about 

 one-half sealed before extracting. 

 The supply of wax and splendid 

 quality of honey thus obtained more 

 than repays for any slight increase 

 wliidi may be obtained by taking the 

 honey unripened and then evaporat- 

 ing. Honey, properly ripened before 

 extracting, possesses a beautiful, 

 crystalline, refractive appearance,and 

 is so thick as to pile high up when 

 poured from one vessel into another. 

 Smooth and oily to the taste, and 

 causing no irritation to the throat in 

 swallowing, and having all the rich- 

 ness of flavor »f the honey sealed in 

 the combs of the sections, and if it 

 candies at all, after being properly 

 bottled, it will be tlie last to do so. 



The solar wax extractor, as made 

 bv Mr. O. O. Poppleton, is a success. 



and an article which should be found 

 in every well-appointed apiary. Aside 

 from its furnishing tlie wax of tlie 

 cappings, melted down and partially 

 clarified by the wire strainer through 

 which it drops, thus leaving it in the 

 very best condition for subsequent 

 clarifying, it saves honey alone sufii- 

 cient to pay for itself twice over in 

 the course of a fair, average season, 

 when working principally for ex- 

 tracted, with, say -50 colonies, spring 

 count. 



We suppose that hundreds of private 

 bee-keepers all over the laud, with 

 their 10, 20 or -50 colonies, and bles.sed 

 with abundant surplus stores there- 

 from, are desirous of knowing the 

 ways and means of disposing of the 

 same to the greatest advantage ; and 

 to such would we say, " Work up a 

 local market." For two reasons it 

 pays the best : 1. Much better prices 

 are obtained. 2. Shipping expenses 

 are saved. To make for yourself a 

 remunerative and permanent market, 

 proceed as follows : Obtain from the 

 Editor of the Bee Journal 1,000 or 

 1.500 of the Leaflets entitled, " Why 

 Eat Honey,'" which, when purchased 

 in even less (luantity, will be furnished 

 with your address printed on each ; 

 mail one of these with an accompany- 

 ing note stating who has your honey 

 for sale, to the lady of every house- 

 hold in tlie village or town where you 

 live, and throughout the surrounding 

 country as well. Before doing this, 

 however, make an arrangement with 

 as many grocery and confectionery 

 shop-keepers as possible to handle 

 your honey ; and if you can persuade 

 them to do so, to handle it exclusively. 

 Engage on yo\ir part to keep them 

 constantly supplied with all kinds in 

 good shape, of the best quality, and in 

 every grade absolute purity guar- 

 anteed. Promise to leave the first 

 consignments on commission, or until 

 a fair trade has become established, 

 and as a further inducement, supply 

 each one who is likely to have a good 

 scale for it, with a combined show- 

 case and stand of the following or 

 some similar design : 



Let it be borne in miiui (I am 

 speaking from constant experience) 

 that in 5 cases out of 0. customers for 

 honey are captivated by its appeak- 

 ANCE in the store of the retailer. 

 Then let that appearance be as capti- 

 vating as ingenuity can possibly make 

 it. Let the word " honey " on the 

 labels, be in large, black, block type, 

 but not so large as to extend entirely 

 around tlie bottle, but to lie easily 



