THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



763 



Kor the American Bee JoumoL 



Origin of Honey-Dew. 



J. yi. luCKs.^ 



No subject brought before bee- keep- 

 ers has ever elicited more different 

 opinions and reports than the subject 

 ot honey-dew; but this matter, like 

 many others, has been so thoroughly 

 ventilated, that it is not difficult for 

 one who has heard and read every 

 side to decide which is right. AVe see 

 that some contend that honey-dew 

 falls from the atmosijhere on leaves 

 of trees and plants, just as common 

 dew. This idea, however, had to be 

 abandoned, from the fact that some- 

 times honey-dew is found only on one 

 kind of tree, such as hickory, oak and 

 linden. Occasionally it is found only 

 on the buds of one species of trees. I 

 have, on more than one occasion, seen 

 it in certain localities confined to the 

 dry leaves of the beech only, and at 

 other times I have noticed it only on 

 the hickory, or some other special 

 class of timber, such as papaw. 



It is plain then, that the so-called 

 honey-dew was no dew at all, for if it 

 had come from the atmosphere it 

 would have been found on all kinds 

 of trees at the same time. It has also 

 been stated by many that honey-dew 

 is a seci'etion from aphida' or other 

 insects; but none of the experiments 

 related, prove conclusively that such 

 was the case. It is true that in sev- 

 eral instances, aphidse, or plant-lice, 

 were foiuid under the leaves which 

 secreted honey-dew, but in most cases 

 no insects were found. I have, at 

 various times, investigated this sub- 

 ject which seems to puzzle so many, 

 and having found some honey-dew on 

 the leaves of oaks, as well as hickory, 

 I hunted for aphidce, and found some 

 on the under-side of several leaves ; 

 but after further research, I found 

 leaves which had aphidre and no dew. 



Another fact worthy of notice is, 

 that the dew is always found on the 

 upper-side of the leaf, and the aphidfe 

 on the under-side. The most rational 

 theory, to my mind, in this matter is 

 that which asserts that the honey- 

 dew is an exudation from the leaves 

 of the trees, caused by a certain state 

 of temperature. This would account 

 for the honey-dew appearing only on 

 one kind of tree at times. A strong 

 evidence in .favor of this theory is to 

 be found in the fact that honey-dew 

 only takes place during changes of 

 temperature, before or aftef storms. 

 It appears that honey- dew can be 

 found on many kinds of trees (as all 

 who lay any claim to knowing any- 

 thing about it, will not deny) and 

 plants, at times, but most generally 

 on hickory, oak, linden, beech and 

 willow, and often on the tulip or pop- 

 lar trees. 



The honey harvested from honey- 

 dew is generally of poor quality and 

 of dark color. I well remember the 

 honey-dew of 1S71 in Madison county, 

 Ind., how abundant it was, and the 

 bees seemed to eagerly work while the 

 harvest lasted, which was truly 

 bountiful, and yet it was of a dark as 

 well as a poor class of honey. It is 



also true that during the winter fol- 

 lowing, many of the bees were very 

 much affected with disease, and the 

 mortality was great ; many thousands 

 having perished, causing much loss to 

 bee-keepers, and at the same time 

 most or neiirly all the depopulated 

 hives were lilled with honey, showing 

 conclusively that honey-dew is not of 

 the best class, nor to be relied upon 

 for wintering purposes. 

 Battle Ground, Ind. 



Indiana Farmer. 



The Best Frame for all Purposes. 



T. .T. COOK.O, 



As there is a demand for opinions 

 in regard to which frame is the best, 

 I will give my reasons for adopting 

 the standard Langstroth frame. 

 When in the spring of 1881 I found 

 myself beeless, I made the subject of 

 frames a special study for more than 

 six monihs. I considered the experi- 

 ments of Mr. Langstroth and others, 

 and from their experiments they de- 

 cided that for practical success a 

 frame should be longer than deep,also 

 for convenience both for the bees and 

 for the manipulator. 



In regard to wintering, the Lang- 

 stroth frame has stood the test ; for 

 while bees died on the Langstroth 

 frames, they were also dying on all 

 other frames and box-hives too, and 

 if there are any odds, they are in 

 favor of the Langstroth frame. The 

 Langstroth being a standard frame, 

 the fixtures pertaining to it are also 

 standard, thus avoiding a complicated 

 lot of hives and apiary fixtures, which 

 are an abomination to successful bee- 

 culture. 



The satisfaction of having inter- 

 changeabte goods is quite an item. It 

 embraces about all the good qualities 

 required of a frame, from comb honey 

 to queen-rearing, and avoids many 

 bad qualities found in many other 

 frames. Hives can be piled up four 

 stories high in the same space where 

 frames 12 inches deep are only three 

 stories high. Side storing can be 

 accomplished nearly or quite as well 

 with them as with deeper frames, but 

 as bees have a natural instinct to 

 store the surplus above tlie brood- 

 chamber, it is only in exceptional 

 cases where side storing is a success. 



In point of manipulation the shal- 

 low frame is best. The Langstroth 

 frame is very easy to handle. I do 

 not remember ever hearing of its 

 being discarded where a practical 

 trial had been given it. 



Now there is a belief among a cer- 

 tain class that if bees have the right 

 kind of a hive, they will thrive better 

 and store more honey, but that is 

 superstition. It is as the editor of 

 the Farmer says : " The particular 

 style of hive is but part of the subject 

 to be understood. Much more de- 

 pends on the individual than on the 

 exact shape of the frame to be used." 

 I will add that the movable-comb idea 

 is for the convenience of the bee- 

 keeper in handling the combs, and 

 for those who will never handle 

 the combs, a box-hive is as good as the 

 best hive made. 



Having used the Langstroth frame, 

 I will say that I am satisfied, and will 

 not change for any other style. I 

 trusted to the experience of promi- 

 nent veterans, and find I have made 

 no mistake in doing so. 



Decatur, Ind. 



For the American Bee JournaL 



Introducing Queens. 



J. E. POND, JK.O+ 



I fully believe that a colony of bees 

 will accept a queen at once if offered 

 them at the entrance of the hive 

 within 24 hours after the old one is 

 removed. I believe also that if such 

 queen is not so offered them within 24 

 hours, that some days must elapse 

 before it will be accepted. My ex- 

 periments during the last season have 

 been on a scale sufficiently large to 

 warrant me in that belief, and I think 

 that the theory which I offer in re- 

 gard to the matter is correct. 



In the first instance, it follows from 

 the fact that queens often leave the 

 hive and return again. Now, if a 

 new queen is offered in a natural way 

 (viz : at the entrance of the hive), be- 

 fore the old one is missed, and before 

 queen-cells have been begun, they 

 will accept her, not knowing the dif- 

 ference, and, perhaps, not having 

 realized their loss. If, on the other 

 hand, more than 24 hours elapse, they 

 have missed the old queen and have 

 started queen-cells, and know full 

 well that time enough has not elapsed 

 for a young queen to be produced 

 from them. I do not believe in the 

 notion that each separate colony has 

 a peculiar scent by which its individ- 

 ual members are known to each other. 

 This notion is too much on a par with 

 the old frying-pan and key business 

 in swarming. 



I do not suppose that this theory of 

 mine will be accepted by the ma- 

 jority of bee-keepers, as they will 

 claim that I give the bees too much 

 reasoning power. But where, I ask, 

 can we draw the line between instinct 

 and reason V 



At any rate whether accepted or 

 not, I trust that it will be the means 

 of starting further inquiry into the 

 matter of introducing queens, and of 

 giving us out of that inquiry a surer 

 plan than any which we now have 

 knowledge of. That we need some 

 method of speedy introduction all 

 will admit ; and I trust some such one 

 will soon be discovered. 



Foxboro, Mass. 



Preparation of Honey for the Mar* 



ket, including the production and care 

 of both comb and extracted honey, 

 instructions on the exhibition of bees 

 and honey at Pairs, etc. This is a 

 new 10 cent pamphlet, of 32 pages. 



^' To all new subscribers who 

 send us f 2 for the Weekly Bee Jour- 

 nal next year, we will send the rest 

 of the numbers of this year free from 

 the time the subscription is received 

 at this office. 



