THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jan. 3, 



our industry appears, and also such as are thoroughly identl- 

 Hed with the apiarian interests of the United States. While 

 feeling certain that there are, amonft the members of the 

 Union, many who would come up to this standard, and who at 

 the same time possess such a knowledge of Dusiness methods 

 and of the law as would also be of use to the Union, one is 

 obliged to restrict himself to seven names. I give, therefore, 

 the following : 



For President— Hon. R. L. Taylor, of Michigan. 



For Vice-Presidents— P. H. El wood, of New York ; Eu- 

 gene Secor, of Iowa; Chas. F. Muth, of Ohio ; C. P. Dadant, 

 of Illinois ; and G. W. Brodbeck, of California. 



For Secretary and General Manager — Thomas G. New- 

 man, of Illinois. ' Washington, D. C. 



More Kinks— Fumigating-Torches, Etc. 



BY F. L. THOMPSON. 



I am about to commit a most heinous sin— recommend 

 an article I have not tried. My excuse is, I may never have 

 the opportunity, as we are not troubled with moths here, to 

 speak of. Some manufacturing chemists make what they call 

 " sulphur torches " — one-pound cylinders of brimstone, about 

 two inches in diameter, molded like a candle, and furnished 

 with a wick. They cost 25 cents each, and are accompanied 

 by a fire-proof box. They are said to burn twelve hours with- 

 out attention, and leave no residue. I presume they put 

 something in the sulphur to make it burn readily. This should 

 be something for the supply dealers to get hold of, and handle 

 among their many other conveniences for the bee-keeper. 



SOMETUING ABOUT TIN CANS FOR HONEY. 



It is commonly said that the 60-pound square can is the 

 package for extracted honey. For shipping purposes it is, 

 and when very small ants are troublesome ; but for all other 

 purposes I have found the 72-pound six-gallon round can 

 (commonly known as "the 50-pound lard can'') away ahead. 

 This can is entirely open at the top, with a cover. It costs 

 about 30 cents new, but I get all mine second-hand at a 

 bakery for 10 cents each. It is less trouble to run honey in, 

 and get it out ; and for the scientific liquefying of granulated 

 honey, there is no comparison between the two cans. A 

 neighbor bee-keeper, Mr. Frank Rrauchfuss, says that by 

 punching two holes, at the same distance from each other, 

 and from the sides of the vessel, clear down to the bottom of 

 the granulated honey, it melts much sooner, and does not have 

 to remain long on the stove; even a low heat, when long con- 

 tinued, being liable to color it. I would suggest a butter-tester 

 as the neatest tool for the purpose, but a clean broom-stick 

 would do. 



BOILING HONEY TO LIQUIFY IT. 



Apropos of this, I must criticise Mrs. Atchley for saying, 

 on page 557 of the liee Journal for Nov. 1, 1894, in reply to 

 a questioner, "I am of the opinion you boiled your honey too 

 much :" though the instructions she goes on to give are unex- 

 ceptionable. Hut by expressing it that way, it might be im- 

 plied, first, that the honey itself could be boiled a little with- 

 out injury, which I don't believe ; second, that the water sur- 

 rounding it could be allowed to boil, which I don't believe 

 either, as I colored some honey, though the honey-can was 

 placed in a double water-can, and only the outer layer of water 

 boiled. Since then. I have used a thermometer, and never let 

 the water adjoining the honey get much over 140s and had 

 DO trouble. 



WAX-RENDERING IN IRON VESSELS. 



And while I am making criticisms, I will refer to the In- 

 structions of Dr. J. P. H. Brown, on page 400, for rendering 

 wax. He says : " A large troji pot, water 'and a bag properly 

 worked, are the best for the business. The wax comes out 



bright and yellow." Now, I always understood that iron ves- 

 sels darkened wax. I have darkened some myself, in fact, by 

 using a pan which had the tin worn off. How is it about that ? 

 It may be that pure Iron has no effect, and that oxide of iron 

 (rust) does the business; but if so, the statement has not been 

 made before. 



THE ROUND CANS FOR HONEY, ETC. 



To return to the subject : The six-gallon round can has 

 the additional advantage that it can be used for other purposes 

 around the apiary besides holding extracted honey. When 

 transferring, or cleaning off brace-combs out-of-doors, it is 

 just the thing to dump odds and ends of comb into ; it can be 

 covered up In an instant from robbers, and afterwards the 

 broken honey or wax disposed of at leisure. A 10-cent can is 

 cheaper than a special wash-boiler for rendering wax. They 

 make good receptacles for cappings, too. Instead of having a 

 special funnel made, as directed in Doolittle's "Scientific 

 Queen-Rearing," Ciees can be shaken off Intoone of these cans, 

 and "boxed up" for a few hours until they "mourn," at one 

 operation, in which case it might be well to punch some small 

 holes in the cover. 



For the temporary reception of sections, these cans are 

 sometimes handy, always being bee-proof ; each oi^e holds 30 

 sections. Two of them setting permanently in the center of 

 the apiary, one holding planer shavings, and the other the 

 smoker, matches, oil-can and chisel, are a great convenience, 

 as they are rain-proof. And, finally, a pair of shears converts 

 them into those various tin strips not infrequently used by the 

 bee-keeper. 



I can also commend the article to Rambler as worthy of 

 introduction among California bee-keepers. Many a fine 

 young fellow has been worried into wedlock by fancied incon- 

 veniences, only to find when too late that in that respect he 

 has jumped from the frying pan into the fire. When the tired 

 bachelor enters his cabin at night, and steers straight for the 

 easy-chair, or its equivalent, he is apt to stumble over piles of 

 things which on previous occasions he had " chucked " out of 

 the way, which piles, moreover, have an inconvenient tendency 

 to accumulate at the bottom those articles oftenest used. This 

 is a little wearing, of course (though not as much so as some 

 have made out), but can be entirely obviated by some sort of 

 distributing apparatus to receive the "chucked" articles, 

 such as a generous quantity of shelves on each side of the 

 room, and six or eight of the cans referred to, for the eatables, 

 and dirty dishes which will be washed "next time." Mice 

 will soon be starved out. Then what a bore it is to hunt out 

 Sunday clothes In a double-decker trunk ! A few of those 

 cans will hold them just as well, and specialize them besides. 



THE PENT-UP WRATH ESCAPES ! 



I have been nursing my wrath against Dr. Peiro for a 

 long time, and can wait no longer, but propose to pitch into 

 him apropos of nothing. Was it a mistaken idea of chivalry, 

 or professional urbanity, or what, that made him say on page 

 172 of the Bee Journal for Aug. 9, 1894, ladies should do so 

 and so, and men do something else? Would he have said gen- 

 tlemen and women ? It made me as mad as to see a notice of 

 a "grand "free lunch, or to be asked to buy a "nobby" 

 article. 



Don't let it happen again. Doctor. But those little arti- 

 cles of vours are "daisies." Arvada, Colo. 



The Mission of Birds and Bees in the Orchard 

 and Garden. 



Rend before the Iowa Stale Ilorticultunil Society, Dec. 13, 1894, 

 BY HON. EUGENE SECOR. 



Did you see that house-wren fly to her nest in the wood- 

 shed with a worm in her mouth? That's the twelfth time she 

 has done the same thing in the last hour. 



