1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



19 



there are no attachments to the separators. 

 Among the number is Mr. J. H. Albaugh, of 

 Osage, O., who sent us a wire-cloth separa- 

 tor that he made himself — wire cloth four 

 meshes to the inch, galvanized. This was 

 as clean of attachments as it was the day he 

 made it. He writes that he has used fifty of 

 these without a single attachment of comb, 

 and that out of the same number of wooden 

 separators there were quite" a few brace- 

 combs. 



Strange how experiences differ! The only 

 way we can account for these is to charge 

 them up to locality or to the particular 

 strain of bees. Speaking of bees reminds me 

 that some bees will build burr-combs in spite 

 of any discouragements that may be put in 

 their way. 



BEESWAX IN THE ARTS; WHY USED FOR EC- 

 CLESIASTICAL PURPOSES. 



Under the Hepburn pure-food law, paraf- 

 fine for making candy, I am told, will be 

 outlawed as deleterious to health. Beeswax, 

 on the other hand, has never been regarded 

 as an injurious food substance. From time 

 immemorial it has been considered a con- 

 stituent of one of the most delicious foods, 

 as well as the most healthful, that the world 

 has ever known. There is, therefore, no rea- 

 son why it should not be a substitute for par- 

 affine in some of the fancy candies. Wheth- 

 er confectioners will use it or not remains to 

 be seen. 



It is true that, the more legitimate uses we 

 find for beeswax, the higher the price will 

 be. This will tend to stiffen prices on found- 

 ation; yet if a bee-keeper can get more for 

 the wax in the first place, he will be compen- 

 sated. 



By the way, that reminds me that beeswax 

 has a great many uses in the arts; and al- 

 though paraffine and other mineral waxes 

 can be secured at one fourth the price, the 

 article from the hive far surpasses them for 

 some uses. For example, nothing is equal to 

 beeswax for floor and allliard-wood finishes. 

 I asked an expert the other day if it were not 

 true that some of the mineral waxes were 

 used. He said they were not to any great 

 extent, because they could not take the gloss 

 nor fill the pores as well. Beeswax, he ex- 

 plained, will give a hard dry gloss where 

 paralHne would make a greasy daub. 



It is well known that the Roman Catholic 

 Church will not use any thing in place of 

 beeswax for candles. Paraffine, ceresin, tal- 

 low, or any thing of that kind for candle ser- 

 vice will not be tolerated. From a ceremoni- 

 al point of view, beeswax is the essence of 

 purity, while paraffine is a distillation from 

 dirty mineral oils. 



A candle of beeswax burns with a clearer 

 flame than a candle of any other substance; 

 and, what is more, it leaves a pleasant odor 

 in the room. Paraffine or tallow has a greasy, 

 sickening smell. 



Perhaps some of our bee-keeping friends 

 would like to try a beeswax candle. Take a 

 piece of sheet wax or even a piece of foun- 



dation. Lay on one edge of it some candle- 

 wicking; then roll up the wax and the wick- 

 ing as one would roll up a cigar. Fit this 

 into a suitable candlestick. Light it, and see 

 what a beautiful light you get. Of course, 

 such a candle would not equal by a long 

 way a good kerosene-lamp or any of our 

 modern lights; but for a candle it surpasses 

 any other substance; and after it has burned 

 a while you will notice a pleasant odor per- 

 vading the room. 



the new pure-food LAW; FURTHER QUES- 

 TIONS ANSW^ERED. 



We are getting a good many inquiries in 

 regard to the rules and regulations governing 

 the new national pure-food law. Nearly all 

 the questions are answered in our editorial 

 explaining this law, on page 1350 of last year. 

 There are one or two other questions, how- 

 ever, that are not there answered. One of 

 them is this: Is it necessaiy to attach labels 

 on bulk packages that are shipped to whole- 

 salers? I find nothing in the law that makes 

 any requirement on pure food. It is design- 

 ed to stop misbranding and to prevent put- 

 ting any deleterious substances into foods 

 or drugs. Nowhere does it specifically re- 

 quire the use of a label on a commodity 

 made of pure or harmless substances; but 

 when a label is used it must state the facts. 

 Any mixture of glucose and honey or any 

 combination of a pure food with an injurious 

 substance must be labeled, either for bulk or 

 small packages, showing the exact proportion 

 used. 



A question is asked whether a package 

 must contain the exact amount, by weight or 

 measure, specified on the label. Most assur- 

 edly; but reasonable latitude is allowed, so 

 that, if a comb-honey carton specifies on the 

 outside of the label 1 lb., the dealer or bee- 

 keeper selling such honey would not be liable 

 if it contained 14 to 15 ounces or 17 or 18. 

 The regulations state that the contents shall 

 conform, as nearly as possible, to the exact 

 amount specified on the label on the pack- 

 age. But, as I understand the law, any one 

 who sells a bottle of honey and labels it 1 lb. 

 would be liable if that bottle contained only 

 14 ounces. I presume the reason is that the 

 bottler could just as well put in 16 ounces as 

 a smaller amount. Food stufl's of every kind, 

 where the amount can be exactly measured, 

 if labeled to contain a definite quantity, must 

 contain exactly that amount. 



Referring to comb honey again, it would 

 seem to me better to have labels not specify- 

 ing any definite amount of honey, because it 

 is almost impossible to make a single section 

 come up to a certain I'equired weight. There- 

 fore, to be on the safe side I would advise 

 leaving out the quantity and putting on the 

 words "pure honey" or "pure clover hon- 

 ey," "pure alfalfa honey," etc. 



Dr. Miller summed up the gist of the new 

 law in a word when he said it only required 

 tnat the whole truth and nothing but the 

 truth should be told about food and drugs 

 sold. 



