1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



107 



picion that something was wrong, but per- 

 haps they never thought of adulteration. 

 They may have remarked that the honey 

 "didn't taste right," and dropped the mat- 

 ter^from their thoughts. 



Take the case of a iman who has always 

 bought clover or buckwheat honey. He goes 

 to the grocery for honey, and is given alfal- 

 fa, with no explanation of where it came 

 from, and no hint of its being a new kind of 

 honey. Though the flavor, to some tastes, 

 may be just as good, it is so utterly different 

 from what he expectetl, that he is disappoint- 

 ed. It tastes like sugar syrup to an eastern- 

 er. Later on he sees some comb foundation, 

 and hears a lengthy talk aljout how it helps 

 the bees. Now give him the story about 

 manufacti;red comb honey, and he will swal- 

 low it with delight. He is so proud of hav- 

 ing eaten the "artificial honey," and of hav- 

 ing seen the artificial comb, that no power 

 on earth could convince him that it is not 

 true. Now get into an argument with him, 

 and in the course of it admit that bee-keep- 

 ers do sometimes feed their bees. He's fixed, 

 and will do all he can to fix his neighbors. 



In speaking of comb foundation, most peo- 

 ple who are not professional bee-men call it 

 artificial comb, or bee-comb. At least one 

 of our supply-dealers always bills it in ship- 

 ping as "bee-comb in sheets." It maybe 

 necessary to bill it that way — that's beside 

 the question. But what do the agents think 

 who make out those bills? They are sure 

 that I am buying artificial comb, and ai"e 

 quite ready to believe that I feed my bees to 

 get it filled, if some one tells them so; or even 

 to go a step further and Ijelieve that some 

 people fill it by machinery and seal it over 

 with a hot iron, or by "electricity." Just 

 mention electricity and machinery, and you 

 can get the average person to believe any 

 thing. 



Now let us consider for a moment what 

 we are going to do about it. I have taken 

 it for granted that we all want t.o know the 

 truth, even if we can't do any thing. If we 

 are helpless we ought to know it, so that our 

 strength and time will not be wasted in use- 

 less struggles. If there is a remedy we shall 

 gain a great deal by studying the case with 

 perfect candor. 



In my own market these stories have not 

 caused any great trouble. I sell mostly to 

 people who have known me for years as a 

 bee-man, and my own and adjoining coun- 

 ties take the greater part, so there is no trou- 

 ble about the flavor. When I find a custom- 

 er who is firmly convinced that there is bogus 

 honey on the market I try to show him that 

 my honey is all right any way. Very often 

 that is ail that can be done. If you try to 

 prove that no such thing exists you are try- 

 ing to prove a negative, which you know is 

 all but impossible. A man tells me that the 

 moon is a huge cheese, and that the dark 

 spots are colonies of skippers. I may V>e cer- 

 tain that it is not the truth; but I couldn't 

 prove it, to save me. 



In regard to the men who live in sparsely 

 settled localities, where a great deal of hon- 



ey is produced, it is hardly possible for them 

 to avoid shippmg to the cities. But it will 

 help a great deal if we will sell at home when 

 we can, ami ship only to markets where our 

 parti(uilar flavor of honey is well known. 

 Newman, 111. 



[You are not unorthodox, Mr. Bender, for 

 it is a fact that the importation of honey 

 into an old locality, with a new and hithei*- 

 to untested flavor, often causes a suspicion 

 of adulteration, or, in the case of comb hon- 

 ey, manufactured. While it is true that the 

 fact, that we have to feed bees at some sea- 

 sons of the year, and use foundation in sec- 

 tions is liable to give rise to suspicion, yet 

 the full truth ought to allay it in the mind 

 of any candid person. The fact is, bee- 

 keepers have nothing to conceal. They 

 should Ije perfectly frank with their custom- 

 ers — invite them to come to their yards, 

 show them the use of foundation, and how 

 and why they feed their bees. And when 

 they sell alfalfa in a strictly white-clover 

 district they should explain the fact, stating 

 that the honey is from the West, and has a 

 slightly different flavor. The fact should be 

 brought out that the flavors of honey vary 

 just as much as the flavors of apples, peach- 

 es, or other fruit. 



The question has been raised about feed- 

 ing honey instead of sugar syrup; but even 

 if we do this we incur the danger of spread- 

 ing foul brood through the feed given. 

 Secondly, when outsiders see us feed our 

 bees it makes very little difference whether 

 we feed honey or sugar. Any one who 

 would be suspicious enough to regard the 

 act as one involving dishonesty would jump 

 to the conclvision at once that we were feed- 

 ing glucose or some other abominable synip 

 or sugar. If we must feed, why not feed 

 the cheapest and best? The whole truth is 

 the bee-keeper's best defense. — Ed.] 



THE USE OF QUEEN-EXCLUDERS. 

 Are the Slats as AVide as they Should Be? 



BY G. C. GBEINEK. 



Ever since I have made the production of 

 extracted honey a part of my bee-keeping I 

 have looked upon the queen-excluder as an 

 instrument of untold agony and torture to 

 the poor bees. At the same time, the advices 

 in favor of them, coming from the pens of 

 our most prominent bee-keepers, together 

 with the advertisements and recommenda- 

 tions of our bee-supply manufacturers, have 

 led me to follow suit and use them without 

 giving the matter any special consitleration. 

 Accidentally my attention was called to this 

 matter in svich a way that I am now strong- 

 ly convinced the common manufactured ex- 

 cluding zinc for this purpose, i^q^^o is the cause 

 of a greatly reduced honey-yield in every 

 apiary whei'e it is used. 



In putting on extracting-supers I some- 

 times tind it, for various reasons, con- 

 venient to place the empty outside shell on 



