GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 1 



tents would be the most contracted, and 

 would be drawing the hardest to bring air 

 in. When the fruit warms up a little the 

 draw would be in the other direction — from 

 inside outward. It is impossible to can fruit 

 and not leave a small space to be filled with 

 air. But air is no injury if it is hot. If the 

 cans are set right end up, the air-space would 

 be situated at the top of the jar next to the 

 cap where the air would be admitted. If the 

 caps leaked air, the air which came in would 

 join with the air already in the jar, at once, 

 and there would be no chance to observe its 

 entrance or progress. But with the jar 

 standing upside down, the admitted air will 

 traverse the whole length of the jar before 

 becoming settled at the uppermost portion. 

 If you see small air-bubbles following one 

 another upwaid, just get the "old man's" 

 beeswax and rosin-dish and brush which he 

 uses to fasten foundation in brood-frames ( f 

 beeswax and f rosin melted together), and 

 put a good coating all around over the rub- 

 ber, covering the edge of the cap. After 

 this, Ijeep the jars standing upside down for 

 a week or more. Watch for bubbles on cool 

 mornings; and when the day warms up, look 

 the jars over to find juice sizzling out from 

 under the edge of the caps. They can not 

 drive air out, because the fruit is next to the 

 cap, but fruit juice will be forced out instead. 

 Put on more wax. Finally the fruit juice 

 will become thickened also, and thus all 

 openings will be closed. 



It is preferable to keep jars of fruit in an 

 even temperature. 



Do not say you followed the above direc- 

 tions and fruit spoiled. Under my table, 

 against the mop-board, is a row of Mason 

 jars of tomatoes and beans that have been 

 there two years, and they are in perfect con- 

 dition, and tomatoes are the most difficult of 

 all things to can. 



Chatsworth, Cal. 



[We shall have to award the palm to our 

 correspondent as a honey-eater; and the fact 

 that the quantity consumed had no unpleas- 

 ant results spefiks eloquently of honey as a 

 food, especially when we take into consider- 

 ation the fact that Mr. Dayton had previous- 

 ly been suffering from indigestion before he 

 went on to his simple diet of fruit and 

 honey. 



In this connection perhaps the editor had 

 better let out a little secret. For many 

 months back he has been living on two meals 

 a day — a substantial breakfast in the morn- 

 ing, a little fruit or nothing at all at mid-day, 

 and a dinner in the evening. Food tastes 

 better, and he never enjoyed better health. 

 But when traveling we eat three meals a day 

 so as to be " like other folks; " but on return- 

 ing home we skip the mid-day meal. 



The suggestions in regard to putting up 

 canned fruits in honey are excellent, and we 

 would suggest that our bee-keeping friends 

 lay this article aside and put it into applica- 

 tion during the canning season next summer 

 and fall. -Ed.] 



LIQUEFYING HONEY IN 60-LB. CANS. 



Two Useful Devices for Making the Work 

 Easier; a Little Good Advice. 



BY E. F. ATWATEK. 



Many have been the complaints of the 

 small screw caps usually furnished on the 

 regular five-gallon honey-cans. 



Those who read the article by ' ' Common- 

 sense Bee-keeping," in the Nov. 19th, 1903, 

 American Bee Journal, will remember how 

 that writer tells of putting four to six such 

 cans of honey in a tank, and boiling water 

 around them until the honey was liquefied; 

 how the honey expands until the cans will 

 not hold it, and how he was "compelled to 

 fritter away with a teaspoon to save some of 

 the honey, while the cans are running over 

 and some of the honey wasting." He also 

 insisted on the necessity of two handles on 

 each can, owing to the fact that the present 

 handles are so weak that they pull off or out, 

 sooner or later. 



I admit that larger screw caps and two 

 handles would be desirable improvements; 

 but as the next best thing, the two imple- 

 ments now to be described will save "Com- 

 mon-sense Bee-keeping" (and others) all or 

 most of his hard work and loss of honey. 



The first is a tin tube of such diameter that 

 it will easily pass through the usual screw 

 cap. In and out at the lower end of this 

 tube is soldered a disk of tin, with a ^\-inch 

 hole in the middle. The disk would com- 

 pletely close the lower end of the tube, ex- 

 cept for the ^ hole. 



When your honey begins to expand, and 

 the liquid to appear at the screw cap, push 

 this tube down into the hot honey; let it fill 

 as far as it will; clap your hand tightly over 

 the large opening at the top of the tube; lift 



