1370 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 1 



favorable year — only about one in five in 

 California— a good crop of honey will be 

 harvested. 



We aaked Mr. Mercer if it were true that 

 California in a good year could export 500 

 carloads of honey. 



"Oh, yes!" said he. "I remember one 

 year when there were 600 carloads shipped 

 out of the State." 



This did not take into account the honey 

 consumed locally. How much this might be, 

 no one could tell. 



We asked whether California had any sage 

 honey left. Mr. Mercer replied that it was 

 practically all gone. Not very much has 

 been shipped out of that State this year, ow- 

 ing to the lightness of the crop, and the 

 State is getting to be so largely a consumer 

 of its own product that there is a possibility 

 and even a probability that in a good year it 

 will not ship much honey beyond its own 

 borders. In years past, when there was a 

 big crop of sage, the local consumption was 

 so light that the bulk of it was dumped on 

 the eastern markets, with the result that 

 prices would take a slump. The indications 

 now go to show that this will not occur 

 again, or at least not to the same extent. If 

 California ships beyond her own borders, the 

 honey will be taken up before it gets to the 

 Mississippi River. Vice versa, when she has 

 a light year she has to buy from States on 

 her borders. 



THAT BEE PARADISE IN TEXAS. 



Closely following the departure of Mr. L. 

 E. Mercer we had a call from Mr. W. F. 

 Rice, of Uvalde, Texas. He is a youn^ bee- 

 keeper who has kept bees in that section of 

 the State for six or seven years; but he has 

 been sojourning in this part of the country, 

 taking a course of treatment at the Battle 

 Creek Sanitarium, and expects to return 

 along about the holidays. 



Our readers will remember that the terri- 

 tory in and about Uvalde we once called the 

 "bee paradise" of America. When we 

 stopped at the hotel at the place seven years 

 ago we heard nothing but bee-talk; and when 

 we went out into the streets one man would 

 hail another, saying, "How are your bees 

 coming on?" Every one, in fact, seemed to 

 be keeping bees. While this was not literal- 

 ly true, the business was an important in- 

 dustry in the country. 



It is still a wonderful bee country; but ac- 

 cording to Mr. Rice it is considerably over- 

 stocked. The bee-keeping was so profitable 

 that many began to engage in it, with the re- 

 sult that the territory now has more bees and 

 bee keepers than it can stand profitably. 



This is the region where the huajilla (or 

 guajilla*), the catclaw, and the mesquite hon- 

 ey are produced. The first mentioned is 

 practically as white and clear as a glass of 

 spring water— the whitest honey in the world. 

 The body and flavor of it are also of the very 

 finest. The catclaw is another good table 



I * Will some one who knows tell wbich Is the right 

 way to spell thi^'i' 



honey, and large quantities of it are produc- 

 ed 



Mr. Rice says that agriculture is being in- 

 troduced to some extent, for at one time, or 

 at least at the time of our visit, bee-keeping 

 and cattle-raising were the two main if not 

 th«* only pur.suits. When we asked if agri- 

 cultuie was likely to crowd out bee-keeping 

 our visitor replied in the negative. Most of 

 the honey produced in that region is from 

 trees and shrubs or plants; and he did not 

 think agriculture would ever encroach on 

 these sources of honey. 



BEE-STINGS FOR RHEUMATISM. 



In this issue, on page 1382, is a photograph 

 of a bee demonstration showing the applica- 

 tion of stings for the cure of rheumatism. 

 This is by no means a new feat before a 

 crowd. Prof. H. A. Surface, of Harrisburg, 

 has given a number of demonstrations of 

 this kind before his students and before the 

 general public. 



At the Jenkintown field-day exhibition it 

 will be remembered that an old gentleman 

 came forward and bared his arm when an 

 attendant applied sting after sting to the af- 

 fected part. The patient said he always felt 

 relieved after the application of the poison, 

 and that was not the first time he had re- 

 ceived treatment. Mr. W. A. Selser, of Phil- 

 adelphia, has applied the stings on numerous 

 occasions. 



For certain kinds of rheumatism it would 

 seem that these hypodermic injections of poi- 

 son do a great deal of good. Reports have 

 been received and published in these columns 

 to the effect that certain persons subject to 

 rheumatism, after engaging in bee culture, 

 and being stung, were greatly relieved. We 

 have had other reports where the stings seem- 

 ed to have no effect one way or the other. 



The policy of Gleanings is neither to af- M 

 firm nor deny the efficacy of the poison for I 

 rheumatism; but it is willing to receive re- 

 ports both favorable and unfavorable in order 

 that we may get at the truth of the matter. 



the phrasing of honey-labels, AGAIN; A 



suggestion that the national bee- 

 keepers' ASSOCIATION ARRANGE TO HAVE 

 A FRIENDLY SUIT BY WHICH A DECISION 

 CAN BE SECURED FROM THE COURTS. 



The following letter from M. D. Offutt 

 raises some questions that, perhaps, have 

 not been fully considered as yet, and we are 

 glad to place them before our readers: 



Mr. Editor:—! have seen your remarks, p. 1132, on 

 the subject ol honey-labels. It seems to me that 

 when a producer buys honey to bottle and sell again 

 he should be permitted to mix in his own honey, 

 forming one blend of pure honey, and sell all under 

 one label and guarantee, such as " put up by; " but 

 when one claims to be the producer, the phrase " pro- 

 duced by " would have to be used: otherwise no claim 

 as producer would be implied, altbough he may have 

 produced part of the blend of pure honey. 



Midway, Ky., Sept. 3. M. D. Oftutt. 



As we understand this whole honey-label 

 proposition, one is not required to use the 

 words "produced by" on his own produc- 

 tion; but it is a contravention of the law to 



