522 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



surprise greeted his statement, but he 

 was a man .who understood himself 

 and his subject, and he gave blow for 

 blow, and being a man I never heard 

 that he took back his words. 



The reference made to a lady mem- 

 ber of the Philadelphia Bee-Keepers' 

 Association, who took a first prize at 

 the Pennsylvania Agricultural Pair 

 the third year of her experience, and 

 who sold part of her honey on the 

 Fair Rround for 50 cents per pound, 

 and other points in her experience, 

 are facts on record. They came to 

 me in my official capacity as judge of 

 industrial insects, a post I have had 

 the honor to fill for many years in 

 Pennsylvania. They were stated in 

 the presence of the President of the 

 Philadelphia Association, and at least 

 one other member, and their truthful- 

 ness is entirely beyond dispute. If 

 time had permitted, or if my illustra- 

 tion had not been confined to woman's 

 work, 1 could have told many more 

 remarkable facts of other members of 

 that association, one of whom, in his 

 enthusiasm, spent several years on 

 the coast of Africa in the investiga- 

 tion of scientific apiculture. 



The point on which the gentleman 

 seeks to be specially witty and sarcas- 

 tic, is that which he terms "Kissing 

 • bees !" His idea of a caress or a salute 

 is very different from mine. I was 

 trying to argue that bee-keeping, to 

 become popular, must be raised to the 

 place of a most ennobling science. I 

 spoke of the marvelous ingenuity and 

 mechanical skill of the bee, of the un- 

 selfish devotion to the queen mother 

 that will suffer misfortune, starva- 

 tion, death, that she may live. I 

 claimed that they have memory, that 

 they recognized kindness and resent 

 injury. 



For many years I used the Lang- 

 stroth plan of subduing my bees by 

 sprinkling with sugar water on open- 

 ing the hive, and 1 said I often no- 

 ticed the bees alight on my hand as 

 if to caress or kiss it, thus expressing 

 their pleasure at my coming. If this 

 expression is too poetic to suit the 

 gentleman, of course he is quite at 

 liberty to use another better suited to 

 his own taste, but I like it. I think 

 that it is a good one to express the 

 thought. I wish I might claim it as 

 original, but candor compels me to 

 admit that it is not. Langstroth says 

 his bees will follow the hand that has 

 held the queen as if to caress it, and 

 that when he opened the hive to 

 sprinkle the sweets upon them they 

 snowed unmistakable pleasure. I 

 quote from memory, without claiming 

 to use his exact words. 



It is enough for me that I have, in 

 my close and friendly relations with 

 my little friends, observed these evi- 

 dences of high intelligence which 

 places them in the front ranks of the 

 insect creation. If the editor of the 

 Ameuican Bee Journal could see 

 that it would be a just act to lay this 

 explanation before his readers, he 

 would honor himself. 



[Yes, indeed ; the editor of the 

 American Bee Journal lays this 

 entire letter of the lady in question 

 before his readers with pleasure. 



It seems that some reporter for the 

 daily press had made up a case to suit 

 himself, and we saw only the phase 

 of it as presented by him. He said it 

 was in " a woman's convention," that 

 a " Mrs. Thomas " made the speech, 

 etc., but did not say where it was 

 held, or give any clue to the identity 

 of the speaker, or for what purpose 

 the convention was held. 



It seems that the time ilrs. Thomas 

 had in view was the " long ago," 

 when imported queens sold readily 

 from §30 to S50 each, and honey in 8 

 and 10 pound boxes sold at 50 cents 

 per pound. The reporter located this 

 by the expression "too years ago.'''' 

 That makes quite a difference. 



The " rosy account," as it was be- 

 ing copied in the daily papers, was 

 deceptive, and hence our remarks. 



We are glad to have Mrs. Thomas 

 give the " true version " of that 

 speech, even though we cannot en- 

 dorse all she claims — still she has a 

 right to her own views of the matter. 



As to the " kissing," tlie lady re- 

 marks that the editor's " idea of a 

 caress or a salute is very different 

 from [her's] mine !" We certainly 

 referred to the old-fashioned kind, 

 and know of no other kind worth 

 mentioning I But we are too bashful 

 to discuss that loving salutation with 

 a lady, and will pass it, with the re- 

 mark that she then used a very in- 

 appropriate and misleading word to 

 express her ideas. — Ed.] 



For the American Bee JoumaL 



Names for Honey out of tlie Comli. 



HENRY K. STALEY. 



that is already set up, need be little 

 changed, because all that is needed is 

 In addition, the small or capital letter 

 I, as the case may require. If the 

 type is already set up for the word 

 " extracted," take out a few quads, 

 put in the letter I after R, and turn ac 

 around to ca. Thus by the turning 

 around of two letters, and the addi- 

 tion of one, the hallucination, in re- 

 spect to " extract of honey," is done 

 away with, and bee-keepers may still 

 have their own desired labels, with 

 but a slight alteration on the face of 

 the label. This is a very important 

 affair, for when once an apiarist 

 adopts a certain label that he likes, 

 it may be hard for him to find another 

 to suit his taste. 



Extruded Honey. — This means 

 honey expelled from the comb, which 

 is also made true by the use of the 

 extractor. 



Ebhtted or Evolved Honey. — 

 Emitted or evolved both express the 

 truth concerning honey thrown out 

 of the comb. Of course there are 

 more meanings to these words, but I 

 am using the meanings of them with 

 respect to honey taken out of the 

 comb. I am of the opinion that any 

 one of these words may be used with 

 success, and the phrase or title, " ex- 

 tract of honey "—which has proved so 

 damaging concerning the vending of 

 honey taken out of the comb, and 

 still portends to continue so— be done 

 away with. 



As there seems to be " no let up " 

 concerning the naming of honey 

 taken out of the comb, and the doing 

 away with the word "extracted," I 

 would suggest any one of the follow- 

 ing words, which, concerning honey 

 taken out of the comb, means about 

 the same as that of the word " ex- 

 tracted," and the *' extract of honey " 

 cannot make its appearance from any 

 of them. I would suggest the follow- 

 ing: 



Extricated Honey.— This means 

 honey sent out of the comb, which in 

 truth it is by the centrifugal force of 

 the extractor, and it also fully con- 

 veys the idea. This word is a good 

 one to stand in place of " extracted," 

 and do away with that mistake,which 

 Mr. Demaree says "would put mill- 

 ions of money into the pockets of the 

 honey-producers of this country ;" 

 and I fully agree with him. It has 

 only ten letters, while " extracted " 

 has nine, and this is also an impor- 

 tant feature concerning it. The type 



Mr. Editor, if any of these words 

 are suitable, give us your idea con- 

 cerning them ; if not, condemn them, 

 so that no more valuable space may 

 be wasted. 



But really it is out of the way for 

 any one in this enlightened epoch of 

 time to call " extracted honey," " ex- 

 tract of honey," and therefore refuse 

 to eat one of nature's greatest lux- 

 uries—" extracted honey." True is 

 the apothegm, " Be slow and be sure," 

 and so is the other, " A stitch in time 

 saves nine." 



Pleasant Ridge, p O. 



[The words extricated, extruded, 

 expelled, emitted and evolved may all 

 be properly used to indicate " honey 

 out of the comb," but not one of 

 them are as euphonious as " ex- 

 tracted " for its name. We do not 

 want a change "just for variety "—it 

 must be an improvement, or it loses 

 the greatest plea for its adoption. — 

 Ed.] 



Convention Notices. 



ty The next meeting of the Northwestern lUi- 

 nois and Southwestern Wisconsin Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will be held at »i. J. Cumminp s. in 

 Guilford, 4 miles northeast of Rockford, Ills., on 

 Thursday, Aug. 18, 1887. D. A. Fuller, Sec. 



fW The Cedar Valley Bee-Keepers' Ai'sociation 

 will be held at Waterloo, Iowa, on Sept. fi and 7, 

 lft87. The Cedar Valley Boe-Keepers' Produce and 

 Supply Union will meet with the above Associa- 

 tion. 'This raeetinp will be made both pleasant 

 and profitable to bee-keepers. All Interested in 

 apiculture are cordially invited to attend. Do not 

 be discouraized with this year's crop, hut come and 

 have a good time. H. E. HDBBAao, See. 



