566 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



were original, and I believe prior, in 

 my own use: 



1. Constructing a feeder in such 

 manner that we may fill and refill it 

 without coming in contact with the 

 bees, no smoke being needed. 



2. So that the feed -troughs are filled 

 from below, by connection with a 

 reservoir at their side. 



3. Communicating the feed-troughs 

 with each other, so that all will fill 

 alike. 



4. Communicating them with a 

 reservoir, so thiit they and the reser- 

 voir must fill alike. 



5. Connecting the feed-trough with 

 the brood-chamber, by virtue of a bee- 

 passage, which opens into the troughs 

 at the top. 



6. Constructing feed-troughs by 

 using lamina of wood, held apart by 

 blocks, rather than forming them by 

 sawing slots in a solid block. 



7. Constructing a feeder in such 

 manner that it cannot leak outside the 

 hive. 



8. Constructing a cover in such a 

 manner that the bees can glue it fast 

 nearly all around, no odor from the 

 feed can escape it, and refilling ac- 

 complished without removing it. 



This feeder is well nigh perfection 

 in its operation. It is eminently 

 adapted to feeding, on a large scale. 

 With it we have accomplished the 

 feat of feeding 1,500 lbs. per hour, by 

 the labor of three men ; and without 

 the least danger from robber bees. 

 This is not an unusual accomplish- 

 ment when feeding syrup for winter 

 stores. 



About the only objection to this 

 feeder is the same that usually at- 

 taches to the best of things— it costs 

 considerable to make it. 



It will be seen how three men can 

 place with the bees, in 100 of these 

 feeders, 1,500 lbs. of syrup, in so short 

 a time as an hour, and that hour be- 

 tween flight and dark. One man 

 slides and reslides the covers ; another 

 follows up and empties in the syrup, 

 and a third is constantly filling and 

 bringing two cans at a time, changing 

 two full ones for two empty ones. 

 There are many days when the bees 

 do not fly, and feeding might go on all 

 day, with no exposure to robber bees, 

 if anyone had bees enough and money 

 to buy sugar to make syrup to keep 

 three men busy at filling feeders, for 

 ten consecutive hours. 



As will be seen, this whole arrange- 

 ment and system, offers less exposure 

 to robber bees than any other yet 

 made public, where feeding is done 

 with the bees in full flight. 



Dowagiac, PMich. 



For tue American Bee JoumaL 



Tlie Season in PennsylTania. 



L. W. LIGHTY. 



Our honey flow was " short and 

 sweet." Last winter two-thirds of all 

 the bees in "gums" and old boxes were 

 killed by the cold ; the spring was 

 late, but my bees were in fine condi- 

 tion for fruit-bloom, which amounts 

 to some comb-honey with us, by 



proper management and good weath- 

 er. Fruit-bloom was immense, every 

 twig being loaded with blossoms and 

 very full of nectar. Bees worked at 

 it about two full days, and filled the 

 brood-chamber, when it began to rain, 

 and continued to rain until the fruit 

 and fruit blossoms were all ruined. 

 There will be no fruit now. 



Next came the locust, and full of 

 nectar too, but the bees hardly got 

 started when the cold rain began 

 again, and continued nearly two 

 weeks ; by this time the fields were 

 covered with white clover, but it was 

 too cold for the nectar to be secreted. 



After the rain was over, and it was 

 warmer, we had 7 days of white 

 clover bloom, and such a white clover 

 honey shower I never before have 

 witnessed in this part of Pennsyl- 

 vania. Since white clover ceased to 

 yield, bees had to work hard to get 

 enough to live on. During that short 

 flow I doubled my colonies, and 

 secured 25 lbs. of honey per colony. 



We now look hopefully forward to a 

 fall flow, as we often have a fine flow 

 from the asters, boneset. etc 



Mulberry, 9 Pa., Aug. 22, 1887. 



California Apiculturist. 



Bee and Bird and Butterfly. 



A. E. KERCHER.tL. 



Bird, and butterfly and bee, 

 Nature's brightest darlings, three I 

 Where the flowery treasurers cling. 

 Hasting swift on fairy wing ; 

 Ever flitting on and on, 

 Like a spirit, seen and gone : 

 Flashing like the lightning s gleam, 

 Fading like a tender dream. 

 Sailors o'er the flowery sea— 

 Bird, and butterfly, and bee. 



Bird and butterfly and bee, 

 Nature's blessed trinity 1 

 Like the brief and transient snow. 

 Melting in the Spring's warm breath 

 In oblivion's hush and death ; 

 What though creeds may veer and change 

 From the old, to new and strange ; 

 What though kingdoms rock and reel 

 'Neath the blows of warrior steel, 

 Moulder, crumble slow decay. 

 Passing like a dream away ; 

 VPhat though empires rise and fall, 

 Rules your spell, surviving all ; 

 Still earth's byways, all je throng 

 With your gleam, and flash, and song, 

 Care and sorrow, all forgot, 

 Ot to-morrow heeding not ; 

 Bird, and butterfly, and bee. 

 Nature's fairy trinity ! 

 Los Angeles, Calif. 



for the American Bee JoumaX, 



Free Honey ys, Extracted Honey. 



J. F. LATHAM. 



When used in connection with the 

 word honey, or any other word repre- 

 senting a substance that is drawn, 

 forced, or ejected from any source, 

 the term " extracted " designates the 

 manner by which the object was re- 

 moved, only. 



Honey, after it has been removed 

 from the comb, whether by the cen- 

 trifugal force generated by the motion 

 of the reel in the extrHctor,or by press- 

 ing, is simply forced from the original 

 receptacle as prepared for storage by 

 the bees. 



Extracted, as now used in connec- 

 tion with honey, savors more of an 

 adjective of qualification than a verb, 

 descriptive of the mechanical process 

 by which the article is removed from 

 the comb, and declares an action past 

 "imperfect" without a shadow of 

 sense relative to the present condition. 

 After honey has been "forcibly re- 

 moved " from the comb it is free 

 (Saxon, "freoh "), liberated, and is so 

 represented in commercial transac- 

 tions, whether in barrels, kegs, or 

 glass jars ; but there appears to be no 

 custom or rule, etymological, by which 

 the phrase " free honey " can be made 

 to perform the duty of honey gratis as 

 hinted by Mr. Foster in the leading 

 paragraph on page 503. Honey gratis 

 would be as applicable to honey in the 

 comb as out. 



The word "free" can be used by 

 the producer, or dealer when alluding 

 to honey as simply describing its con- 

 dition, present ; it neither adds to nor 

 detracts its quality. In many in- 

 stances, the real difficulty in regard to 

 the use of the word extracted as now 

 applied in illustrating the condition 

 of honey, seems to exist in the first 

 lesson, by leaving a blank to be filled 

 by the novice, with erroneous impres- 

 sions, unless special pains is adopted 

 by the teacher in explaining the 

 subject. 



Some will comprehend the process 

 of extracting at once, while to others 

 it is difficult to make " centrifugal 

 force " fill the place ot " sling." As I 

 comprehend the subject, the single 

 word " honey " is unsusceptible of 

 modification. If a farmer " pulls 

 beans" or "digs potatoes," he ex- 

 tracts them from the ground ; but the 

 act does not make them " extracted 

 beans " or " extracted potatoes." 



If a radical change is needed, by 

 which to represent the sweet produc- 

 tion of the bee-hive — were it not for 

 the prompting and illusions in regard 

 to there being more than one kind of 

 honey — the word " floramel " seems to 

 be well adapted to represent that 

 which is now comprehended in the 

 simple word honey. In the " roots " 

 of the word " floramel," we have a 

 compound declarative of the sub- 

 stance, and the source from which it 

 is obtained by the nectar-loving in- 

 sects, and the nature of the substance 

 would " bar " a qualification of the 

 word ; " floral honey " would mean 

 " honey from the flowers." But, 

 withal, it seems that the word honey, 

 in its honest simplicity, and " an- 

 tiquity," occupies a position in the 

 English language that would be dif- 

 ficult to supersede. To say a " gold 

 dollar," or a " silver dollar " is an ex- 

 aggeration ; but to say gold or silver, 

 when referring to those metals, 

 whether reposing in the mountain- 

 mines or the vaults of the United 

 States treasury, is a fact. Leaving 

 the " explanations " to those momen- 

 tarily interested, and qualified to im- 

 part them, it appears that the terms 

 " honey " and " honey in the comb " 

 (the leading commercial conditions of 

 the product), are all that is needed in 

 trade. 



Cumberland, p Me. 



