THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



627 



THOMAS 0. NEWMAN, Editor. 



— ^ (munCEmrr 



Mnill. Oct. 5, 1881. No. 40. 



October comes across the hill- 

 Like some liKht ghost she is so still, 



TtiouKh her sweet cheeks are rosy ; 

 And throuffh the floating thistle down 

 Her trailing, brier-tangled gown 



Gleams like a crimson posy. 



The goldenrod fades in the sun ; 

 The spider's gauzy veil is spun 



Athwart the drooping sedges : 

 The nuts drop softly Irom their burrs. 

 No bird song the sdence stirs, 



A blight IS on the hedges. 



Rtr. Tbonias \V. Co\raa departed for 

 borne last Saturday, after visiting Washing- 

 ton, D. C. 



Mr. Ivar S. Young gave the Bee Jocr- 

 NAL a call last week. He is now with Prof. 

 Cook. From there he goes to visit Mr. A. I. 

 Root at Medina, O. He is a thoroughly 

 practical apiarist, and is sent here by the 

 Government (we understand) to gather in- 

 foriuatiou that may be made ot practical 

 use in Norway. He is genial, and speaks 

 the English language fluently. He is a 

 gentleman and a scholar. 



'' Id it the Old or Youug Bees," asks 

 a correspondent, "which leave the hive at 

 fiwarming time ?" Age has nothing to do 

 with It. Those whose wings are' ragged with 

 age, mingle with those which are young and 

 downy. The drones, too, go with ihe crowd 

 to the new home selected before hand by 

 the scouts. 



Extracted Honey Is Darker during a 

 drouth, and a correspondent asks us to ex- 

 plain why this is so. We hardly thi|)k that 

 the linden or white clover honey is darkened 

 In color by a drouth, but being short, the 

 bees may gather honey from some other 

 bloom, and thus mix it. The red clover 

 heads may be retarded In growth, and the 

 bees may gather from that source, and thus 

 darken the color. Alsiko clover honey is of 

 an amber color, and when compared to 

 basswood is very much daiker. In many 

 places during the past season the basswood 

 yield was exceedingly short. 



"Mella" is the name ot anew hone.v 

 beverage just " invented " in England. The 

 BritiKh Bee Journal gives the following con- 

 cerning it : 



The British Honey Company, limited— who 

 in their progress have bad many dilSouIties 

 to overcome, and raurh uphill work to ao- 

 coinplieh— have devoted much thought and 

 attention to this matter: and alter a series 

 of experiments have succeeded in produc- 

 ing from British honey and fruits a bever- 

 age, wliich, whilst retaining the flavor ot 

 honey in a marked degree, is quite free from 

 the viscous properties noticeatjlein many of 

 the honey tieveragcs which have been 

 brought before Iho public. The new bever- 

 age is termed •Mella." and, while ot a 

 highly eiferx-eecent character, is non-intoxi- 

 cating. The laste ot the honey is perfectly 

 distinguiehalile when drinking it. It is pre- 

 pared for the market with the aid of the 

 most approved machinery; and, we are in- 

 formed. It is intended to be retailed at a low 

 price, thus bringing it within the reach of 

 all classes. We advise all our readers to 

 give this beverage a fair trial. 



We congratulate the Brillsh Honey Com- 

 pany on this success ; and we trust that 

 they will continue to be found in the fore- 

 front ot those who are catering for the pub- 

 lic in the various modes which may be 

 adopted for the utilization of honey. 



In reference to the question so often asked 

 whether the demand for honey is increasing 

 proportionately to the enlarged supply of 

 ordinary seasons, our British cotemporary 

 replies thus : 



During the past few years considerable 

 advance has been made in increasing the 

 number of outlets for the utilization of 

 honey. It is but right that wo as bee keep- 

 ers should acknowledge and express our 

 indebtedness to various gentlemen con- 

 nected with the Berks Bee Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation for the great interest and inventive 

 ingenuity that they have displajed in furth- 

 ering this otiject. In this connection we are 

 pleased especially to recognize the service's 

 of, and the active part taken by thR Kev. V. 

 H. Moyle, of Ashhampstead Vicinage, look- 

 ing upon him as we do as the principal 

 agent in stimulating those in his vicinity to 

 bestow their attention in this direction, in 

 reply to a communication, Mr. Moyle some- 

 time ago informed us that he was engaged 

 in compiling a pamphlet setting forth the 

 various uiil'tips of honey. This pamphlet 

 has not yet reached us. and we presume that 

 it has not been published. Some such 

 pamphlet is a great desideratum; «ind we 

 consider that no one is more competent 

 than Mr. Moj le to produce it. he having tor 

 many years devoted much time and atten- 

 tion to the consideration ot this subject. 



Messrs. Huntly and Palmer, of Reading, 

 have consumed much honey in their well- 

 known honey-drop biscuits. Mes-^rs. Blateh, 

 of Theale, with tlieir honey beverages : Mr. 

 George, of Reading, with his confeciionery ; 

 Mr. G. E Darvil, with bis swettmeats of all 

 kinds, containing a large proportion of 

 bouafi'^e honey : Mr. Thomas, with his 

 honey toilet preparations ; Messrs. Cross, 

 with the r various methods of applying 

 honey in medicinal and pharmaceutical 

 preparations, have done much towards pop- 

 ularizing the use of honey. 



Besidts these, Messrs. Fry & Sons, of Bris- 

 tol, have produced very nice honev choco- 

 late tablets and creams : McFSrs. Fry's (of 

 Bishop's Wallham), honey beverages, cham- 

 pagnes, syrups, and cordials are well known; 

 and our friend, Mr. W. N. Griltin of Fresh- 

 ford, Bath, has Invented a dubbin in which 

 honey is an ingredient, and which has been 

 highly spoken of as a preservative of 

 leather. 



Much of the honey collected in the British 

 Isles is especially adapted for being utilized 

 in various articles of food, beverages, con- 

 fectionery, sweets, medicines, etc.. possess- 

 ing as it does an exquisite flavor and aroma; 

 and in this respect we may claim that it 

 possesses considerable superiority over 

 foreign honeys. 



Then in reference to the use of honey for 

 manufacturing purposes, our cotemporary 

 gives the following, which we would en- 

 doFEe most fully, and emphasize the sen- 



tence that " it cannot be brought too prom- 

 inently before the public," so that it can be 

 applied to manifold mechanical and Banitary 

 purposes : 



It is of primary importance that bee keep- 

 ers, and all others interested in the promo- 

 tion of bee culture, should direct their at- 

 tention to the increase of such manufactures, 

 as by so doing they would create an in- 

 creased demand for their own produce. The 

 tact cannot be brought too prominently 

 before the British public that honey is not 

 only of good service in its old form of 

 •' bread and honey." but that it bo applied 

 to manifold medicinal and sanitary pur- 

 poses ; that it is tar superior to its younger 

 rival, sugar; and that the more varied its 

 applications the better for the honey In- 

 dustry gem rally. 



PeciilIarly.Sl«apedCell».— IntheCajio- 

 diiiii Bee JiiuDMloC last week we find an 

 editorial on the building of peculiarly- 

 shaped cells by the bees. It says : 



We have now before us about one dozen 

 different specimens ot comb that have been 

 cut out. These vary in s ze from four 

 inches square to half the size of an ordinary 

 comb, in these pieces there are a large 

 number of cells of almost every imaginable 

 shape, some oblong, a few hexagonal, and 

 some V shaped ; some have three sides, the 

 ordinary hexagonal shape, the other three 

 made with two forming a V running off to a 

 sharp point ; some are formed somewhat 

 like a V. then others are as perfectly square 

 as the bees could make them, and not a tow 

 are triangular ; some are Ave sided, some 

 are nearly round, some heart shaped, in fact 

 we could hardly think of a shape that might 

 not be found in some of the pieces. The 

 square cells are in perfect rows two inches 

 in width, and six or more in length, nearly 

 all perfectly square. Most of thefc differ- 

 ent cells had brood in them, ami we have 

 not been able to detect any difference be- 

 tween the bees hatched in these peculiar 

 shaped cells and those hatched in the ordi- 

 nary ones. It seems that some colonies are 

 more inclined to build peculiar shaped cells 

 than others. 



Honey Quotations in the market re- 

 ports of the metropolitan daily papers are 

 stupidly erroneous. Here is what the Chi- 

 cago Timee quoted a few days ago : 



Good to choice white clover honey In 

 small boxes. 11 to 15 cents ; common to 

 dark colored, or when in large packages, 7 

 to 10 cents ; strained, 5 to 6 cents. 



Everybody should know that there has not 

 been a pound of honey sold within three 

 months at the above prices. They under- 

 state the market 50 per cent, and are conse- 

 quently very deceptive and untrustworthy. 

 We call upon the Chicago press to reform I 

 Give correct quotations or none ! 



Honey In tbe Boston market is re- 

 ported by Mr. Henry Alley, who visited the 

 honey dealers there a short time ago, as 

 being excellent in quality. He says that 

 "the apiary of Mr. A. E. Mauum, of Bristol, 

 Vt., was well represented by a large lot of 

 fine honey." He then adds : 



The prices, also, surprised me as much as 

 the quantity and quality. The second quality 

 Is sel'ing at wholesale at 18 cents, and the 

 best comb honey at '22 cents, and is retailing 

 at 25 cents per pound. 



Canada's Honey Crop is estimated to 

 be an average ot only 20 pounds to the 

 colony. Many colonies will need liberal 

 feeding to carry them over the winter In 

 safety. 



