634 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Bhotild get to robbing, put a good 

 bunch of hay or grass tight against 

 the hive-entrances of all the colonies 

 which seem to be affected. The rob- 

 bers will become confused in trying 

 to pass through the hay into the hive, 

 and the bees will be able to make a 

 more successful defence of their 

 home. Perhaps a more effectual 

 remedy is to completely cover the 

 affected hives with sheets or clothes 

 of any kind, thus barring either egress 

 or ingress. When the robbers find 

 themselves cornered they are quickly 

 subdued. 



A good and cheap method is to re- 

 move from the brood -chamber one or 

 two frames containing the least honey 

 and no brood, and replace them with 

 a division-board, which is narrow 

 enough to leave a space of three- 

 eighths of an inch between its lower 

 edge and the bottom of the hive. 

 There should be a space of at least 

 three eighths of an inch between the 

 division -board and the wall of the 

 hive. This space may be enlarged 

 according to the amount of vacant 

 room. Fold back the quilt or cloth- 

 cover of the brood-chamber tightly 

 upon the division-board, to allow the 

 bees to go up. Now put a heavy piece 

 of duck or enamel cloth, of the same 

 size as the brood-chamber, over the 

 cover to the latter. Make this basin- 

 shaped by placing sticks along the 

 under-edge of each side, and pour the 

 syrup into this basin. I have prac- 

 ticed this method in my own bee- 

 yards for several seasons, and have 

 had the best of results. It has the 

 advantages of being cheap, is adapted 

 to all styles of hives with tight or 

 loose bottom -boards, permits of no 

 loss of heat from the brood-chamber, 

 while the receptacle is easily and 

 quickly filled by the operator, and the 

 capacity can be made of suitable size. 



Bees will winter better on six or 

 seven Langstroth frames than on a 

 greater number, as the food is within 

 easy reach of the cluster, and there is 

 less space to keep warm. 



For tbe Amerloan Bee Jonma:. 



Ants in Honey-Rooms, etc. 



WILLIAM OLDFIELD. 



I have lately been reviewing some 

 recent numbers of the American 

 Bee Journal, whose excellence, 

 practical teaching, and current infor- 

 mation, in all respects, upon matters 

 relating to the apiary the world over, 

 and especially relating to the whole 

 of this country, have induced me to 

 become one of its constant readers. 



GETTING RID OF ANTS. 



I think that I can furnish a fairly 

 perfect remedy for preventing the 

 invasion of any species of ants into 

 honey-rooms, or, in fact, into any 

 other store-room. It is a fact that 

 ants of all species have the utmost 

 aversion to, and are repelled by the 

 odor of turpentine. I have never 

 found an instance where ants would 

 cross a narrow width of turpentine, 

 and a piece of rag or paper saturated 



in turpentine, and bound around the 

 legs of any stand, or table, will frus- 

 trate every attempt of ants or other 

 predatory insects to reach the honey- 

 stores, or whatever other naturally 

 enticing food-products may be placed 

 thereon. In a pantry or store-room, 

 sheets of coarse brown-paper pre- 

 viously steeped in spirits of turpen- 

 tine, and laid upon the shelves where 

 honey or any other product liable to 

 encroachment and injury, that is not 

 of a nature, however, to imbibe the 

 turpentine odor, will speedily cause a 

 cessation of attack. 



RENAMING HONEY. 



I dare say that already more than a 

 sufficient number of suggestions have 

 been made regarding the somewhat 

 vexed question of a new technical 

 term for pure honey, mechanically 

 expressed from the comb; that in 

 rendition of exact description and 

 meaning shall define more clearly and 

 less awkwardly to the public, and in 

 market quotations, what it is solely 

 intended to convey. I have felt so 

 much interested in the discussion 

 that I will venture a few remarks. 



In the first place, I have no doubt 

 that to call honey in the comb, " comb 

 honey," and extracted honey, or that 

 which is pure from any source, or 

 means of extraction, simply " honey," 

 which is the editor's own choice, I 

 believe, would be the most pertect,and 

 the simplest appellation of these twin 

 forms of the same product, but from 

 the fact that the general public have 

 learned to become but too familiar 

 with adulterated substitutes under 

 that seductive name. A specific term 

 for extracted honey, that shall imply 

 the same warrantable meaning to the 

 people in the general markets, which 

 is apparent in the mind of the api- 

 arist in using the old term, and which 

 implies to him, " honey, pure beyond 

 a doubt," and yet may be more tangi- 

 bly inferred in its nomenclature than 

 is carried in the word " extracted," 

 would still seem to be called tor, and 

 desirable in no small degree ; and 

 though difficult to devise a word that 

 shall be not only euphonious, but 

 shall directly imply purity of product, 

 and carry with it to all concerned, the 

 idea of its coming direct from the 

 comb, free from all extraneous mat- 

 ter, and in itself possess the elements 

 of popularity as a word, and afford no 

 barrier to adoption and usage, I 

 nevertheless hope the discussion may 

 not be finally dropped until such a 

 one may be originated, as may chal- 

 lenge fairly every objection , and dis- 

 arm chiefly the criticism of all who 

 are are not opposed to change on the 

 ground of objection to that alone. 



I will then state my present ideas 

 on the subject, and will begin by ob- 

 serving that the word "extracted" 

 would directly, it seems to me, infer 

 the source and process of the freed 

 honey, such as it is intended to de- 

 scribe ; but the word is perhaps too 

 awkward to adopt. " Discharged " 

 honey, or " ejected " honey may per- 

 haps have been proposed before, and 

 may neither of them be generic 

 enough to achieve popular adoption, 

 or supersede the use of the word 



" extracted " in clearness of meanings 

 which, however faulty, implies th& 

 use of a machine whose direct product 

 cannot be otherwise than pure. 



Why not. then, to meet the ever re- 

 current difBculty, coin a word which 

 I see no reason to object to, if it 

 meets the requirements "i* If this be- 

 granted, I am in favor of " comb- 

 extracted " (" excombated " or " ex- 

 comated ;" " excombacted " or " ex- 

 comacted "), or, again, " comb-eject- 

 ed " honey. One of these compounds, 

 formed from the Latin verba agere, to- 

 drive or force, with actum as Us plu- 

 perfect tense ; and of egere, to expell 

 or cast out — which with the word 

 "comb" as a prefix or incumbent 

 part, seems to me to fluently furnish 

 the needed term. These, I think, are 

 better than "mellifluent" honey, or 

 "raellacted" honey, two other words 

 that I have thought of. 



Suwannee, 5 Fla. 



ror the American Bee Joimial 



MarMRcDorts Of Honey. 



EUGENE SECOK. 



I have heretofore been in favor of 

 the market quotations in our bee- 

 periodicals; and when the storm of 

 indignation gathered about the heads 

 of commission men last winter, I felt 

 inclined to avert it, thinking, or 

 wanting to think, that they were 

 doing the very best that they could do 

 under the circumstances, to sell our 

 product for all it would bring. 



But on looking over the quotations 

 of honey recently, I am forced to one 

 of three conclusions : First, honey 

 must be more plentiful in the United 

 States than we have been led to be- 

 lieve ; or, secondly, that too many of 

 our producers must be ignorant of the 

 true state of affairs, and are rushing 

 the new crop on the market before it 

 recovers from last year's depression ; 

 or, thirdly, that the large dealers ia 

 the cities are trying to keep prices 

 down until they shall have stocked 

 up. 



Now, as a honey-producer myself, 

 and with some facilities for observa- 

 tion by travel, and a reader of nearly 

 all the bee-papers, 1 know that this 

 year's honey crop in America will nofc 

 be one-half as great as it was last. 

 Many good judges place it much 

 lower. Taking the State of Iowa as 

 a whole, I doubt if there is one-fourth 

 as much. And from all I can learn,, 

 there appears to be very little new 

 honey on the market as yet, or, iit 

 fact, any honey. 



I have recently visited some of our 

 large Western cities, and find the 

 market bare. Therefore, I conclude 

 that the old -fogy bee-keepers are not 

 demoralizing the market this year. 

 Indeed, when we think of it, we 

 might know that would be the case ; 

 for in such years as this they do not 

 have any to sell. Now what can be 

 said to avoid the conclusion— that the 

 city jobbers are "bearing" the mar- 

 ket in order to buy V 



Let me quote from the Americau 

 Bee Journal market report, on page 



