234 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



J»iy 



at a certain fair. Under the exhibit 

 of light honey were two close com- 

 petitors for first place. One of these 

 was practically colorless, while the 

 other was a light amber. Had the 

 second had less color, had it been 

 golden in tint, there would have been 

 no question about the placing of the 

 award. But the second was almost 

 too dark in shade, while on the other 

 hand, the first was too pale. The 

 second, though rather strongly col- 

 ored, was awarded first prize on the 

 ground that it possessed a better fla- 

 vor and was superior in clarity. Sev- 

 eral persons present questioned the 

 judges' decision and asked whether a 

 mistake had not been made. When 

 the matter was explained to them 

 they saw the justice of the award. 



Now, for a fact, only a few honeys 

 are colorless, or what might be 

 termed colorless. Basswood, alfalfa, 

 clethra, goldenrod, aster and alsike 

 clover are practically the only honeys 

 seen in the East that could be termed 

 colorless, and often many, if not all 

 of these, possess considerable color. 

 California produces some almost 

 colorless honey, and there are plants 

 in the South that produce water- 

 white honey. Against these can be 

 named a host of blossoms that pro- 



duce honeys that are tinted with yel- 

 low or red. Some of the noblest 

 hon< ys of all are thus tinted. Rasp- 

 berry, unmatched for eating, is 

 tinted. Clover, by many considered 

 the prime honey of all honeys, has 

 a yellowish cast. Sumac produces a 

 honey which has a beautiful golden 

 cast, and connoisseurs, the country 

 over, pronounce it the best of all. 

 Apple-bloom honey, in the opinion 

 of the writer the very nectar of the 

 gods, is distinctly golden. Urange- 

 bloom honey, much like that from 

 apple blossoms, captures the palate 

 of many honey lovers. When it 

 comes right down to enjoyment of 

 eating honeys, there are few color- 

 less honeys that have that property 

 termed tastes-like-more to the same 

 extent that other honeys which pos- 

 sess some color must be credited 

 with. 



The buying public, though largely 

 possessed with the idea that the best 

 food is white — white flour, white su- 

 gar, white rice, cream of wheat, 

 white corn — will pick honey with a 

 tint rather than that which is color- 

 less. The impression has long been 

 present that honey is naturally yel- 

 low, and so we often run across such 

 expressions in printed books as 



"honey color," "honey yellow," 

 "golden honey," etc., all of which ex- 

 pressions either in themselves, or by 

 the context, convey the impression 

 that, the world over, honey is 

 thought of as of a yellowish or gold- 

 en color. 



If this is the general impression, 

 should a colorless honey rank higher 

 than a golden honey? I for one, 

 should say no; and to revert to the 

 question submitted to a hundred 

 honey consumers, I think the answer 

 from the vast majority would be 

 "yellow or straw color." 



The Century Dictionary defines a 

 pure honey as "of a whitish color, 

 tinged with yellow." Evidently the 

 authors of that book are not ac- 

 acquainted with the chocolate honey 

 of buckwheat, the red honey from 

 huckleberry, the water-white from 

 clethra. But that definition confirms 

 my contention that honey is usually 

 thought of as having some color, and 

 that color yellow. 



It is not wise to -work against a 

 strongly ingrained public opinion. If 

 people in general think of honey as. 

 yellowish or golden, then we honey- 

 sellers should try to attain that color 

 in our bottled goods. By doing so we 

 shall help to increase the sale of 

 honey. 



Xorwichtown, Conn. 



Mi Barbcau preparing i(ue 



The Barbeau System of Queen 

 Rearing 



WE have received the following 

 letter and accompanying cuts 

 from Mr. E. Barbeau, of St. 

 Eustache, Quebec: 



The enclosed photos illustrate the 

 queen-rearing system which I have 

 invented. It is exceedingly easy to 

 operate. It consists of: 



One cylindric punch. 



One pusher. 



Waxed aluminum capsule tubes 



Royal cages. 



1 he cylindric punch is used to cut, 

 out of the comb, one cell containing 

 a larva one day old, to have the lat- 

 ter developed in a queen-cell. 



In order to use it with success, it 

 is advisable to rub a little vaseline 

 on the inside and outside of this 

 punch, so that it will not stick to the 

 comb. 



The waxed aluminum capsule tubes 

 are used to receive the cells from the 

 punch after they are cut; you simply 

 push the cell from the punch into the 

 capsule tube, by the use of the pusher. 



It is not necessary to put any royal 

 jelly in the cells to induce the work- 

 ers to start queen-cells out of them, 

 when conditions are right. They do 

 ii of i heir own accord. 



The royal cages are used to keep 

 tlu- queens prisoners after they are 

 hatched. 



Nothing is easier than these opera- 

 tions. After preparing 30 or 40 cap- 

 sules or more, you screw them into 

 ., ,,1,11], which you place in a colony 

 which has been made ready for 

 queen rearing. 



I trust the above information is 

 sufficient to make anyone under- 

 stand my system. 



