342 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



N. J., who, in commenting upon the fore- 

 going views says: "Of course drier fuel 

 will evaporate less water than fuel more 

 moist, but, my dear sir, the products of 

 combustion are pyroligenous substances 

 and water. The hydrogen of the wood, 

 combining with the oxygen of the air, 

 produces water as one of the products 

 of combustion; and, if the nozzle of the 

 smoker is cool enough, the steam thus 

 produced will unite with the pyroligne- 

 ous acid, creosote, etc., and leave the 

 smoker in the form of inky drops. The 

 moisture produced by damp fuel is a 

 trivial matter compared with the amount 

 of steam produced by combustion. In 

 lighting a lamp, immediately a cloud of 

 moisture is deposited on the chimney. 

 This is becaiise the chimney is cold. As 

 soon as the chimney becomes heated the 

 moisture evaporates; but the production 

 of moisture is going on just the same. 

 Hold a cold spoon over the top of 

 the chimney, and the moisture will 

 appear on it just the same as it did on the 

 chimney. So, the simple solution is, 

 have the smoker sufhciently hot to evap- 

 orate the water and the pyroligneons pro- 

 ducts." 



This explains why Mr. Thompson had 

 more trouble after he had cleaned 

 his smoker; the nozzle was robbed 

 of its non-conducting lining of soot, 

 and the moisture, being brought in close 

 contact with the tin that was kept cool by 

 the outer air, was condensed and ran out 

 in the forms of drops. 



P.\CK.\GES FOR SHIPPING EXTRACTED 

 HONEY. 



My experience in the shipping of ex- 

 tracted honey has not been very extensive. 

 I have made a few shipments, and I have 

 received a few. In each case there has 

 been a variety of packages, viz., kegs, 

 barrels and jacketed tin cans. In no 

 case has there been any leakage. To be 

 of any value, the experience must be 

 more extensive than mine. Barrels are 

 heavier than the tin cans; but the greatest 



objection that has been brought against 

 them is that they sometimes leak. Right 

 here let me say that there are barrels and 

 barrels, and ways and ways of handling 

 them. When I was at the France-home 

 last summer, in Wisconsin, I had a long 

 talk with the elder France out in the room 

 where they store their barrels of honey. 

 There was a big stack of empty barrels 

 there that had been there for months, in 

 waiting for the big crop that did not 

 come. Mr. France appeared just a trifle 

 indignant at the charge that barrels leak- 

 ed. If they did leak it was because they 

 were improperly managed. Their barrels 

 were made a long time in advance of the 

 time in which they were to be used. This 

 allowed them to become thoroughly sea- 

 sened. Before using, the hoops were 

 driven down good and hard. The point 

 is this, that honey has a great affinity for 

 water; and if there is the least water in 

 the staves the honey will absorb it and 

 cause the wood to shrink; when, of 

 course, there will be leakage. Mr. France 

 said that with their management there 

 was no trouble from leakage. Then, 

 w'hen it comes to handling, Mr. France 

 pointed to the door of the honey house 

 and said: "Don't you see that the floor is 

 just the right height so that when a wag- 

 on is backed up there, the floor and the 

 bottom of the wagon are on a level. All 

 you have to do is simply to roll the bar- 

 rel into the wagon. Tin cans you can't 

 roll nor shove; you have got to pick them 

 up and cany them. When you get to 

 the railroad station, all you have to do is 

 to back the wagon up to the platform and 

 roll out the barrel." You see, don't you, 

 friends, that from Mr. France's point of 

 view, barrels are all right. The trouble 

 is that all bee-keepers are not Frances. 

 In my trip through Wisconsin I found 

 that all the extensive producers of ex- 

 tracted honey used barrels. Buyers who 

 go through that State expect to find the 

 honey in barrels. They prefer it that 

 way. They would not care to buy 

 and pay for more expensive packages. 

 Only one man did I find using anything 



