1878. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



79 



without, &c. Perhaps he says he does not know, and 

 asks what I would advise. Now my friend I hardly 

 know how I can advise, unless I know what progress 

 you have made. It is by far the best way for you to 

 study, and get some bees and go to work. You will 

 very soon find out what you need, without asking 

 advice of any body. 



Well, the gentleman I have kept waiting so long, 

 did not ask questions; at least, not the samestero- 

 typed ones that have been asked so often. He said 

 bisnamo was J. H. Nellis. Did j'ou ever get really 

 well acquainted with any-body in business transac- 

 tions without ever seeing them, and then have some 

 utter stranger come in and pleasantly tell you that he 

 is the man? How queerly it makes one feel, especi- 

 ally, if you have imagined a different sort of a person. ; 

 The typo writer was laid aside, and I cannot tell you, j 

 how much good his visit did me. Perhaps work got 

 behind a little, but this time, Ihad a "powerful sight" 

 of questions to ask, about queen rearing and other 

 things, and you will probably hear about what friend ' 

 Nellis said, for several monihs to come. May God | 

 bless the York State bee-keepers. j 



After the kind visits of Doolittle, Betsinger, Nellis, ! 

 and others, I have always felt that they did me ' 

 much good. Friend Nellis expressed the idea, exact- 

 ly, in saying "it takes the conceit out of a body, to 

 visit somebody else in the same line of business," and i 

 I really fear if you put it in that way, I ought to go 1 

 "visiting" all the time. After such friends go away, j 

 I feel for sometime after, as lonesome as I used to 

 when a boy, when my brother of nearly my own age 

 used to be absent. I would dearly love to \^isit all my 

 friends, but O dear me, who will answer the lettei's 

 and postal cards, especially those that complain so 

 bitterlj', because I do not answer a civil question? 



One more swarm of bees has starved, .iust because 

 I wanted to look after the bees myself; but 1 was final- 

 ly obliged to set somebody else at the task of looking 

 them over, to see if any had used up their stores dur- 

 ing this warm winter. 



I fear it will be of no use to ask for lower prices on 

 goods, even if taken in quantities, for I shall feel 

 happy if 1 am able to fill all orders promptly and 

 carefully, at the prices given in our catalogue 



Extracted Honey. Continued from last month. 

 Again; new honey, has, many times, a 

 rank disagi'eeable odor and taste. I have 

 been told that in the Eastern States 

 much honey is sometimes obtained from the 

 fields where onion seeds are raised for the 

 market, and that tliis honey when first 

 gathered, is so strong of onions, that it can- 

 not be used. In a few weeks however, this 

 rank and disagreeable flavor is all gone, 

 and the honey is very fair. Eew persons 

 can tolerate the strong aromatic flavor, of 

 bass-Avood honey Avhen first gathered, and 

 some of the jars I have mentioned, when 

 opened, gave one an impression that some- 

 tliing akin to turpentine had been mixed 

 with the honey. This was because it had 

 been closely corked when first gathered; but 

 had it have been left until sealed, the un- 

 pleasant taste would have been mostly gone. 

 I say mostly, for even sealing does not seem 



to entirely remove the rank flavor, unless 

 the combs have been some weeks in the. 

 hive. A few days ago I took a beautiful 

 looking piece of comb honey out of a jar 

 that was found in the market. On opening 

 the cells I found the honey had such a rank 

 bass-wood flavor, that it was to me quite 

 disagreeable, and yet I am fond of the bass- 

 wood flavor. Very white new comb honey, 

 is seldom of the fine pm-e sweet flavor, of 

 honey that has been a long time capped 

 over, such as is found in the dark looking 

 comb. To which shall we give the prefer- 

 ence, looks or taste? In 1876 we were so 

 busy that we could not attend to extracting, 

 and so we raised the filled stories up, and 

 put those filled with empty combs just un- 

 der them over the brood. This occupied 

 little time, and the bees were not hindered in 

 their work, a single moment. I have never 

 seen bees amass stores faster. Some hives 

 filled 4 stories to repletion, and the Avhole 

 was left on the hives until the latter part of 

 the summer. In fact, I left them on the 

 hives to be safe from the depredations of 

 the moth, intending to cut out the honey 

 and sell it in the comb, or to extract it, 

 whichever form should prove most market- 

 able. This honey was cut out of the frames 

 and sold the following winter, and it was 

 the nicest and richest honey I ever saw or 

 tiisted. To my astonishment, the liquid 

 portions that ran out when the combs were 

 cut, would not candy at all, even when ex- 

 posed to a zero freeze. The honey was so 

 thick, that a saucer full could be turned 

 over, Avithout spilling, and it had a bright 

 crystalline clearness, compared with ordi- 

 nary extracted honey. 



Extracted honey, if taken otit while 

 "green"' (as I have often termed the un- 

 ripened state) has a greenish tinge, which 

 well ripened honey has not. Some speci- 

 mens have a turbid, or cloudy look, and I 

 t)elieve such honey is never really fine 

 flavored. I am well aware that I am con- 

 demning the honey I have been selling, by 

 these remarks, but I cannot help it. If I 

 I ha* now, some extracted honey such as was 

 fallen from those well ripened combs, I 

 I would feel that it was preferable at 25c., to 

 that which I am now selling at 1.5. Proper- 

 ly ripened bass-AVood or clover honey, has a 

 si)arkling clearness, like Avhite flint glass, 

 ' and the flavor is pure and exquisite. I 

 I lia\^e never seen any nice looking comb hon- 

 ey equal to it, for tlie market ahvays de- 

 j mands comb honey that is white, and has 

 ' not remained on the hive, a long time. I 



