110 



GLEAKIKGS m BEE CULTURE. 



April, 



would get through, but a number died of starvaticm 

 with plenty of grape sugar left on the frames. All 

 those that had us"d up their honey died. In all cases 

 they had used some of the grape sugar, while those 

 that had ?ome honey left were alive and had not 

 used any of the grape sugar. Two hives that were 

 entirely out of honey I fed by dissolving grape sugar 

 with about one-f mirth honey and filling empty combs 

 with it. They r.re alive and doing well. 1 have re- 

 cently, taking advantage of the mild weather, fed all 

 my remaining hives the same way — giving each from 



to "i") pounds. 



This grape sugar or glucose will no doubt, on ac- 

 r-oiint of its low price comparatively, and its pecu- 

 liar adaptation to the purpose, be e.Ttensivel.v used 

 in feeding bees, both for spring stimulating and for 

 vviutering, and I have no doubt that it will be used 

 for other purposes not quite as commendable. With 

 glucose, that will not harden, at .5c per lb. and comb 

 fdii. at 50c per lb., we may expect to hear of larger 

 yields of comb honey next season than ever heard of 

 before. For how easy it will be to have this cheap 

 artificial comb filled with cheap artificial honey, of 

 any tlavor that you may like, in quantities limited 

 only by the capacity of the bees for carrying it in 

 and sealing it up? Truly we may expect the price 

 of comb honey to come down — if not to .5c per lb., 

 somewhTe approximating to it. Most people think 

 that wlieu honey is put into the comb and sealed up 

 by the bees it is positive evidence of its being pure 

 honey from the flowers. 



But this is a delusion and I would reluctantly dis- 

 pel it, for it would be a consolation to know that 

 there i? one thing that we can get pure and unadul- 

 terated. It has been known by many bee-keepers 

 that bees will store and seal up such sweets as are 

 fed to them, and I have but little doubt that some of 

 our repKjrted great yields of comb honey has been 

 produced in that way, but, for the want of a gootl 

 cheap f ' f^d, which glucose now supplies, it has not 

 been expensively practiced. 



In imagination, I already hear you protest that 

 this would be deception — wrong, very wrong, and I 

 agree with you, but I fear that there will be many a 

 v/eak brother who will not be able to resist the 

 temptation. 



I see from Gleanings that some wiseacre in Eng- 

 land has been analj'ziiig Yankee honey and found it 

 to contain glucose or grape sugar. I wonder if he 

 ever analyzed honey gathered from the flowers? 

 And if he has, did he find no grape sugar in it? The 

 saccharine principle of honey is essentially ffrapi: 

 ougar as distinguished from ffmc sugar. We had in 

 an early volume of the A. B. J., when under the 

 management ofithe late Mr. Wagner, a very exhaust- 

 ive analysis of honey by a German chemist, and glu- 

 cose or grape sugar was given as one of the promi- 

 nent constituents of pure honey.* 



I made a syrup of two parts grape sugar and one 

 part light brown sugar, which we have been using 

 nil winter, and we all like it better than any molas- 

 ses we can buy, and find it a good substitute for hon- 

 '^y. We find it healthy, not producing biliousness 

 like molasses. It does not harden— whether the 

 brown sugar put in it prevents it, or whether it is so 

 good that we don't keep it long enough, I am not 

 able to say. The grape sugar and honey mixed, that 



1 am using to feed bees upon, is better than buck- 

 wheat or golden rod honey, or any that I ever ate 

 unless it be clover or bass wood. 



March 2d. 1878. Thaddeus Smith. 



Pelee Island, Lake Erie, Ontario. 



According to the statement given on page 

 43 of the first volume of the A. B. J., honey 

 is ])rincipally grape' sugar, and I think the 

 matter has long been recognized ; but the 

 glucose that has been used for adulterating 

 coney, is probably so impure, thfit a chem- 

 ist could detect the spurious addition read- 

 ily. A few days ago a sample ot'honey in 

 glHss jars«\as sent me. The jar contained 

 ;■, very nice piece of comb, in liquid honey. 

 The label bore tlie name of C. O. Peirine. 

 The wliole outfit, looked beautiful, and 



^Such is my recollection of it. As you have the 

 A. B. J. bound with index, I would like for you to 

 refer to it — and confirm or correct nie— it may bo a 

 matter of some importance to know whether honey 

 adulterated with glucose can be detected by analysis. 



somewhat to my surprise, as it was sent me 

 to taste, I think it tasted beautifully, if I 

 may be allowed the expression. If I had 

 purchased the honey, I am sure I should 

 have been well satisfied with it. although the 

 contents of the comb, were different from 

 the liquid portion, and none of it was crys- 

 tixlized. This was by no means a proof that 

 all was not pure honey, but whether it was 

 or not, I should pronounce it both good and 

 wholesome. A pure article of glucose, is ex- 

 cellent food, and we would like it just as 

 well as honey, did it not lack the flavor of 

 the flowers. * 



While I really think strong bass wood hon- 

 ey is improved for table use by being mixed 

 with the finest quality of glucose, I would 

 under no circumstances, approve selling it 

 as honey. If the jars are labeled honey and 

 glucose, and people are willing to buy it un- 

 der that name, I see no possible harm in it. 

 Perhaps the better way would be to buy the 

 two separately and mix them yourself, ac- 

 cording to taste. I think the manufacture of 

 both glucose and grape sugar one of the im- 

 proved industries of the age, Botwithstand- 

 ing some of the sensational newspaper re- 

 ports in regard to the matter ; but it certain- 

 ly should come out into broad day light, and 

 not be marked and sold under an assumed 

 name. If carefully freed from all trace of 

 sulphuric acid and other chemicals used in 

 its manufacture, as done by our first class 

 factories, it is, I am sure, just as wholesome 

 as honey. Call things by their right names, 

 and no one will be harmed. 



STINGS, GI^OTES, AND Sl^OKERS. 



fN reply to your statement on postal card that you 

 furnish rubber gloves "under protest," I will 

 • grive you a short sketch of my experience in bee- 

 keeping, to justify me in wearing them. I have 

 been keeping bees about five years and have at pres- 

 ent 16 colonies of Italians in good condition. Previ- 

 ous to Sept. 'T6, 1 used no protection on my hands, 

 although they were, occasionally, nearly double their 

 usual size from the effects of stings; thus showing 

 that the poison effects me more than most others. 



In Sept. '76, I purchased my first Italian queens. 

 They arrived late in the evening, by mail, and as I 

 was under the imprtssion that they should be intro- 

 duced immediately, I took them home, and having 

 no experience, had some difficulty in getting them 

 into their cages. As it was then getting dark, I con- 

 cluded to put both queens into one hive until next 

 morning: I opened one of the hives (the black queens 

 having been removed in the morning) and put the 

 queens in. As soon as the cages touched the bees 

 they made a "zeep" and in less time than it takes to 

 write it, the cages were black with bees running up 

 the wire which I had in my hand and attached to the 

 cage, also flying in my face and stinging fearfully 

 wherever they came in contact with my face and 

 hands, I however succeeded in getting them closed 

 up in "bee smashing" style^and went to the house 

 wishing I had never seen a bee. 



As I felt rather sick, I seated myself and asked my 

 wife to bring in a pitcher of fresh water. By the 

 time she came in I had fainted, my face, as she said, 

 presenting a very unnatural appearance. She gave 

 a few shrieks and also fainted. Our daughter being 

 in the parlor with some lady friends." of course came 

 out "double quick" and you can imagine what a flur- 

 ry this created. Well, I woke up, as I thought, and 

 you can imagine my surprise when I saw our family 

 physician in the room and some 8 or 10 women in the 

 sitting room and kitchen with ammonia and cam- 

 phor bottles. I asked the physician what all this 

 meant, and he said i had fainted. I told him I tho't 

 not, that r never fainted before, but had probably 

 fallen asleep, and rubbing my hand over my brow 1 

 found drops of perspiration — well, not quite as large 

 as a ten cent piece, i concluded he was about right. 



