102 



SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



causes the flavor or aroma to undergo 

 a change. This I do not know. The 

 milder honey, however, changes its 

 flavor less than more pronounced flav- 

 ors in the process of ripening. It may 

 be that if there is no essential oil, the 

 formic acid would not have an oil to 

 combine with, and so the change would 

 not take place. We know that the odor 

 in the apiary, especially marked at 

 night, during the gathering season must 

 be at the sacrifice of something. Is 

 this odor not a combination of the pe- 

 culiar odor of the hive in union with 

 the odor from the nectar? If so, no 

 similar artificial condition can be creat- 

 ed. This odor is certainly not similar 

 to that from a ripening tank of nectar. 

 To illustrate the change : The past 

 summer we had . 240 colonies located in 

 an apiary in the neighborhood of a 

 species of mint. I tasted a peculiarly 

 strong flavored honey in the hive, but 

 could not discover its source, until I 

 traced through, first capped and then 

 uncapped honey, back until I tasted 

 the nectar shaken from the comb, and 

 then the smell of the mint blossom. All 

 formed a perfect chain when there ap- 

 peared to be no connection in flavor 

 between the ripe honey and its fresh 

 nectar. Several of my apicultural stu- 

 dents remarked the same thing. 



In closing, let me say that we as 

 bee-keepers' do not realize how much 

 there is yet to learn in Our profession. 

 We do not realize how great the prac- 

 tical need of learning is, and how little 

 we unitedly are doing to have this work 

 done. The United States is to be con- 

 gratulated upon the work begun at 

 Washington, D. C. Let us do every- 

 thing to encourage good work, and con- 

 demn in all these positions the appoint- 

 ment of inefficient men. Let us be care- 

 ful not to demand definite results too 

 rapidly. In research work I rather ad- 

 mire the methods of the best European 

 countries, where they study, and study, 

 and work, upon a question, confirming 

 results again and again before much is 

 given to the public. I would also sug- 

 gest that these experimental stations, 

 as far as possible, seek the co-operation 

 and corroboration of our best practical 

 bee-keepers' in their own individual 

 apiaries. A committee even (advised- 

 ly) to advise us to work, and discuss 

 all the points or conditions which must 

 be alike, in order to compare the merits 

 of points not alike, should be of very 

 great value, and such a suggestion from 

 the National Association would surely 

 have its weight, and might — in fact, 

 should — aid the work greatly. 



R. F. HOLTERMANN. 



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