54 



ADVANCED BEE-CULTURfi. 



er is turned to the month, another to the 

 day of the month and the third to the 

 word "Cell." If the queen is found 

 hatched at the next examination, the 

 date is changed, and the pin turned to 

 "Hatched." When found laying, and 

 again when taken out and shipped, the 

 pointers are turned correspondingly. A 

 glance at the register always shows the 



condition of the nucleus at the last exam- 

 ination. These registering cards are sim- 

 ply indispensable. 



Successful queen rearing does not call 

 for any great out lay of physical strength, 

 but consists rather of constant attention 

 to a thousand and one little details; and 

 the man who is not "cutout" for this 

 kind of work will not succeed. 



^^^■:^'^^^km:^^^^f<^ 



How to Produce Good Extracted Honey. 



believe it is generally admitted that 

 more extracted than comb honey is 

 secured because the bees have no 

 •'-^ combs to build. No honey is con- 

 sumed expressly to produce wax, the 

 comb builders are released for other 

 labors, and, above all, when the honey 

 flow is abundant, there is plenty of store 

 room. It has been said that the produc- 

 tion of comb honey requires greater skill 

 than does the raising of extracted honey. 

 Be this as it may, the securing of a. good 

 article of extracted honej' calls for 

 knowledge of no small degree. 



What is it that gives to honey its val- 

 ue? It is not simply its sweetness, 

 which is of low power; but it is its fine 

 flavor and its rich aroma. These are the 

 qualities that make honey what it is — a 

 luxury — and, if we wish its use, as a sweet 

 sauce, continued, we must learn to raise 

 and care for it in such a manner that its 

 ambrosial, palate tickling qualities will 

 be preserved. Freshly gathered nectar 

 is usually one of the most "silly" tasting 

 and sickening of sweets. To be sure it 

 has the flavor of the flowers from which 

 it was gathered; but that smooth, rich, 

 oily, honey taste, that lingers in the 

 mouth, must be furnished by the bees. 

 Honey extracted when "green," and 

 evaporated in the open air, is not only 



lacking in the element that comes from 

 the secretions of the bees, but its blossom- 

 flavor is half lost by evaporation. ■ To be 

 sure, evaporation must take place if left 

 in the hive, but evaporation in the open 

 air, and evaporation in the aroma-laden 

 atmosphere of the hive, produce differ- 

 ent results. 



One reason why comb honey is, in so 

 many instances, found to be more deli- 

 cious than the extracted, is because the 

 former is more thoroughly ripened. Sel- 

 dom do we find extracted honey equal to 

 that dripping from and surrounding the 

 section of comb honey that is being 

 carved upon a plate. Many of those who 

 produce extracted honey in large quantir 

 ties, extracting before it is thoroughly 

 ripened, admit that such honey is inferi- 

 or, as a table sauce, to that ripened by 

 the bees, but say they cannot afford to 

 produce the best article possible. It 

 costs more, but will sell for no more in 

 the general market. The raising of ex- 

 tracted honey to be shipped away for 

 some commission man to sell, is much 

 like making butter to be sold at a coun- 

 try store. All brings the same price. 

 There is little incentive to produce a su- 

 perior article. White extracted honey 

 brings so much, dark so much. The 

 honey with the fine, delicate flavor, the 



