1884.] 
AMEEICAE AGEIOULTUEIST. 
281 
Bee Notes for July. 
W. Z. HUTCHINSON. 
Making Honey Vinegar. — The “cappings” 
shaved off in the preparation of honey for extract¬ 
ing, are always allowed to drain. But even when 
thoroughly drained, considerable honey still ad¬ 
heres to them, and it is an excellent plan to have a 
keg or a barrel of water in which to wash them, 
and to allow the water to ferment and become vine¬ 
gar. Water which has been used to rinse out any 
utensil that has contained honey, can be thrown 
into the barrel. The scum that arises upon the sur¬ 
face of the sweetened water should be skimmed off. 
Making Beeswax. —The “ cappings ” which ac¬ 
cumulate in the extraction of honey, and all odds 
and ends of comb, sliould be carefully saved, but, 
in warm weather it is well to render them into wax 
as soon as possible; otherwise they are liable to be¬ 
come infested with the bee moth’s larvae. What is 
called a Swiss wax extractor, is a convenient utensil 
for rendering wax. It is simply a “basket” of 
perforated zinc. Inside a “steamer” which is set 
over a kettle of boiling water. The refuse comb is 
placed in the basket, and the steam rises and 
melts the wax, which is caught by a false bottom 
in the steamer, and runs out through a spout in the 
side. When tbere is not much wax to render, the 
cappings of combs can be put into a tin sieve, the 
sieve covered, and then set over a pan of boiling 
water. The steam will melt the wax, which will 
run down and rest upon the water in the pan. The 
pan and its contents can be set aside until cold, 
when the wax will be found formed into a cake. 
Another method is to put the combs into a cloth 
sack, and the latter into a wash-boiler—the sack 
being held at the bottom of the boiler by means of 
a stick, the upper end of which presses against an¬ 
other stick, lying across the top of the boiler, and 
tied to its handles, When the wax is melted, the 
boiler is set aside until the wax is cool enough to 
be removed. Wax can bo cleaned from utensils, 
by using a cloth saturated with kerosene oil. 
Fuel for Smokers. —Many substances have been 
recommended as fuel for smokers, but nothing has 
given the writer more satisfaction, than what is 
sometimes called “ punk,” a peculiar kind of dry 
rot. That from the maple tree is best. 
Ants. —To circumvent the little ants, that some¬ 
times prove themselves such nuisances by getting 
into honey, place it upon a table or platform, the 
supports of which rest in dishes partly filled with 
kerosene oil. A muslin cover with a rubber cord 
in a hem around its edge, will exclude dust and in¬ 
sects from a vessel holding honey. 
A Bee Sting Remedy.— Veteran bee-keepers 
rarely trouble themselves with bee sting remedies, 
but amateurs, and those in whom the flesh swells 
when stung near the eyes, often wish for something 
that will reduce the swelling and .pain. The best 
remedy known to the writer is a tincture of Plan¬ 
tain, made by pouring alcohol over the freshly 
gathered leaves, and allowing it to remain until it 
turns black, when it is poured off and bottled. If 
this remedy is applied immediately after the wound 
is given, the swelling and pain will be scarcely per¬ 
ceptible. If the person is severely stung, a few 
drops of the tincture can be taken internally. 
Ripening Honey. —When first gathered, honey 
is generally quite thin and watery, so that it can 
readily be shaken from the combs, but the heat of 
the hive, aided by the manipulations of the bees, 
soon reduces it to the proper consistency, when the 
bees seal it over. It has been asserted that larger 
quantities of honey can be obtained, if it is extracted 
when first gathered, but, when taken in this “green” 
condition, it must be ripened by artificial means. 
Otherwise it ferments. It will rarely do so, if 
nearly ready to seal when extracted, and if allowed 
to stand in open vessels, the excess of moisture will 
in time evaporate. Mr. Pettit, a Canadian, has the 
following method of ripening honey. During a 
bountiful yield, he extracts as often as once in 
three days, and when a barrel is full of honey, it 
is raised by means of ropes and pulleys, to the up¬ 
per part of the honey room. The faucet to the bar¬ 
rel is slightly opened, and a small stream of honey 
allowed to trickle upon the upper edge of a sheet 
of tin, having a slight inclination. From the lower 
edge of the tin, the honey drips upon the upper 
edge of another sheet, placed under the first, but 
inclined in the opposite direction. From the 
lower edge of the second sheet of tin, the honey 
drips upon the upper edge of a third sheet, from 
the third to the fourth, and in this manner it con¬ 
tinues to flow from sheet to sheet, until it passes 
over about thirty sheets, when it runs into a large 
vat. To prevent the honey from running off at the 
sides of the sheets, their edges are slightly turned 
up. Mr. Pettit has never found it necessary to run 
the honey through the evaporator more than once. 
There is some difference of ojiinion, however, as to 
whether honey thus artificially ripened, has the 
line, aromatic flavor, and smooth, sweet, oily taste, 
of that thoroughly ripened in the hives. The wri¬ 
ter’s experience in this matter would lead him 
to decide the question in the negative. 
New Varieties of Honey Bees. 
L. C. ROOT, AUTHOR OF “NEW BEE-KEEPING.” 
Through the efforts of Messrs. D. A. Jones, 
Frank Benton, and others, wdio have spent much 
time and money in this direction, several varieties 
of bees, new to this country, have been introduced, 
and their comparative value to some extent tested. 
The Cyprians have some marked characteristics. 
They have been quite thoroughly tested, but do not 
grow in favor with the majority. They are far too 
irritable to be agreeable to handle. Some con¬ 
sider them superior honey-gatherers. I have given 
them quite a thorough trial, and the only point I 
could find in their favor, was a tendency to breed 
late in the fall, w’hich is desirable as affording a 
good force of young bees when going into winter 
quarters. I have not tested the Syrians. Mr. Ben¬ 
ton pronounces them among the very best. The 
Carniolans are said to possess some very desirable 
qualities, and a cross between them and the Italians 
has a good reputation. Much has been said of the 
Holy Land or Palestine bees, but my own experience 
does not corroborate all that is elaimed for them. 
Mr. Julius Hoffman received an importation of 
Caucasian bees in 1880. He has experimented 
quite extensively with them, and is of the opinion 
they are superior in many respects. In fact, I have 
never heard more desirable points claimed for any 
one variety than Mr. Hoffman claims for these. 
He is one of our most practical bee-keepers, and 
his conclusions should be received with confidence. 
Much credit is due those who have been so pre¬ 
severing in securing to us these new varieties. The 
ultimate results must be of great good, as the 
future crossing of these strains will no doubt give 
us one with a combination of very superior traits. 
The Cow in Midsummer. 
On farms where the dairy is an important part of 
the husbandry, provision is made by sowing soiling 
crops, to supplement the diminished pasturage in 
midsummer. Those who keep only the “ family 
cow,” or at most two or three cows, find the flow 
of milk to decrease, and often without any green 
crop provided for keeping it up. The territory of 
those who keep but a single cow, is often restricted 
to a small pasture and a vegetable garden. The 
garden should be made to supplement the pasture, 
and this may be done to some extent by securing 
for the cow much from the garden that usually 
goes to waste. Every one who has a garden, tries 
to have an abundance of green peas. After the 
vines have yielded their last profitable picking, in¬ 
stead of allowing them to remain upon the ground 
until that is wanted for another crop, feed the 
vine.* to the cow while they are still green and suc¬ 
culent. So with sweet corn. When the last ear is 
plucked from a stalk or a hill, do not wait until 
the whole patch or row can be cleared, but pull up 
the stalks that have been deprived of ears, a few 
at a time, and feed them while in their best con¬ 
dition. The outer leaves of early cabbages, and 
the leaves of beets, carrots, and turnips, carefully 
saved, will make an important item in the succulent 
food for the cow. If there is a space in the garden, 
from which an early crop has been removed, and it 
is not needed for a late garden crop, it should be 
growing something for the cow. Sweet-corn may 
be sown thickly in rows for “ fodder corn,” and 
afford welcome feed. It is well to have an abun¬ 
dance of cabbage plants of a large late variety, 
and set them out wherever there is room, and far 
beyond the needs of the family. An occasional 
cabbage next winter will be a treat to the cow. 
Experiments made a dozen years ago with some 
twenty varieties of the Southern Cow Pea showed, 
incidentally, that, even at the North, if they did 
not ripen their seeds, they would give an enor¬ 
mous weight of herbage upon a small area. This 
pea is highly valued for animals at the South, 
both fresh and as hay, and seems to be worth try¬ 
ing in Northern localities, as a soiling plant. 
Where there is room, even a few square yards, it 
may be well to sow either Hungarian grass, or one 
of the plants called Millet, for late summer feed 
for the cow. If the soil is rich, an abundant crop 
may be cut. Besides summer feed in the garden, 
if there is room there or elsewhere, it is well to 
think of Jerusalem Artichokes as a winter treat. 
It is late now for a large crop, but with the tops,, 
which are highly relished, the tubers, being crisp, 
succulent and highly nutritious, will be most ac¬ 
ceptable as an addition to dry fodder. When one 
once fairly undertakes to produce the greatest 
possible amount of cow food from a small area of 
land, he will be surprised at the results that ho 
obtaius, especially those seen in the pail. 
Blight in Different Varieties of Pears. 
In an orchard of live hundred pear trees, three 
hundred Louise Bonne de Jersey, and two hundred 
Bartletts, planted in 1876, the blight had killed, up 
to last year, forty Bartletts, and about as many of 
the Louise Bonne. This season four per cent of 
the latter, and six per cent of Bartletts have been 
reset. In another orchard of an equal number of 
trees set in 1882, quite a number were reset last 
spring, and this year the loss by blight and a few 
by accident, was of Bartletts twelve per cent. Os- 
band’s Summer eight per cent, and of Duchess de 
Angouleme less than two per cent. Thus it will be 
seen that the Bartlett is most subject to blight of 
the four varieties. Indeed the loss among three 
hundred and fifty Bartletts was nearly as great as in 
six hundred and fifty trees of the other three kinds. 
The Bartlett is a deservedly popular variety 
with buyers of fruit, and by them is considered a 
