The Maui news. [volume] (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.) 1900-current, 1921-10-21
Queen Is Shown at
Her Household Work
During Maui's Fair

Among the special exhibits at the
Maui Fair the Bee and Honey exhibit
attracted considerable attention. The
bees were exhibited in a observatory
hive that was so constructed that
none of the occupants of the hive
could hide from view. The colony
OF bees within the hive consisted of
one comb of brood and bees with a
queen. During the first day of the
Fair the queen could be seen most of
the time at work laying eggs in empty
cells. The brood in the comb was of
all stages OF development, and young
bees could be seen Matching out of
the cells at all times. The mandables
of the young bee could be seer as it
clipped off the ring of wax that Gov
cred the end of the cell, and than a
few moments later the young bee
would emerge from the cocoon. The
larva of the bee spins cocoons the
same as butterflies, silk worms, etc.
Food Flavors Honey
The honey exhibited consisted Of a
sample of extracted algaroba honey,
and a sample of cane honey in the
same condition. There was also a
comb of algaroba honey built in a
SBSSAAA vi hNC ~ OlSAIN
in size. However the comb honey ex-
hibit did not last out the Fair as on
Friday when the school children were
out in force, some of them could not
resist sticking their fingers in the
comb, with the result that it was ruin
ed for exhibition purposes. One of
the features of the honey exhibit was
that 1t called attention to the differ
ence in quality of Hawaiian honey. AL
garoba honey is water white and in
quality compares favorable with Glow
er honey.
Cane honey has a very rank flavor
and is unfit for table use. In fact it
takes but a small amount of cane
honey mixed with algaroba, or any
other floral honey, in order to spoil
it. So it behooves the housewife here
In Hawaii when she purchases honey
to ascertain whether or not the honey
has any of the a product in it. A
good rule to follow is-not to pur-
chase honey unless it lis water white.
Nature Needs Bees
One of the facts concerning bees
and honey, is that the bees Is a neces-
sity in nature. If the bees of the
world should be suddenly eliminated,
the result would be that most of the
plants of the world would not be fer
talized, and as a result the fruit crop,
and many seed crops would never
mature. 1t is the bee that carries the
pollen from one blossom to another
and thereby fertilizes the plant. In
order that the bees will visit the flow
ers nature has provided the flowers
with nectar, or honey as it is general
ly called. Chemically honey it is
grape sugar, and is the easiest sugar
that the human system can handle.
It only takes about one half as much
work for the stomach to digest honey
as it does cane sugar.
AS to how much honey a colony OF
bees will produce, is a matter that de-
ponds on the location, and the season.
AS a rule, ornamental flowers produce
NO honey. They are either wind fer
talized, or they depend on their gaudy
color to attract insects to carry the
pollen.
Climate and Production
Then again, climatic conditions
have a lot to do with the secretion of
nectar by the blossoms. Hot dry
winds dry the blossoms up, while
rainy weather as a result wash the
nectar out of the blossoms. Then too,
management of bees plays the same
part in the crop of honey secured, that
1t does with other stock or plants. For
instance the queen that was on ex-
hibition at the Fair, her bees during
the algaroba hony flow at Wailuku-
and which flow was from May 18th
to July 10th, 1921, produced sixty
pounds of algaroba honey. But this
crop of nice white honey was the re-
suit Of good management. The bees
were forced to breed up strong and
were kept at work. The average o
ony in and about Wailuku produced
little or no algaroba honey during the
past summer.
la.llinn Laac