ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION. , 49 



I do not know how many of our, beekeepers appreciate the possible 

 harm that the official pubHcation of "honey manufacture" recognized 

 by the Government may do to our industry. Just at present, when 

 honey is exceedingly scarce, there is a demand for it nevertheless. 

 But we must bear in mind that, unless we see to it that only pure 

 bees' honey may be legally sold under the name of honey, there will 

 be more or less hesitancy on the part of the uninformed consumer in 

 buying honey. The sale of honey would be limitless if every con- 

 sumer could have positive knowledge of the purity of the article offered 

 to him. 



This country is not the only one where there is a misunderstanding 

 concerning "pure honey." In France, quite an excitement was caused 

 among bee-keepers by the permission given by the French Government 

 to dealers in sweets to sell a preparation containing only a small pro- 

 portion of real honey mixed with corn glucose, under the name of "miel 

 de fantisie, " which name may be correctly translated as "fancy honey" 

 or "fantasy honey. " The name leaves the impression on some consum- 

 ers that this so-called "fantasy honey" is really of better quality than 

 the pure article. 



Of course it is to the interest of the man who makes it his business 

 to mix high grade goods with inferior products to give the mixture the 

 name of the better product. But it behooves all lovers of the truth to 

 insist on giving each article its proper name. We are pecuniarily and 

 morally interested in not allowing any "mixtures of honey" to be sold 

 under the name of hone3^ So we should insist with the Food Adminis- 

 tration that they either refuse to permit "honey manufacture" or 

 that they demand that such articles be called only "honey mixtures." 



I believe that our bee-keepers' associations are the ones to take 

 up this matter with the Food Administration, asking for explicit and 

 positive regulations. 



Mr. President, I don't know wheter it strikes your members as 

 strongly as it does me, that this matter is of great importance to the 

 bee-keeper. I have many times, in offering honey, been confronted 

 with the statement, how did they know the honey was pure? Glucose 

 was cheap, and a man like the United States Chemist, Dr. Wiley, said it 

 was manufactured ; that they manufactured the comb out of parafiine, 

 that they put the honey in by machinery. He never denied it, simply 

 let it stand and ridiculed the bee-keepers, said they could not see any 

 point except the sting of a bee, so I think we ought to let it be known 

 that we do not approve of honey adulteration and I think the Govern- 

 ment should be informed that it is entirely out of place to permit 

 openly honey manufacture; and that it is manufactured with the per- 

 imssion of the Government and is a mixture of glucose or some cheaper 

 compound under the name of honey. 



The President, — Has any one anything to say in the way of 

 discussing the paper? 



The Secretary. — I think that is a very valuable thing to go 

 into our report. 



Mr. Tyler. — ^An incident that occurred recently carries out Mr. 

 Dadant's point very clearly. A food administrator — I suppose that 



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