ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPEES' ASSOCIATIOX. 51 



I have given that out a great many times, and I think it is a good idea 

 to give it, because you can convince the people who ask you. 



You know there are no two leaves in the woods that are alike. 

 You can spend a whole day in the woods and pick leaves that seem 

 almost alike, but there are differences. There are not two birds' nests 

 alike, and there are no two combs of honey alike, because they are 

 made in the natural way. But take manufactured articles and you 

 can have tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands or millions, all 

 alike ; they are made by machinery. Now, if comb honey was made by 

 machinery, the combs would be all alike; but if they look at those 

 sections they can convince themselves there are no two alike, and they 

 cannot have been done by machinery, but they must be done by the 

 insects themselves. That is the most convincing argument you can 

 get. 



Another thing, we exhibit foundation and say, that is as far as 

 human genius can go in the manufacture of honey, the bees have to 

 do the rest. If a man says that that part is manufactured, we explain 

 to him how we make it, and then explain how honey comb is made. 

 He then knows that there is no such thing as manufactured comb 

 honey; but the people on the street do not know, and many would 

 rather believe that the people are dishonest than honest. Oh, yes, 

 there is lots of swindling in this world, and they are only too ready to 

 believe that what is sold for honey is nothing but glucose. And when 

 the Food Administration gives out a statement about honey manu- 

 facture, they are creating a wrong impression. "Mixture of honey," 

 or "products containing honey," that is all right, but they must not 

 call it "manufactured honey." 



Mr. Seastream. — ^I should like to tell a little story in connection 

 with what Mr. Dadant said. I was taking care of the bees of a friend 

 of mine, Mr. Baxter, Dr. Baxter's uncle. He had a hired man and 

 this hired man was after me time and again with the question, "What 

 do you feed them anyhow?" I told him we did not feed them unless 

 they were starved, then we fed them, otherwise we did not feed them 

 at all. He was after me several times about the same thing and he 

 walked away from me disappointed when I told him the truth. So one 

 day I came over and he asked me the question again, and I said, "Well, 

 I will tell you, Ed, if you won't tell it to anybody I will tell you the 

 truth." I said, "We feed them on cold cooked potatoes and sour 

 milk, and they make honey on that feed, "and he walked away from 

 me satisfied. I could see how satisfied he was. 



The President. — ^That sounds ridiculous, but out at the fair the 

 last time I had a card telling what seven ounces of honey was equal 

 to in food value, most of you are familiar with it. It was put out by 

 Dr. Miller, and in that was a quart of milk and so many ounces of 

 beef steak and so many bananas and oranges; a perfectly intelligent 

 appearing man came up to Mr. Withrow and asked, "How in the 

 world do you put all that together and make honey?" It was not a 

 joke, the man was sincere about it. 



Mr. Seastream. — I. have something Hke two hundred hives of 

 bees but I have had more trouble about answering questions, trying 

 to convince people that I have honey for sale, than all my work amounts 



