THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



45 



liijhtf 111 work for me is to rear queens and 

 produce honey — and sell the honey. No 

 piano ever made as sweet music to my 

 ears as does the hum of bees. 



Yes, many bee-keepers are dishonest. 

 I truly believe that most of the men in 

 any occupation stay with a deal only when 

 selfish motives dictate. 



Every season there is more or less hon- 

 ey dew along the San Joaquin River. 

 Strange as it may seem, bees store the 

 vile stuff in their hives. There is a class 

 of customers who desire it; at a reduced 

 price, of course. Some honey, largely of 

 this class, I consigned to Messrs. W. G. 

 Lowry & Co., San Francisco, at 4>^ cents 

 per pound. \'ery likely / could not 

 have sold it so well; but they know the 

 trade; and, so far as I can learn, are strict- 

 ly honest and capable. Of course, to buy 

 it outright they would buy at the lowest 

 price they could, to compete with others 

 who do the same. The honey dealer is 

 of necessity a bull and a bear. It just de- 

 pends whether he is driving a purchase or 

 a sale. Competition reduces the profits 

 that would otherwise accrue to the deal- 

 er. When dealers unite we call it a trust, 

 and wonder how they \\'\\\ regulate the 

 laws of supply and demand; for the forces 

 of Nature are set at naught, or almost so, 

 by such men. When bee-keepers unite 

 for the same purpose we call it an E.i- 

 chatige. 



If light honey comes in rapidly, my 

 advice is to put much of it in the sections; 

 everything packed in good shape. Slow 

 flow and dark honey should always be 

 extracted. Honey may contain much 

 honey dew, yet the San Francisco 

 trade handles it very satisfactorily under 

 the name of "tule honey." A wholesale 

 dealer in Fresno told me he would give 

 more for honey with "a strong bee taste," 

 because it could stand more glucose, and 

 still pass for honey. He says he sells to 

 Eastern dealers, and they all "mix." 



Perhaps the strangest part of Mr. Man- 

 delbaum's article is where he wants the 

 cases marked so as to protect hi)n, and 

 yet allow him to sell alfalfa and basswood 



for white clover. I don't know what you 

 call that. One point farther: If he sells 

 a case marked '•}. F. Mclntyre " the 

 purchaser can not tell who to send to for 

 more, except to send to S. T. Fish & Co. 

 But, suppose the case is marked, "J. F. 

 Mclntyre, Sespe, Calif.," the customer 

 may send to California for his next honey, 

 and S. T. Fish .S: Co. have lost a customer. 



"The gross, tare and net should be on 

 the case." For comb honey that is pro- 

 bably the best. Pass this rule along. 

 When a strong house takes a stand for 

 actual tare, tell other honey producers 

 about it; tell dealers about it who insist 

 on "estimating" you out of your honey; 

 tell them and inake them hear. Such 

 testimony from Eastern houses has been 

 so persistently handled in central Cali- 

 fornia that "estimated robbery'' is now in 

 its death struggles here. Some San Fran- 

 cisco houses now recommend actual tare. 

 With extracted we usually put 60 lbs. in 

 each can and mark the case " 1 20 lbs. net. ' ' 



In the last paragraph he touches a very 

 important po'nt when he refers to Con- 

 gress eliminating adulteration. Several 

 have stated that Congress can not forbid 

 adulteration; onl}' prohibit its transpor- 

 tation between the States. So far as I 

 can learn, the statement was first made 

 by Mr. Abbott; who ought to be posted 

 on the subject. The "general welfare 

 clause" of the Constitution surely would 

 permit of such legislature; providing 

 there is not some modifying court decis- 

 ion or law that has not come to my notice. 

 Gr.wson, Calif., Jan. 5, 1900. 



PROTEST; AND A DEFENCE 

 OF THE COLORADO HON- 

 EY PRODUCERS' ASSOCIA- 

 TION. BY FRANK RAUCH- 

 FUSS. 



In the December number of the 

 Review appeared an ambiguous article by 

 M. H. Mandelbaum, which will be un- 



