(Entered as aecond-class matter July 30, 1907, at the Post-Offlce at Chicago. 111., ander Act of March 3, 1879.) 



Published Monthly at $1.00 a Year, by George W. York & Company, 117 North Jefferson Street, 



GEORGE W. YORK. Editor. 



DR. C. C. MILLER. Associate Editor. 



CHICAGO, ILL, NOVEMBER, 1911 



Vol. LI -No. 11 



" Karo Corn Syrup " v.s. Honey 



For many a year the name of Marion 

 Harland has been a household word. 

 It is the pen-name of a writer whose 

 " Common Sense in the Household '' 

 has for more than 30 years been con- 

 stantly consulted in thousands of 

 homes all over the land as a help in 

 good cooking. Other works from her 

 pen, and her voluminous writings in 

 the daily press, answering thousands 

 of questions from anxious inquirers, 

 have helped to endear her to the heart 

 of the great public, who have felt that 

 Marion Harland was a warm personal 

 friend, a wise friend who always knew 

 what was best on all questions pertain- 

 ing to the matter of one's daily bread, 

 and a friend whose word could always 

 be relied on — utterly dependable. 



When the October number of lead- 

 ing popular magazines appeared many 

 must have gasped with astonishment 

 when they faced a full-page advertise- 

 ment of Karo, the chief part of the ad- 

 vertisement being the following, in 

 bold, black type : 



I do not hesitate to award Karo the prefer- 

 ence above any other table syrup used in 

 my household. 



As an accompaniment to waffles and grid- 

 dle-calces it deserves all that can be said in 

 praise of it. It is as clear and as sweet as 

 honey, and richer in consistency without 

 the cloyine quality that makes honey dis- 

 tasteful to some, and unwholesome if eaten 

 freely. 



I have also used Karo in the preparation of 

 puddings and gingerbread, and with satis- 

 factory results. The candies made from it 

 are pure and delicious. 



Marion Hari.and. 



One can imagine something of the 

 thoughts and the questionings awak- 

 ened upon the reading of that remark- 

 able statement. After the first shock 

 of surprise there will probably be some 

 analysis of the statement: "Karo the 

 preference over any other table syrup 

 used in my household!" And Karo is 

 glucose! Does that mean that Marion 

 Harland uses nothing better than glu- 

 cose in her household, or does it mean 



that after trying all kinds of syrups she 

 finds glucose the best ? "As an accom- 

 paniment to waffles and griddle-cakes 

 it deserves all that can be said in praise 

 of it." All that can be said. It cayi be 

 said to have a flavor superior to the 

 best of honey, and greatly to excel 

 honey in wholesomeness ; and that 

 praise it deserves ! 



" Clear and sweet as honey and richer 

 in consistency." Now what does that 

 "richer in consistency " mean ? Does 

 it mean that Karo is thicker than the 

 thickest honey, even if the honey be 

 granulated? Or what can it mean? 

 " Without the cloying quality that 

 makes honey distasteful to some, and 

 unwholesome if eaten freely." Does 

 that mean that it is always dangerous 

 to eat honey freely ? What will be 

 thought of such a thing in families 

 where honey is a common article of 

 food and where there is no restriction 

 put upon the amount eaten by the chil- 

 dren ? Does the cloying quality make 

 it unwholesome for them ? "The can- 

 dies from it are pure and delicious." 

 Pure ? Pure glucose ? 



But before there is time to formulate 

 all this into words, the question will be 

 raised, "Is it Marion Harland that says 

 this ? Oiii- Marion Harland ? The 

 Marion Harland whose every word is 

 always true as gospel ? It can not be. 

 But there is the fac-simile of her writ- 

 ten signature. 'Marion Harland!' Can 

 it be that she really believes that signed 

 statement ? Does she actually know 

 so little of the comparative character- 

 istics of honey and glucose ? Can she 

 be in her dotage? Or can it be possi- 

 ble that there was some financial in- 

 ducement in the case ?" 



Although answers to such questions 

 may not be obtained, and although the 

 whole matter must be left in amaze- 

 ment and doubt, one or two comments 

 may not be out of place. 



First, that in groping after words to 

 express the superlative excellence of 

 glucose, the only thing sufficiently ap- 



proaching it to be worth mentioning is 

 honey. Sugar, drips, Louisiana molas- 

 ses, maple, and all the rest passed by in 

 silence as being inferior — honey being 

 the only thing to be compared with the 

 incomparable. Let us be thankful for 

 so much of a compliment to honey, 

 even though it fall far below glucose. 



Another thing should not escape 

 mention : Those full-page display ad- 

 vertisements were not inserted for 

 nothing. They cost money. A lot of 

 it. The manufacturers of glucose are 

 very likely shrewd business men who 

 are not throwing away money. They 

 have been advertising Karo long 

 enough to be able to judge whether it 

 pays or not. Evidently they think it 

 does. They make the statement that 

 7(1,000,000 cans of Karo were consumed 

 in 1910. Taking that at its face value, 

 and figuring those cans at one pound 

 each (although certainly all were not 

 such small cans), it would make 35,000 

 tons, and if we allow 3.5,000 pounds to a 

 carload, it would take a train of 2000 

 cars to haul it. And what has sold it ? 

 Adt'ertisifiif, 



Now the question is, if advertising 

 will do so much for a thing that tastes; 

 no better than glucose, what would it 

 not do for so good a sweet as honey ? 

 And if it pays to spend huge sums to 

 advertise glucose, would it not equally 

 pay to spend the same amount for 

 something so superior that it needs no 

 misrepresentation ? 



But the glucose business, instead of 

 being in the hands of thousands, as is 

 the honey-business, is mainly in the 

 hands of one company, and that makes 

 a big difference. Well, then, why would 

 it not pay to have a company take over 

 the honey-business, as has been done 

 with the glucose business ? Or, what 

 would amount to the same thing, why 

 not have all the bee-keepers of the 

 country get together as one company, 

 and thus be enabled to advertise on an 

 equal footing with the glucose inter- 

 ests ? Will they do it? If not, why 

 not ? 



Be.st Bees to llesist Foul Brood 



Nowadays the question is asked 

 more than once, " What bees are best 

 to resist foul brood ?" It has been 

 jiretty generally understood that Ital- 

 ians are better than blacks for this pur- 



