1896 



GliEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



251 



Act in any manner shall, on summary conviction, 

 incur a penalty not exceeding four hundred dollars, 

 and not less than one hundred dollars; and in de- 

 fault of payment shall be liable to imprisonment 

 for a term not exceeding- twelve months, and not 

 less than three months: Provided that this Act shall 

 not be interpreted or construed to prevent the giv- 

 ing: of sugar in any form to the bees, to be consum- 

 ed by them as food. 



2. Section six to thirty, both inclusive, of TJie 

 Adultcratiiiii Act shall, so far as they are applicable, 

 be held to apply to this Act in the same way as if 

 the adulteration of honey were especially mention- 

 ed therein. 



Mr. Editor, this is decidedly the best, most 

 direct, and sweeping law, or proposed law, on 

 this subject that I have ever seen. You notice 

 there is no possibility of creeping around the 

 bush by labeling an article "sugar honey," or 

 any other kind of honey, except the pure article 

 produced by the bees. No imitation of honey 

 can be made, manufactured, brought Into, or 

 sold in Canada. There is not a single State in 

 our Union that has a law that can not be evad- 

 ed by labeling it "sugar honey," or "honey 

 syrup," so that the adulterators can carry on 

 their rascality in open day, and in defiance of 

 law. But this Canadian bill cuts short such 

 a possibility as that. You can sell sugar syrup, 

 or syrup of other kinds; but you must not at- 

 tach the name of honey to either of them, or 

 you will come to grief. I don't suppose, Mr. 

 Editor, that you are going to Canada to engage 

 in the adulteration business; but I merely put 

 you up as a kind of target to shoot at. as a mat- 

 ter of convenience. This bill should be scatter- 

 ed broadcast over the Union, and beekeepers 

 should exert all their influence to get it adopted 

 in their respective States. Hurrah for bill No. 

 10! Hurrah for Canada! 



A NATIONAL BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION. 



THE ADVANTAGES OF HAVING ONE. 



By Getirge W. Braadbe^k. 



Friend Root:— We have always thought well 

 of the North American Bee-keepers' Associa- 

 tion and of the National Bee-keepers' Union. 

 The mere thought of the possible obliteration 

 of either by the proposed plan of amalgamation 

 brings with it feelings of sadness. The pro- 

 tective influence that has been exerted by the 

 one, and the social privileges afforded by the 

 other, have done much toward the advance- 

 ment of bee culture in this country; yet neither 

 of these has supplied the real and necessary de- 

 mands of the bee-keepers of the United States. 

 This very proposition of amalgamation is evi- 

 dence of the need of something that does not 

 exist. We talk of the advanced state of our in- 

 dustry in this country in comparison with that 

 existing in others; but when we consider our 

 lack of organization, aside from our State asso- 

 ciations, is this really true? Is it not strange 

 that, during the years that have passed, we 

 have not recognized the need of a representa- 

 tive organization? Why is it that we have 



been disposed to be so generous in the support 

 of affiliated associations at the expense of home 

 interests? 



We believe that the most important interest 

 to provide for to-day is the formation of an or- 

 ganization that will voice and further the bee- 

 keeping industry of every section of the Union. 

 We have always admired the indomitable and 

 persevering skill of the German, and have tak- 

 en just pride in the indomitable will and self- 

 assurance of our enterprising Canadians; and, 

 while there are many good qualities in both, 

 worthy of emulation, is it not about time for us 

 to develop some characteristics of our own? 

 Why should not others emulate us? 



There is not a country on the faceof the earth 

 that has more intelligent and capable bee- 

 keepers than we have in the United States, and 

 yet some of us have been chasing after every 

 phantom organization that came along ; and 

 the present seems but the re-echo of the past. 



Now, brother bee-keepers, let us bury the 

 past, and try to live up to the demands of the 

 present. There never has been and never will 

 be a more propitious time for the organization 

 of a national bee-keepers' association than now. 

 You yourself, Mr. Editor, on page 147, in con- 

 nection with the Hon. Geo. E Hilton, voice the 

 need of just such an organization. We wonder 

 how many times in the past we have, under like 

 circumstances, been forced to put our hands in 

 our pockets, and whistle, "Oh! there's a good 

 time coming." etc., when a representative bee- 

 keepers' association would have brought about 

 some good results. What other organization 

 could do such work more effectively for the bee- 

 keepers than one that would voice the senti- 

 ments of every bee keeping State in the Union? 

 Our only hope of raising the standard of our in- 

 dustry, and to secure the much-needed legisla- 

 tion, is by organizing along the lines advocated. 

 We may harp on State laws from now until the 

 end of time; but unless we bee-keepers combine 

 and thus secure national legislation in opposi- 

 tion to adulteration it will avail us nothing. 

 We can scarcely realize the possible good that 

 might result from such a combination. The 

 known quantity, though, ought to be sufficient 

 to inspire the most phlegmatic person within 

 our ranks to a willingness to do something to- 

 ward the protection of his own industry. Think 

 of the good resulting by the proper dessemina- 

 tion of knowledge, the more even distribution 

 of our product, resulting in increased consump- 

 tion. This is an age of progression; and it is 

 necessary that we keep step with the proces- 

 sion, otherwise we shall be relegated to the 

 rear. Our necessities say, "Begin and build 

 to-day; build wisely, and build well;"and when 

 we have once erected a firm foundation, to ac- 

 cord with our form of government, we can en- 

 large its capacity as our needs demand. 



As a closing suggestion we urge immediate 



