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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 15. 



lose our capital of $700 to join an effete insti- 

 tution that has only S7 in its treasury? " Still 

 another party wants a national bee-keepers' 

 association, representative in character, appar- 

 ently with no objective point at all. In the 

 mean time all stand round crying, " Hurrah 

 for the prosecution of adulterators! Hurrah 

 for a honey exchange that will cut off all mid- 

 dlemen, both in buying our supplies and selling 

 our honey! Hurrah!" Mr. Editor, let us go 

 to bed and take a little rest. These fellows 

 may do something in the twentieth century. 



The Union is already organized, and has $700 

 in its treasury. Some of the members are very 

 much afraid of losing their capital. Has it 

 ever occurred to them that that much money 

 would not prosecute to the end one single well- 

 contested suit? 



Now, I see a way they can save their capital 

 and get thousands of dollars more. Let the 

 directors of the Union put the following ques- 

 tions to vote: 



1. Shall we add to the present object of the 

 Union that of the prosecution of all adulter- 

 ators to the bitter end ? 



3. Shall we add a department, something on 

 the plan of the California Honey Exchange, for 

 the furnishing of supplies and sale of honey ? 



This would be protection indeed. The whole 

 of these objects are protective, and why should 

 they be divided between two or three societies? 

 Do you suppose there is an intelligent bee- 

 keeper in the land who would stay out of that 

 Union and Exchange? Many men, like me, 

 don't need the present protection of the Union, 

 and therefore don't join it. 1 live in the hills, 

 where the sun goes to bed at 3 p. m. in the win- 

 ter, and never thinks of getting up for break- 

 fast. I have five or six neighbors, scattered in 

 these hills. Nobody else can get near me, for 

 there is no tillable land. I don't need protec- 

 tion for my bees, but I do need it against adul- 

 terators and middlemen, both in the purchase 

 of my supplies and the sale of my honey. I 

 would join the Union for either of these latter 

 objects, and there are thousands of men who 

 would do likewise. Do you know what the 

 California Exchange did? As soon as it was 

 organized it "knocked the stuffin' out" of the 

 price of sections at one fell blow— cut down the 

 price to its members, from .$3. .TO to $3. .TO! Is 

 there a single gigantic idiot in the country who 

 can not see the advantage — the clear money 

 profit— of belonging to such an institution? 

 So it would be with the Union. It would spread 

 its protecting shield over its thousands of mem- 

 bers, not only with its present beneficent ob- 

 ject, but in the purchase of supplies and the 

 sale of honey. It would also settle the ques- 

 tion of adulteration in the United States for 

 ever. What more do you want? Give us an 

 open road and a clear track and we'll make 90 

 miles an hour to peace, plenty, and happiness. 



HONEY AS FOOD AND MEDICINE. 



A KEMAKKABLE CURE OF DYSPEPSIA BY THE 

 USE OF HONEY. 



By Elias Fox. 



At the age of 13. in 1867, 1 contracted that ter- 

 rible disease known as dyspepsia, in apparently 

 its worst form, and my appetite seemed to crave 

 nothing but sweet. I often ate a pound of stick 

 candy at a time, or more of maple sugar in the 

 spring. Not being able to do very much heavy 

 work it fell to my lot to boil the maple sap; and 

 when " sugaring-off day" came I had a feast of 

 which I repented many a time later on. But 

 that made no difference. My appetite craved 

 it, and eat it I would, as I always felt temporary 

 relief after satisfying my appetite with sugar, 

 candy, sweetcake, or preserves: and thus it ran 

 on for years, growing gradually worse all the 

 time, notwithstanding I was taking medicine of 

 some kind all the time. 



After a few years my father bought a colony 

 of bees in a box hive, and of course they swarm- 

 ed as often as they liked. Sometimes he would 

 have from ten to twenty hives, and on the 

 strongest ones he would put a small box; and if 

 the season was favorable he would get a few 

 caps filled; and while this lasted I would eat as 

 much as I could get, although it was only about 

 half what I wanted; but no matter how much 

 or how little I ate, it did not seem to have the 

 bad effect that other sweets did. Then when 

 fall came, all light swarms had to be set over 

 the sulphur-pit and smothered: and this, being 

 a sort of puttering job, also fell to the " dyspep- 

 tic." Well, I would kill from two to six or eight 

 colonies, and, of course, after the sulphuring was 

 done, it was necessary to remove the honey 

 from the box hives, and I did not wait for this 

 job to fall to me, but I fell to it; and then if any 

 mortal ever feasted on honey it was I. I never 

 weighed what I ate, but I would eat about all 

 the time; and I know from the bulk that there 

 were times when I ate three pounds. Many 

 will ask, "Were you not ashamed?" so I will 

 answer it now. I was not at that time, but I 

 have been since, and am actually ashamed now 

 to submit it to print; but it is a fact just the 

 same: and the beauty of it was. that, no matter 

 how much or how often I ate of it, it never once 

 in my life left a bad effect. I always felt well 

 after eating it; and it seemed that, the more 

 and oftener I ate it, the better I felt. But, of 

 course, this was only once a year, and generally 

 the supply was exhausted ere the winter was 

 half gone. But I remember once my mother 

 strained a six-gallon jar full, and secreted it for 

 company. It was some months ere she thought 

 it necessary to resort to her sweet treasure; and 



