Oct. 1, 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



631 



That is nothing-; I have written 15 others to her since I left 

 home. And I put it in a box down here. By and by a man 

 will come around and he will pick out that letter, and he 

 will take it over to a big building that is here. He will put 

 it in there, and he will put it in a certain place, and it will 

 be taken on the cars and go from one man to another and 

 be taken about 2000 miles and put it into a little office in the 

 town of Marengo. I live in the country, and there will be a 

 man there who will take that letter and put it in the box out 

 where I live, and somebody will take it out of the box at my 

 house. And what do you suppose I paid for that ? I paid 

 just 2 cents 1 [Laughter.] And that is co-operation 1 



Frank Benton — I wish to say that the foundation of 

 this country is on co-operative principles. We are all to- 

 gether. It is a co-operative government, in our post-office 

 facilities, and in all departments of the government. And 

 why should we stand out as" an organization? We are " up 

 against" the railroad combine, the tin combine, and even 

 the boxes that hold our honey. That being the case, is it 

 not necessary for us to get together and buy in large quan- 

 tities, and buy these things at the minimum, cost? It does 

 not necessarily increase the cost to the man who eats it. 

 We minimize the cost of production all the way around, and 

 sell the honey to the individual at the same price he is pay- 

 ing to-day. I believe it would be possible so to minimize 

 the cost of producing, packing, and all expenses, as to 

 realize more than three times the actual profit that we are 

 making at the present time. Why should we not co-operate? 



J. K. Williamson — There is one matter of co-operation 

 we should have the benefit of right here at the convention. 

 We are entitled to reduced railroad rates, and if each and 

 every one had gotten a receipt for his ticket, what we could 

 have saved in our railroad fare would almost have paid the 

 expenses of the convention. And we want to impress upon 

 all to take a receipt for their railroad tickets and bring them 

 here. If we have over SO members present, we are entitled 

 to reduced rates. 



A. F. Morley — I have given this matter a good deal of 

 thought for a few years, from a remark I heard a speaker 

 make, and I believe it is a fact, that we never get around in 

 any shape only as we drift with the tide. And when one 

 little company of five or six go to shift the other way, they 

 will simply miss the track. 



Albert B. Mellen — I agree heartily with Dr. Miller. I 

 agree heartily with Mr. Abbott. Now, that is queer, isn't 

 it? We are working to raise the price of honey to meet the 

 raise in the price of everything else. That is exactly what 

 the stock-brokers are doing in Wall Street. Up, up, up 1 

 Bound to fall ! Dr. Miller says he can send a letter from 

 here to Illinois for 2 cents. He can do more than that. If 

 they can not find the party to deliver it to, they will bring 

 it back and chase him around for two years to return it to 

 him, and it will only cost him the original 2 cents. The 

 fare from New York to San Francisco is about $100. It has 

 been demonstrated that passengers can be carried for $2.50. 

 Now, instead of working the price up, let us work the price 

 down. When you get the price of honey too high, very few 

 people will buy it — can not afford it. If we could sell honey 

 at 5 cents a pound, and could ride from lyos Angeles to New 

 York for $2.50, we would be making more money than we 

 do now. It is not the amount of money that we get, but the 

 amount we get for our money that tells the story. They 

 are raising the price of everything, up, up, up. Now, if we 

 aie going to co-operate, let us be co-operated. I do not pur- 

 pose to run this thing into politics, but let us run it into 

 universal co-operation. 



Pres. Hutchinson — I will announce the committees, and 

 then we will take a recess : 



On Amendments — J. U. Harris, W. F. Marks, George 

 W. Brodbeck, Udo Toepperwein, C. P. Dadant. 



On Memorials— Dr. C. C. Miller, Prof. A. J. Cook, N. 

 Levering, and M. H. Mendleson. 



On Resolutions — J. M. Hambaugh, A. I. Root, and H. 

 H. Hyde. 



On Publicity — Emerson T. Abbott, L. E. Mercer, and 

 J. F. Mclntyre. 



An adjournment was then taken until 2 p.m. 

 (Continued next week.} 



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 neatly bound in cloth. Price, postpaid, $1.00 ; or with the 

 American Bee Journal one year — both for $1.75. Address 

 all orders to this office. 





Contributed Articles 





Bulk Comb Honey— Eucalyptus Trees. 



BY PKOF. A. J. COOK. 



MR. P. G. CARTTER, a subscriber to the American Bee 

 Journal from California, keeps a few colonies of bees, 

 and is also a dealer in honey. He asks me to express 

 myself, through the Bee Journal, on two propositions. He 

 sells much bulk comb honey. He puts this in pails and fills 

 the pails with good extracted honey. He finds a ready sale 

 at a good price. He asks why not put most of our comb 

 honey in this way on the market, in lieu of the common sec- 

 tions. He also wishes to know if it is practicable, and, if so, 

 desirable, to place nice glass jars right on the hives and 

 have the honey stored in them all ready for market. 



Years ago it was quite common to sell bulk honey in 

 the fashion suggested above. The fact that such sales are 

 now very rare, and very rarely attempted, shows that in the 

 evolution of our present methods this one has become nearly 

 extinct, while the sections have come to the front every- 

 where. This, alone, would prove that for the average and 

 general market the sections are preferable. The reason for 

 this is not far to seek. There is something exquisite in the 

 neat, white sections as they are seen in the retail grocery. 

 Their very looks are a bid for purchase. In the dining-room 

 a dextrous cut removes them, and we have the immaculate, 

 irresistible comb honey of just the right size right on the 

 china, with no daub or untidyness, all ready for the most 

 fastidious guest. Not so the bulk comb honey. It is taken 

 from the pail all smeared with liquid honey that has sur- 

 rounded it, which would not please any housewife, not to 

 speak of her guests. More, it is not trim and neat in form, 

 and certainly could never hope to compete on any table, or 

 with any lover of such sweets, with the exquisite comb, 

 clean and trim, just as it comes from the section. 



Again, this bulk comb honey, with its old-time retainer, 

 has an unsavory history. I think it originated with the 

 Perrines, in Chicago. They put it in pails or jars and sur- 

 rounded it, not with pure extracted honey, as our friend 

 suggests, but with honey heavily adulterated with glucose. 

 The Thurbers, of New York, who afterwards sold much of 

 this kind of honey, defended the practice in the fact that 

 such adulterated honey would not candy or granulate, and so 

 would be preferred in the market, while the chunk of comb 

 would push the fraud on the market and table. They did 

 not say, however, that the far cheaper glucose sold as 

 honey, and for the price of honey, secured a profit, which, 

 though illicit, was no light weight as an argument in favor 

 of the practice. A loud complaint was uttered, and the 

 Thurbers consented to the abandonment of the practice. 

 I fear that extracted honey is still largely adulterated with 

 glucose, yet I think there is very little, if any, sold in this 

 fashion. If it were, I should raise my pen and voice hard 

 and loud against it. I am sure that two good counts can be 

 made against such frauds — counts other than that adultera- 

 tion is a fraud, and so the Devil's own business : 



First, honey adulteration with glucose is not whole- 

 some, else why is it fatal as a winter food for bees ? and, 

 why do bees refuse to take it, if they can get any other sweet ? 

 Although high chemical authority has defended the whole- 

 some character of glucose as a food, the bees themselves 

 refute the statement. 



Secondly, the glucose, either of honey or candy adulter- 

 ation, leaves a peculiar, brassy taste in the mouth, which 

 will soon create a distaste for such honey, and thusadouble 

 thrust at the honest bee-keeper ; it requires him to compete 

 with an unwholesome, cheapened product, and with a 

 product that is sure to " bear " his market. Let us all not 

 only denounce this and all adulteration, but let us raise our 

 most emphatic protest against it every time and place, and 

 on every occasion. Let us continue to urge with renewed 

 vigor until we have the best and wisest A'ai';o«a//i«rfyt)0(/ 

 law. 



As this form of honey adulteration is no longer prac- 

 ticed, so far as I know, I see no reason why any may 

 not sell bulk comb honey in this form if their market war- 

 rants or suggests it, yet I feel sure that they must, perforce, 

 keep the incomparable section-honey out of sight, or their 

 sales will not be very heavy. Hard, manual labor, and the 



