1908 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



489 



certain source when they are not, or other- 

 wise niisbranded. No more can Michigan or 

 Ohio cheese be sold for York State cheese. 

 They must be exactly as represented. 



It is but fair to repeat that only a very 

 few of our readers need to be reminded of 

 this provision of the national pure-food law. 

 The great majority would not knowingly 

 misbrand, law or no law. 



GLUCOSE IN AUSTRALIA. 



The Australasia, published in Melbourne, 

 Australia, prints the following in its issue of 

 Jan. 4, 1908: 



With regard to the company which has been formed 

 to introduce the manufacture of glucose to Australia, 

 a further step forward has been taken. It has been 

 decided to send Mr. W. L. Engelbrecht, Mount Gam- 

 bier, to America to select the most up-to-date machin- 

 ery and get all available information as to the best 

 processes for the manufacture of glucose. He will 

 also visit Germany and England, and continue his in- 

 quiries there. In America glucose is made most 

 largely from maize, but in Germany from potatoes. 

 The machinery selected will be adapted for both. 

 Mr. Engelbrecht will leave for America per first boat 

 in January. The head works will be in Melbourne: 

 but branches for dealing with potatoes will be estab- 

 lished at Mount Gambler and Warrnambool, and in 

 Tasmania. 



We are sorry for our Australian friends, 

 more particularly the bee-keepers. What 

 can be the matter with the Australian peo- 

 ple that they should desire to eat glucose? 

 Cane syrup is infinitely to be preferred — in 

 fact, glucose can not be eaten until some 

 kind of good syrup is mixed with it. In this 

 country its use has been ruinous to the man- 

 ufacture of jams and jellies, and certainly it 

 has always been used to lower the intrinsic 

 value of any food in which it is used. In 

 fact, its use is to cheapen or adulterate, nev- 

 er to improve any thing. It has also created 

 a number of millionaires at the expense of 

 the poorer classes. The Australian bee-keep- 

 ers will have their markets lessened if this 

 scheme materializes. w. k. m. 



IN TEEROB OF PARCELS POST. 



The reporters in Washington are all agreed 

 that parcels post stands a poor chance of be- 

 ing realized at this session of Congress. One 

 reason they assign for this is interesting ; 

 namely, that members of Congress are being 

 fairly deluged with letters from country 

 merchants who think that parcels post would 

 be the ruin of their business. As a matter 

 of fact, great sums of money are being spent 

 in creating a public opinion adverse to any 

 movement of the kind. The men who are 

 opposed to this reform are possessed of 

 means, so that there is no trouble in getting 

 funds: but it has been noted they are exact- 

 ly the same class who resolutely opposed 

 free rural delivery. 



On the opposite side, the farmer and his 

 friends are apathetic, and have no paid law- 

 yers or lobbyists to influence the legislators 

 at Washington. It is, unfortunately, true 

 that the average farmer has no inclination 

 to write or time to devote to the question. 

 It is different, however, with the women of 

 the farmer's family. The parcels post ap- 

 peals to them, tiy its means they could 



send to their home town for all sorts of 

 small orders, such as every housekeeper 

 really needs, without making a journey of 

 so many miles. It is a wonderful conven- 

 ience, more particularly when any one in 

 the house is sick, or. as is the case with 

 many, nobody is available to go for the 

 goods required. 



The only objection made thus far to par- 

 cels post is that it favors unduly the mail- 

 order houses. But what are the facts ? The 

 mail-order houses do not care for the par- 

 cels post, because it is said they have an 

 "understanding" with the express compa- 

 nies. In many instances the express people 

 have greatly helped their business, and it is 

 true they have assisted the mail-order houses 

 in every possible way. In any case, the 

 greater part of all mail-order trade is done 

 by freight, and always will be, so that, after 

 all, the country merchant sides with his old 

 enemy, the express company, against his 

 true friend the farmer, who has always pat- 

 ronized him. 



If country storekeepers kept every thing 

 in stock required by the farmer and his 

 family there would be no need of parcels 

 post: but, on the contrary, they keep only 

 the bare necessities of life, and it would be 

 absolutely impossible for them to keep on 

 hand everything the modern housekeeper or 

 farmer requires. The rural dwellers of the 

 United States have little idea of the wonder- 

 ful convenience of parcels-post service ; but 

 they can imagine a good deal. It makes 

 country life far pleasanter for all, more par- 

 ticulary for the women folks, who are al- 

 most constantly in need of some small order 

 from "town." 



The farmers should consider this matter 

 carefully, and endeavor to influence others 

 so that, the coming fall, every Congressman 

 will be compelled to state whether he pre- 

 fers the express companies to the farmer 

 and his family It is either one or the other. 



w. K. M. 



THE LOGICAL RESULT OF THE GLUCOSE COBN- 

 SYRUP DECISION. 



According to the newspapers of Chicago, 

 the Corn Products Co. has acquired 1300 

 feet of dock frontage on the Chicago drain- 

 age canal; by leasing the same for 99 years. 

 It has purchased 110 acres of land in imme- 

 diate proximity, on which will be erected a 

 five-million-dollar plant for the manufacture 

 of glucose on a grand scale. A new town 

 will be built around the factory, to which 

 the name Argo has already been applied. 



This shows the tremendous importance of 

 the ' ' corn syrup ' ' decision, for, as already 

 stated, the Royal Baking Powder Co. and 

 the Western Grocery Co. have both acquired 

 immense factories quite recently for the 

 manufacture of glucose. Under the proper 

 name of glucose it was hard to sell, because 

 the general public had learned to dislike it; 

 but under the name of "corn syrup" it has 

 obtained a new lease of life; and the starting- 

 up of three immense factories proves the 

 agitation against it had a solid foundatioij 



