1908 



GLEANINGS tN BEE CULTURE. 



547 



We are also glad to note that he is using 

 his inlluence against the dishonest grading 

 of honey. The iulluent-e of Mr. France and 

 Mr. Kauchfuss will mean much. 



UK. WILEY ON GLUCOSE OR CORN SYRUP AS 

 A FOOD PRODUCT. 



We notice through the current press that 

 Dr. H. W. Wiley, of the Department of Ag- 

 riculture, is credited with saying that glu- 

 cose or corn syrup is not palatable, nor is it 

 eaten as a syrup. He says that it has to be 

 highly flavored with other syrups before 

 consumers will take it. This is the state- 

 ment: 



I have spoken of maple syrup as an important food 

 product. Other table syrups should also be carefully 

 scrutinized in regard to their purity. We have in 

 this country abundant supplies of syrup-making ma- 

 terials to provide for all the table syrups needed. 

 The maple-grove, the sorghum-field, and the cane- 

 tield are ready to furnish all the table syrups that we 

 need. There is no necessity any longer, if there ever 

 has been, of using glucose as a basis of a table syrup. 

 By itself it is not palatable, nor is it eaten as a syrup. 

 When used it is very highly flavored with the lowest- 

 grade products which are entitled to the name of ei- 

 ther syrup or molasses. For instance, the final resi- 

 due of a liquid character from the sugar-reflnery is 

 the most common substance used to flavor glucose 

 when offered for consumption upon the table. Not 

 only is it used for the flavoring, but its presence is 

 usually designated by the statement that the syrup 

 has a cane flavor. The table syrups of this country 

 would be vastly improved if glucose were entirely 

 eliminated from their composition, and if there were 

 substituted for this mixed mass the pure products of 

 the maple-grove, the sorghum-field, and the cane- 

 field. 



We do not think there are many consum- 

 ers, who actually know the quality of pure 

 glucose, or, under its new name, corn syr- 

 up, who will take issue with the statement. 



IRRIGATED FARMS. 



Uncle Sam has quite a number of fine irri- 

 gation farms which he desires to sell on 

 nominal terms to bona-fide settlers. These 

 are located in Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, 

 and other western States. In some cases the 

 payment required is very small. Most of 

 them are about 40 acres in extent. Particu- 

 lars maybe secured from the "Statistician," 

 Reclamation Service, Department of Interior, 

 Washington, D. C. Any of our readers who 

 desire accurate details of any government 

 reclamation project in the West can get par- 

 ticulars from the same source. Just now 

 large projects are being opened, both by the 

 United States government and the State gov- 

 ernment of VVyoming. The conditions are 

 about the same as in Colorado, but the lands 

 are probably a good deal cheaper, as Wyo- 

 ming is a newer State. w. k. m. 



OUTLOOK FOR HONEY FROM SOUTHERN CAL- 

 IFORNIA VERY POOR. 



We have just received a line from Mr. L. 

 E. Mercer, of Ventura, one of the most ex- 

 tensive honey-producers in California, dated 

 April 5, saying that the bee-keepers of Cali- 

 fornia are up against one of the worst sea- 

 sons they have had for years. He adds that 

 there has been no rain since February: cold 

 nights have chilled the brood to such an ex- 



tent that many colonies are very weak, and 

 some of them are in the condition of spring 

 dwindling. He has let all of his help go, as 

 he does not expect any honey-flow, and he 

 is of the opinion that the same conditions 

 exist over pretty much all of Southern Cali- 

 fornia. Mr. M. H. Mendleson, of Piru, has 

 written almost as discouraging a letter, ex- 

 cept he thinks there is a chance for some hon- 

 ey yet. 



While the prospects were very promising 

 in the early part of the year, it now looks as 

 if the California bee-keepers would have 

 another bad year. 



WHY WE OBJECT. 



Some may wonder why we bee-keepers ob- 

 ject so strenuously to glucose as a food. 

 There are several reasons, and it may be 

 well to state them. First, in nine cases out 

 of ten it has been used to fool the public ; 

 that is to say, consumers have bought it un- 

 knowingly or unwittingly. Second, it has 

 been used to depress the prosperity nf cer- 

 tain legitimate industries such as syrup-mak- 

 ing, bee-keeping, and preserve-making. The 

 man who tried to do an honest business 

 could not compete with the competitor who 

 used glucose, and sooner or later he had to 

 acknowledge defeat. 



Alter the passage of the new national 

 pure-food law all this was, to a great extent, 

 changed. But under the recent decision, by 

 which it is permissible to call glucose "corn 

 syrup," there is a big chance to fool the pub- 

 lic again. Articles of food naming glucose as 

 the main ingredient would not sell ; but un- 

 der the new name it may now masquerade 

 as a newly discovered food product, and it 

 will continue to go in the stomachs of con- 

 sumers until their owners discover that they 

 ai'e paying a big price for the old-fashioned 

 glucose with a flavoring to cover up its 

 brassy twang. 



Glucose was largely used in preserves such 

 as jams and jellies. Many housekeepers 

 will on no account buy store articles of this 

 sort, and are compelled for this reason to 

 put up their own preserves. Hundreds of 

 thousands of women do this rather than buy 

 in the store a concoction of stale fruit, glu- 

 cose, and benzoate of soda. Possihly it would 

 be nearer the truth to say that millions of 

 women put up their own preserves. 



In Europe, on the contrary, there is a vast 

 industry in the manufacture of jams and 

 jellies. This is more particularly true of 

 England, where good jam may be purchased 

 in any store. It is a great national indus- 

 try, and much is exported. Formerly the 

 United States exported a considerable quan- 

 tity; but glucose and benzoate of soda killed 

 that trade. 



There is a third and even greater reason. 

 The hunan palate revolts against glucose, 

 and it has to be flavored before it is really 

 passably fit to eat. 



There is considerable resemblance between 

 the case of glucose and oleomargarine. The 

 latter threatened to destroy the dairy Indus- 



