1908 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1429 



GLEANINGS FROM OUR 

 EXCHANGES 



By W. K. Morrison 



THE CONSUMPTION OF BEESWAX IN FRANCE. 



According to the Rc-uue Eclectique tV Apiculture, 

 of Paris, there is a large production and con- 

 sumption of beeswax in France. In round num- 

 bers the annual production is about 2,000,000 

 kilos, or 4,400,000 lbs. The importation is over 

 250,000 kilos, or 550,000 lbs. The imports are 

 contributed by Spain, Dominican Republic, Tur- 

 key, Low Countries, Japan, Haiti, Cuba, Mad- 

 agascar, Algeria, Tunis, Morocco, French Indo- 

 China, French Protectorates, and various foreign 

 countries. The maximum tariff is $2.40 on 220 

 lbs., and the minimum $1.60 per 220 lbs., or 

 less than one cent a pound on the average. 



MORE ADULTERATION. 



Not long ago the national pure-food inspectors 

 seized 1656 cans of adulterated molasses at Mem- 

 phis, Tenn. It was marked "Early Bird Brand 

 Sugar House Molasses," put up for W. C. Early 

 & Co., Memphis, Tenn. On analysis by the 

 Bureau of Chemistry it was found to be nearly 

 50 per cent glucose, and therefore misbranded. 

 An action was commenced in the western district 

 United States Court for Tennessee ; but the 

 defendants decided to waive a trial, and allowed 

 the goods confiscated by the Department of 

 Agriculture. A curious feature of this case is 

 that Early & Co. could have escaped the law by 

 labeling their syrup "corn syrup," though it is 

 composed of equal parts of molasses and glucose, 

 and never saw "corn." If bee-keepers will look 

 around the grocery stores in their neighborhood 

 they will probably discover more cases of this 

 kind. Of all offenders against the law, glucose 

 is probably the worst. A kindly warning would 

 put the grocer on his guard. 



THE TARIFF ON HONEY AND BEESWAX. 



The tariff is a two-edged sword — it cuts both 

 ways. We now have a tariff on honey coming 

 into this country, yet the price is lower in the 

 United States than it is in England, which has no 

 tariff. France also has a tariff, and the price is 

 lower than it is in England. Beeswax is higher 

 in price all over Europe than it is here. In Eng- 

 land I should say the price (on an average), judg- 

 ing by the market quotations, is about 5 cents 

 higher than here. Why is this so.-' I think it is 

 due to the higher esteem in which these products 

 are held on the other side of the herring-pond. 



Large amounts of paraffine, ozokerite, Japan 

 wax, and other substitutes for real beeswax, are 

 used in this country, and this has a tendency to 

 make lower prices. It therefore strikes me very 

 forcibly that no tariff on beeswax will be effective 

 unless there is an equal or greater duty on substi- 

 tutes for beeswax. Personally I should like to 

 see a heavy duty levied on these substitutes. In 

 most instances they are used to keep the price of 

 beeswax down. Let us not launch a boomerang 

 by asking for a tariff before the substitutes are 

 dealt with. 



THE PURE-FOOD LAW. 



Dr. Wiley recently stated to the Sphinx Club, 

 of New York, that obtaining purchasers for 

 adulterated food came within the purview of the 

 officers charged with the enforcement of the 

 pure-food law. It is presumed the matter of 

 misleading advertisements will be taken into 

 consideration in making out a case against a vi- 

 olater of the law. This will to some extent 

 prevent quibbling about the label. For example, 

 some dealers in groceries still advertise "Califor- 

 nia Honey Drips," conveying the impression to 

 the unsophisticated buyer that he is buying 

 strained honey from California, when, as a mat- 

 ter of fact, it is neither more nor less than our 

 old enemy glucose masquerading under another 

 name. It is to be hoped every reader who sees 

 this will call the attention of the pure-food au- 

 thorities to all violations of this nature that in 

 any way affect the honey business. A little 

 missionary work of this kind will help up the 

 price of honey all over this broad land. The 

 word "honey" is the property of bee-keepers and 

 no others. 



* 



A CONTESTED DECISION. 



They have legal squabbles in France as well as 

 in this country over runaway swarms. In the 

 August issue of V Apiculteiir z. Miss Brunei criti- 

 cises the opinion rendered by a justice of the 

 peace in the third canton of Brest. However, in 

 the November issue the editor, after a careful 

 study of the case, comes to the conclusion that 

 the judge was peculiarly fit for his work, and his 

 verdict unattackable. Briefly this was his deci- 

 sion: 



1. To maintain his property rights the owner 

 of a swarm must pursue it very closely if it leaves. 



2. The rightful claimant is the one who saves 

 it. 



Most Americans will agree that this is good 

 sense if not good law. This seems to be the es- 

 sence of the judge's opinion, who took the law of 

 1889 as his guide in the matter. The editor 

 thinks it would be a good thing to have the opin- 

 ion of the Court of Cassation on a case of this 

 kind. The latter is similar to our Court of Ap- 

 peals or the Supreme Court. 

 * 



THE VALUE OF CERTAIN FOODS. 



Some wonder why honey prices are higher in 

 Europe than in America. The reason is not far 

 to seek. The inhabitants of nearly all European 

 countries value honey higher than we do, and 

 are, consequently, willing to pay better prices. 

 Fine grades are strongly competed for, especially 

 by the well-to-do and rich. It is not so in this 

 country to the same degree. One seldom sees 

 honey on the tables of the best hotels and res- 

 taurants in the great cities, even when the pro- 

 prietors send to Europe for all kinds of dainties. 

 Some foods are overestimated. Oysters are 

 thought by many to be very nourishing, when, 

 as a matter of fact, they are poor in nutrition. 

 Eggs are often overestimated. Cheese is usually 

 underestimated. Milk is underestimated by most 

 people in America, and Europe too. Meat ex- 

 tracts may not be nutritious, though many per- 

 sons think these things must be extremely valu- 

 able as food. Honey has the merit of being very 



