398 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Four and a half barrels of molasses wera 

 seized and condemned because of being 

 labeled in large type " Dixie New Orleans 

 Molasses," and in small type, " Containing 

 Sulphur Dioxide — Compound molasses and 

 corn syrup." In the investigation it was 

 proven that the product was not New Or- 

 leans molasses, nor was it entitled to be so 

 called, but was a mixture containing a cer- 

 tain quantity of glucose. Misbranding was 

 alleged because the product was an imita- 

 tion of, and offered for sale under, the dis- 

 tinctive name of another article of food. 



We have always supposed New Orleans 

 molasses to be a product so cheap that no 

 one could afford to adulterate it; but it 

 seems from the above that glucose, unfortu- 

 nately allowed to be called corn syrup, is 

 such a cheap material that it may be profit- 

 ably used as an adulterant in New Orleans 

 molasses. 



REPORT OF ILLINOIS STATE BEE CONVENTION. 



The Twelfth Annual Report of the lUi- 

 nois State Beekeepers' Association, contain- 

 ing complete stenographic record of the en- 

 tire proceeding's, is before us. It contains 

 170 pages of closely printed matter of dis- 

 cussions in what appears to have been a 

 good convention. This is followed by a 

 brief report of the National convention. 



This is the only report of any convention. 

 National or otherAvise, so far as we know, 

 that is cloth-bound. We are advised that a 

 copy will be sent to any beekeeper, whether 

 from Illinois or any other State, who pays 

 an annual fee of $1.50, either to the Secre- 

 tary of the Illinois State Beekeepers' Asso- 

 ciation, to E. B. Tyrrell, 214 Hammond 

 Building, Detroit, or to the" Secretai-j^, James 

 A. Stone, of the Illinois State Beekeepers' 

 Association, Springfield, 111. 



The volume also contains the Second An- 

 nual Report of the State Inspectors, by A. 

 L. Kildow, Putnam, 111. This is a complete 

 treatise on foul brood with a report of the 

 number of apiaries visited, and a list of the 

 counties where disease was found. 



the ban on beet sugar forever removed. 



In times past (and almost up to times 

 present) a good deal of space in the bee 

 journals has been taken up in argument for 

 and against the use of beet sugar for feed- 

 ing bees. We ourselves have been somewhat 

 undecided at times, although so far as our 

 own tests are concerned we liave never been 

 able to detect any bad effects whatsoever, 

 provided the refined sugar is used. 



Last spring one of our subscribers, Mr. 

 E. L. Hoffman, of Janesville, Minn., know- 

 ing the difference of opinion in regard to 

 beet sugar, wrote to the University Farm at 



St. Paul, of the University of Minnesota. 

 The reply which he received is so interest- 

 ing and convincing that we are glad to place 

 it before our readers at this time. 



the university of MINNESOTA. 

 Department of Ageicultuee, 

 universtiy faem, st. paul. 

 Division of Agricultural 

 Chemistry and Soils. 



Mr. E. L. Hofmann : — I am in receipt of your 

 letter with regard to beet and cane sugars. I would 

 say that, chemically, there is absolutely no difference 

 between these two products at the present time. A 

 number of years ago, when the beet-sugar industry 

 was fairly new in this country, the product of the 

 beet-sugar refineries contained a considerable amount 

 of a substance known as betain, which apparently 

 induced fermentation and aroused considerable 

 prejudice aginst the use of this sugar. Under the 

 present conditions none of this can be detected, and 

 I am surprised that you found any difference Ln the 

 two for your purpose, as both the cane and the beet 

 sugar of the better grades are practically 99% per 

 cent pure. 



We could readily determine for you the purity of 

 the sample of sugar sweepings, but we could not 

 determine whether it was derived from beet or cane. 

 The station makes no charge for any of its analytical 

 work. R. M. West, Acting Chief. 



St. Paul, Minn., March 29. 



This statement, coming as it does from 

 the Division of Agricultural Chemistiy in 

 one of our gi-eat universities, certainly can 

 not be biased, and it seems to us that the 

 question as to the value of beet sugar for 

 bees should be settled now once for all. 



UER bien und seine zucht (the bee and 



ITS culture). 



Those who can avail themselves of Ger- 

 man literature, and are interested in bees, 

 will be interested in the book named above. 

 It was written by F. Gerstung, pastor in 

 Ossmanstedt, Germany. Mr. Gerstung is 

 one of the most prominent beemen in Eu- 

 rope, and one who has been often quoted by 

 Dr. Miller in Stray Straws in these pages. 

 It is easy to say that the book has 474 pages 

 besides a copious index, and that it contains 

 a wealth of fine illustrations; but a thorough 

 review of it would be almost equal to the 

 task of writing another book as large as 

 this. 



The work in question is not only German 

 in language but in its teachings. So far as 

 we can observe, it is confined exclusively to 

 German methods, with the exception of con- 

 siderable space to rearing queens artificial- 

 ly. In this the author gives full credit to 

 W. H. Laws, of Beeville, Texas, and to the 

 publishers of this journal. Aside from this, 

 however, it contains no reference to Ameri- 

 can inventions except to give the size of the 

 Quinby and Langstroth frames. Still, to 

 describe apiculture outside of Germany 

 would have been foreign to the main object 

 of the writer besides making an already 

 large book too voluminous. 



