isye. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



405 



FloM'ery Montli of June. 



BT ROSE SEELTK-MILLER. 



A breath of fragrance stirs the air, 

 And life and beauty everywhere; 

 The birds sing songs within the trees, 

 Amidst the flowers the hum of bees. 

 And life is sweet, and love is dear, 

 When June shows skies of azure clear. 



A distant sound of rippling brook. 



That bends and curves like shepherd's crook, 



And in its depths the minnows swim. 



Their shining sides like silver dim. 



And life is sweet, and love more dear. 



When June shows skies of azure clear. 



We see a field and grazing kine, 



We breathe the air like mild, sweet wine. 



And dream of life when love was young, 



And Eden's flowers eternal sprung; 



For lite is joy in sweet June time. 



All Nature sings in rythmic chime. 



IlOve is the key that makes life sweet, 

 A love so strong, so broad, complete, 

 That we can scarcely understand 

 The waving of the mystic wand ; 

 For God is Love, and love is sweet, 

 'Tis this that makes life's June complete. 



-Selected. 



^ 



Beeswax and Its Adulterants. 



Head before the Phihvlelphia Bee- Keepers^ Axsoclalion, Feb. 10, lS9f>. 

 BY LYMAN F. KBBLEB, PH. C, B. S. 



Considerable controversy has arisen from time to time as 

 regards the exact manner of the production of beeswax. For 

 a long time it was the received opinion that beeswax was noth- 

 ing more or less than a simple modification of the pollen-grains, 

 and that the pollens required for such a conversion a simple 

 pressure and a kind of kneading by the bees' feet. When we 

 consider the chemical composition of this commodity only su- 

 perficially, the erroneonsness of the idea and the crudeness of 

 the opinion are at once made manifest. 



In process of time another theory was advanced, viz., that 

 the wax was precontained in the pollen and nectar, serving as 

 food for the bees ; that the bees isolated the wax contained in 

 the pollen and nectar by digesting away and otherwise remov- 

 ing constituents not wax. This view carries with it a certain 

 amount of weight, insomuch that whec bees are fed upon su- 

 gar alone they appear to be incapable of developing wax to 

 any extent. On the other hand it must be admitted that the 

 character of the food necessarily varies much in different 

 quarters of the globe, yet the chemical composition of beeswax 

 does not vary to any notable extent. Samples of this article 

 obtained in various localities in Europe, Asia, South America, 

 Australia, all possess a similar composition. This fact is 

 barely compatible with the idea that the wax pre-existed as 

 such in the pollen and nectar of the great variety of flowers 

 contributing to the sustenance of bees. 



The third and most probable theory is that beeswax is a 

 product peculiar to the special life action of the bee, wasp and 

 allied species of insects ; that the wax is not collected fr%pi 

 flowers as wax, but is secreted by special glands situated be- 

 neath the rings of the abdomen of the neuter or working-bee. 

 Huber claims to have proven, by a series of well-conducted ex- 

 periments, that the quantity of wax secreted is proportioned 

 to the honey consumed, and if the bees are fed on a solution 

 of sugar and water even greater quantities are produced. 



Whatever may be the true theory regarding the produc- 

 tion of beeswax, thase three facts stand paramount: 



1. That genuine beeswax has yet to be produced in which 

 the special life action of the bee or allied insects has not 

 taken a part. 



2. No considerable quantity of beeswax has ever been pro- 

 duced by bees that have not had access to flowers. 



3. Prom whatever quarter of the globe a beeswax may be 

 accumulated, and whatever may have been its environments, 

 the chemical composition is always approximately uniform. 



The first and third statements are intimately correlated. 

 No definite chemical compound can be produced or exist with- 

 out the action of certain definite forces. 



Unscrupulous individuals are continually calling into play 

 certain unprincipled forces designedly intended to defraud 

 their fellowman. After having succeeded in a measure in 

 hoodwinking the public, they endeavor to brush away the last 

 shadow of a doubt by applying fanciful names to their inferior 

 products. How often do we meet these euphonic names dis- 

 played in these days of advertisements. Even our most patri- 

 otic sentiments are not spared, as is exemplified in the follow- 

 ing : " First in war, first in peace and first iu the hearts of 

 his countrymen." — Washington. "First in purity, first in nu- 

 tritiousness and in palatability." Enshrine the falsified pro- 

 ducts in words ever so flowery, in sentiments ever so patriotic, 

 dishonesty will manifest itself in due time. 



The old adage — -"There are tricks in all trades" — has place 

 in the calling of a bee-keeper. These tricks have in many 

 instances increased to an alarming extent; especially is this 

 true with beeswax. In some cases the adulterations are so 

 cleverly adjusted that a thorough trial of the most approved 

 methods of analysis is requested before even an opinion of rea- 

 sonable assurance can be expressed. The chemist seldom en- 

 counters a product that presents more analytical difficulties 

 than beeswax. 



The true friend of the bee-keeper is not he who shuts his 

 eyes to the adulterations of beeswax — unpleasant facts though 

 they are — but, rather, he who having seen the enormous ex- 

 tent of the sophistications, supports the labors of those who 

 seek to detect and endeavor to prevent this degrading business, 

 and with every instance of exposed fraud are stimulated to re- 

 newed energy, determined to bring into disrepute the goods of 

 deliberate deceivers. 



There are cases where the producer is entirely innocent. 

 For example, Mr. A purchases comb foundation of Mr. B, 

 who represents it to be pure, yet when Mr. A's beeswax is ex- ■ 

 amined it is pronounced adulterated. Where is the difficulty ? 

 An examination of the comb foundation discloses definitely the 

 source of the adulteration. Mr. A suffers. Is he guilty 

 of an offense ? You say, and rightly, certainly not. Is Mr. B 

 guilty? Probably. Yet Mr. B might have purchased his was 

 of Mr. C, etc., ad infinitum. The writer holds that Mr. B 

 has transgressed. He must have realized that unless he exer- 

 cised extreme care and eternal vigilance his inferior comb 

 foundation would become the center of a most distressing evil. 

 It was his duty to examine, or to have some one examine, 

 every purchase of beeswax made which was made for the 

 purpose of making comb foundation. 



Several writers appear to think that it is not possible to 

 employ ceresin as an adulterant of beeswax, intended for comb 

 foundation. They argue that its melting point is too low. It 

 may have been the case a number of years ago, but today we 

 can secure ceresin with a melting point much higher than that 

 of beeswax. 



In 1892, Dr. Wiley reported that the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture had comb foundation purchased from 

 every available source, but was unable to find any adulterated 

 product. In order to secure analytical data on adulterated 

 comb foundation to be incorporated in the chemical examina- 

 tion then in progress, it was necessary to import the product 

 from Canada, where it appears to have been amply adultera- 

 ted. Would that such were the case now. Of the limited 

 number examined by the writer, one-half were adulterated. 



In purchasing beeswax, it is quite essential to specify bees- 

 wax and not simply wax, for wax is a general term and covers 

 a multitude of sins. Beeswax has been the cause of consider- 

 able litigation in England of late. The following is an extract 

 of one of the proceedings : 



" What color is it?" " Dirty white." 



" Well, it is white ; don't put the dirty in." 



"Is that a piece of white wax or is it not?" " I don't 

 know ; I am not an analyst." 



" Does the certificate say it is wax?" "It says it is com- 

 posed of oO parts of beeswax and 7() parts of paralBn wax." 



"Well, is that wax ?" Yes, I will take it for what it is on 

 the certificate." 



"That is, wax ?" "Yes." 



" And it is white ?" "Yes." 



" And that is all you asked for ?" "Yes." 



" And that is a piece of wax, and you say it is white ? It 

 is absolutely what you asked for, is it not ?" 



It is needless to say that the bench upheld the defendant's 

 contention. 



Within the last few years the writer has examined a good- 

 ly number of samples of beeswax. Nearly two years ago he 

 reported that about one-half of the beeswax in the market 

 was adulterated. Many samples have been examined since 

 then, and not until recently have spurious goods again come 

 into my hands. 



