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THE AMERICAN SEE-Ki^EPE^. 



December 



By patient and painstaking investi- 

 gation much has been discovered in re- 

 lation to the usefulness of bees and 

 their profitable care. But who shall 

 say that the end of knowledge concern- 

 ing them has been reached? Verily, 

 there is neither beginning nor ending 

 to the study of this wonderful insect. 

 He who created it gave a most valuable 

 gift to mankind. Not alone for the de- 

 licious honey it stores for man's use, 

 but as an aid to the greatest success of 

 the horticulturist the bee should be 

 most highly valued. This is a 

 feature of the bee's important work 

 that cannot be too frequently men- 

 tioned, or too highly estimated. Often 

 it has been very clearly shown that had 

 it not been for the multitudinous visits 

 of bees during the blossoming period, 

 but little fruit would have resulted. In- 

 telligent horticulturists of today en- 

 courage the keeping of bees in close 

 proximity to their fruit orchards and 

 groves. 



Now, let me call your attention from 

 a contemplation of the bee and its lofty 

 place in the economy of Nature, down 

 to a consideration of this organization, 

 which is maintained in the interest of 

 the producers of honey. It has noble 

 and far-reaching objects to carry out, 

 which are sufficiently important to 

 easily justify its existence. But what 

 we need to do at this convention, it 

 seems to me, is to devise plans by 

 which we shall be able to cause the bee- 

 keepers of this land to see the need of 

 their being active 'members of this or- 

 ganization. While some grand good 

 work has been done during the past 

 two years, there remains much which 

 needs to be accomplished, and very 

 soon. The question is, how can it be 

 done? 



In the first place, I have contended 

 all along that we need a large member- 

 ship. And that will mean a full treas- 

 ury — a consummation devoutly to be 

 wished. War is expensive. It costs in 

 cash and energy to fight the battles 

 against wrong. But it pays in the end. 

 The one stupendous evil that needs the 

 aid of every bee-keeper in this land in 

 order to secure its overthrow, is the 

 giant of adulteration. Not only the 

 adulteration of honey in the city mark- 

 ets, but the adulteration of almost 

 every food product known today. In 

 order to obtain a successful suppression 

 of this great evil, all organizations 

 must unite, and bring to bear upon 

 those in authority all the influence pos- 

 sible, so that laws already enacted for 



the suppression of adulteration shall be 

 rigidly enforced; and that new laws 

 shall be passed where such are not now 

 upon the statute books. 



Some one has said that the way to 

 secure a national enactment against 

 adulteration of food products is, first, 

 to enforce the state or local laws 

 against the growing evil. I think there 

 is sound sense in this suggestion. In 

 Illinois we have a strong law against 

 the adulteration of foods and medicines 

 but so far I have heard of no attempt 

 at its enforcement. Now, had we suf- 

 ficient funds at our command, in the 

 treasury of the United States Bee- 

 Keepers' Union, I should suggest that 

 we at once begin the prosecution of 

 one of the leading adulterators of honey 

 in Chicago. Could a single clear con- 

 viction be secured, with the subsequent 

 heavy fines and term of imprisonment 

 imposed, I have no doubt it would have 

 a most wholesome effect not only upon 

 the price and demand of pure honey in 

 Chicago, but throughout the surround- 

 ing country as well. And thus, no 

 doubt, other states might be encour- 

 aged to begin the enforcement or pas- 

 sage of similar laws, the result of 

 which would be appreciated by a pure^ 

 food loving people — a people who are 

 daily suffering from the evil effects of 

 the consumption of the deleterious and 

 disease-producing substances used in 

 forming the miserable compounds put 

 upon the market today. 



Then, it seems to me that this Union 

 should devise and carry out some 

 scheme by which the public may be- 

 come better acquainted with the merits 

 of the product of the apiary. Too few 

 people are aware of the real value of 

 honey as a food. Too many look upon 

 it as a medicine, and to be taken in 

 homoeopathic doses. Outside of the 

 overthrow of the adulteration, I believe 

 there is no other subject that equals in 

 importance to bee-keepers the widening 

 of the demand or the table use of 

 honey. For years I have been satisfied 

 that were the honey product properly 

 distributed the price realized by the 

 producer would be more satisfactory — 

 more proportionate to the cost of pro- 

 duction. 



This, of course, will naturally lead to 

 a discussion in co-operation in market- 

 ing — a great subject! It has been very 

 plainly hinted to me that I am one who 

 opposed this Union taking up that line 

 of work. Fellow bee-keepers, co-opera- 

 tion in the marketing of honey means 

 much more than most of us have yet 



