THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



83 



WEEKLY EDITION 





iiljOTlHil 



PUBLISHED BV 



THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 



I-'IHTOU AND PhOPRIETOR, 



925 WEST MADtSON-STREET, CHICAGO, ILL. 



Weekly, SS a year ; Monthly, 50 cents. 



Vol. XXI. February II, 1885, No. 6. 



"Honey" and "Comb" to Order. 



The New York Mail and Express 

 recently contained the following very 

 erroneous article, which has been ex- 

 tensively copied by the newspapers of 

 America : 



Not only has American enterprise 

 succeeded in manufacturing a honey- 

 comb to save the bees the trouble of 

 furnishing a receptacle for their sweet 

 store, but it even threatens to do 

 away with the services of the indus- 

 trious little bee by supplying the 

 honey also. More than one variety 

 of manufactured honey is at present 

 sold in the market as being the gen- 

 uine product of the busy little bee. 

 Some of it comes in the form of 

 strained and clarified honey, put up in 



f:lass jars. More of it is supplied in 

 he comb in small boxes with glass on 

 either side, through which it may be 

 seen looking as natural as if it had 

 been stolen from the hive. Connois- 

 seurs have great difficulty in detecting 

 the difference between the genuine 

 and the manufactured article by its 

 appearance only, but nearly any one 

 who has used the bona-Jkle treasure 

 of the hive to any extent, will note the 

 difference in taste. In real honey 

 there is an agreeable sharp taste as if 

 millions of little needle points had 

 barely touched the tongue and palate. 

 This is missed in the spurious article, 

 which partakes of the flavor of maple 

 syrup. 



The artificial comb used to supply 

 the place of that made by the bees, 

 has not been very successful thus far. 

 The bee at once detects the imposi- 

 tion and refuses to store its sweets in 

 the cavities. It gnaws at the parts 

 which hold it to the hive until it falls, 

 and then commences to build its own. 

 Tlie reason of this is, that it has been 

 found difficult to find sufficient bees- 

 wax to supply the demand, and, con- 

 sequently, other kinds had to be util- 

 ized. Spermaceti, paraffine, and wax 

 obtained from mineral products have 

 all met with the same recognition 

 from the bees. They have, however, 

 been successfully used in storing the 

 manufactured honey, and when the 



cavities are filled and covered over 

 with a thin sheet of wax, tliey present 

 to the inexperienced, the self-same 

 appearance as tliat taken from the 

 hive. 



The sensational heading which the 

 New York paper gave the item is as 

 follows: •■ Human Ingenuity En- 

 deavoring to do Away witli the Work 

 of the Bees," and is nothing but a 

 sensational falsehood throughout. Of 

 course it will l)e almost useless to 

 even try to refute it— for while truth 

 travels on foot, falsehood and mis- 

 representation " fly " like the light- 

 ning ! 



That " Wiley " lie is the only foun- 

 dation for the above, and that he tried 

 to " palm off " as a " scientific pleas- 

 antry," when pressed by the Bee 

 Journal for the proof for his wild 

 assertions ! 



We will repeat what we have often 

 asserted, that there is no such thing 

 on the markets, or elsewhere, as 

 " manufactured comb honey !" There 

 is no such thing as " artificial comb " 

 in existence ! Comb foundation is 

 but the " mid-rib " or sheet of wax 

 upon which the bees build their cells, 

 or draw out the wax into natural 

 comb ! Call things by their right 

 names. 



If the great newspapers who have 

 copied the article from the Mail and 

 JSxpress, cared one-tenth part as much 

 for the truth as they do for a " sensa- 

 tion " with which to "sell" their 

 readers as well as their papers, we 

 might hope they would publish a con- 

 tradiction of that stupid article — but, 

 alas, this is an age of " humbugs and 

 swindles," and we cannot hope for 

 justice from them ; but 



"Truth crushed to earth shall rise ag-aiu. 

 The eternal years of God, are hers." 



Therefore, let all our readers who 

 have influence with their local papers, 

 take this article to them and endeavor 

 to have it inserted ; and in that way 

 counteract as far as possible the lies 

 published by the city dailies on this 

 subject. 



(^ A correspondent in the London 

 Journal of Horticulture of January 22, 

 gives the following account of the 

 conditions of the bees and the season 

 in England : 



The present winter so far cannot be 

 said to have been severe — just enough 

 to keep the bees indoors, but not to 

 necessitate a large consumption of 

 food; or so mild as to keep tlie bees in 

 a constant state of activity, which 

 leads to the same results. Many of 

 our bees have already had a good air- 

 ing, all seemingly are in good health. 



and judging from their appearance 

 and past experience all are breeding; 

 but they will remain unmolested, as I 

 have no apprehension as to damp, 

 dirty floors or want. 



International Congress. 



Mr. Paul L. Viallon, Bayou Goula, 

 6 La., writes thus concerning it : 



Judging from my corres|iondence, I 

 think that our International Bee- 

 Keepers' Congress will be a success, 

 and we expect a large attendance. 

 Many bee-keepers were undecided, 

 fearing over-charges for board, etc , 

 but since they are assured that they 

 can board for SI. 50 to $2.-50 per day in 

 respectable quarters, they have made 

 up their minds to be present. The 

 benefit that every one will derive, not 

 only in assisting and taking part in 

 tlie deliberations of the convention, 

 but also in visiting one of the largest 

 and finest Expositions of the world, 

 will fully repay for the time and ex- 

 pense. We have had more rain in 

 the two past months than we have 

 had for several years in the same 

 months, but since 3 or 4 days the 

 weather is again settled, and it looks 

 more as usual, and we are having 

 regular sunny spring days. The pluiu 

 trees are budding, and will be in full 

 bloom in a few days, and the bees are 

 jubilant. We hope that we will have 

 such weather, and I have no doubt ot 

 it, as it is usually so in February, so 

 that our Northern friends may be de- 

 lighted with their visit to Louisiana. 

 We are pleased to hear that the edi- 

 tor of the Bee Journal will honor 

 us with his presence, and give a help- 

 ing hand to the success of the Con- 

 gress. I hope to see the largest con- 

 gregation of bee-keepers that has ever 

 been together in the world. 



From present indications there will 

 be a large gathering of bee-keepers at 

 the New Orleans Congress, from all 

 the States, and some are expected 

 from foreign countries. A corres- 

 pondent asks how to gain admission 

 to the Congress. It is to be held in 

 the " Lecture Hall " on the Exposi- 

 tion grounds, and all bee-keepers are 

 invited to attend. The " Hall " may 

 be easily found, we should think, by 

 enquiring at the Bureau of Informa- 

 tion, or elsewhere. 



^- There is a " Key " of Hope at 

 the •■ Sweet Home Apiary," at East 

 Saginaw, Mich. It is a "queen," and 

 weighs 10 lbs. It arrived on Feb. 2, 

 and made John Rey very happy. 



1^ John Nau, Secretary of the Des 

 Moines Co., Iowa, Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation, lately caught a " queen," and 

 the pair are now living on honey for a 

 whole "moon." They called at the 

 office of the Bee Journal on Feb. 3, 

 on their way home. 



