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Misrcpresenlins <Joinb Honey. 



On page 691 we mentioned the fact that 

 we had written a letter to the editor of the 

 Chicago Daily Herald, requesting him to 

 correct his misstatement about " Manufac- 

 tured Comb Honey." He put this heading 

 to our letter, and added comments as fol- 

 lows: 



Adulterated Comb Honey. 



Editor of T}tc Hcrdld:— In arecent issue, 

 under the head of " Short Answers," you 

 say: "There is such a thing as manufac- 

 tured honey. The comb is made out of 

 paraffine." As you ought to know some- 

 thing about the matter you so positively 

 assert, I call for the proof. A member of 

 the National Bee-Keepers' Union offers 

 $1,000 for a sample of the bogus "comb 

 honey "—with combs made of paraffine and 

 filled with glucose by machinery, etc., as 

 the newspapers sensationally affirm. Will 

 you please to either produce the product, 

 give proof of its manufacture by saying 

 where it is done, and by whom, or else 

 make the correction in The Herald? I am 

 prepared to prove beyond contradiction 

 that your statement is wholly false and 

 untrue. Thomas G. Newman. 



[T1>c Herald ^ery gladly gives this cor- 

 respondent its authority on the point in 

 question. In a work entitled " Food Adul- 

 teration and Its Detection," by Jesse P. 

 Battershall, Chemist in the United States 

 Laboratory, New York city, the author says 

 at page 133: " Occasionally the bees are 

 also supplied with a ready-made comb con- 

 sisting at least partially of paraffine." He 

 also states that some beekeepers place 

 vessels of glucose near the hives for the 

 bees to feed on. Other articles of a similar 

 character are used by which the bees them- 

 selves are made to adulterate their own 

 honey. This author further says, at page 

 138, "Eighteen outof thirty-seven samples 

 of strained and comb honey examined in 

 1 885 by the Massachusetts Board of Health, 

 were adulterated with glucose and ordinary 

 syrup." It will thus be seen that the state- 

 ment of The Herald, that comb honey is 

 adulterated, is proved by the highest 

 authority.]— £(iito7- of The Herald. 



Thereupon we wrote this reply, for which 

 we hope he will soon find room : 



manufactured Comb Honey. 



Editor of Tlie Herald:— In your issue of 

 Oct. 37, you made this statement: " There 

 is such a thing as manufactured honey. 

 The comb is made out of paraffine." This 

 I denied, and called for the proof, by your 

 submitting at least a sample of the product 

 (manufactured comb honey), and stating 

 where and by whom it was made. 



As an incentive for you to produce a 

 sample of the "manufactured comb honey," 

 I informed j'ou that a member of the 

 "National Bee-Keepers' Union" offers a 

 thousand dollars for a sample of it, i. c, 

 " combs made by machinery, filled with 

 glucose, and sealed over by a machine 

 made for that pui-pose." Prove your asser- 

 tion if you can, and claim the money. It is 

 vmitind for you,. 



In The Hirald of Nov. 5, you attempt to 

 cover up the point at issue by heading your 



reply with the words, " Adulterated Comb 

 Honey," and quoting from a New Yorker's 

 book, entitled " Food Adulteration." 



The real point at issue is not the adultera- 

 tion of honey, but "the manufacture of 

 comb, filling and sealing it over by ma- 

 chinery made for that purpose," (as a 

 certain Professor expressed it) "without 

 the aid of bees." Concerning this I asserted 

 that "I am prepared to prove beyond con- 

 tradiction that your statement is wholly 

 false and untrue." Please stick to the 

 point, and either " produce a sample of the 

 product, give proof of its manufacture by 

 saying where it is done, and by whom, or 

 else make correction in Tlie Scrafd." 



In 1887 there was a failure of the honey 

 crop, and the finest opportunity was pre- 

 sented for the markets to be filled with 

 " mauufactui-ed comb honey" — if such 

 existed ! I dared those who asserted that 

 such was in existence, to produce a single 

 pound of it. And so far not a single ounce 

 of it has been submitted — even though 

 SI, 000 have lieen offered for a sample of 

 the " stuff," and the information where and 

 by whom it was manufactured. 



What a chance was then presented for 

 these mj'thical manufactories to " run day 

 and night,'" and supply the demand for 

 honey in the comb ! But their failure to do 

 so proves that they do not exist, and ex- 

 poses the falsity of all the assertions about 

 manufactured comb honey — in the sensa- 

 tional press. 



The fact that bees will not touch glucose 

 except on the verge of starvation, is suffi- 

 cient refutation of the statement of Mr. 

 Battershall, that bee-keepers compel the 

 bees to "adulterate their own honey" by 

 placing " vessels of glucose near the hives," 

 etc. His assertion that " 18 out of 37 

 samples of strained and comb honey, ex- 

 amined in 1885 by the Massachusetts 

 Board of Health, were adulterated with 

 glucose aud ordinary syrup," may have 

 some foundation, so far as liquid honey 

 was concerned, four years ago, when the 

 price of honey was much higher than glu- 

 cose — but noiij the tables are turned, and 

 honey can be purchased as low as glucose, 

 inicii it does not pay to adulterate, there 

 is no incentive for doing it, and but little, 

 if any, adulterated liquid honey is now on 

 the market. 



The author of the sUly stoi-y about " the 

 manufactuure of comb honey by machinery 

 made for that purpose, without the aid of 

 bees," is Prof. H. W. Wiley, a letter from 

 whom is in my possession, saying that he 

 "wrote it as a scientific pleasantry," never 

 thinking that any one would be silly enough 

 to think that it was a sober fact or truth ! 

 On the contrary, j'our authority from New 

 York, and a lot of other professors, editors, 

 doctors, lawyers, statesmen and ministers 

 have quoted from Wiley's lie about "the 

 manufacture of comb honey by machinery," 

 etc., supposing they had some authority to 

 lean upon ! But, alas, the original instiga- 



tor of the falsehood confesses to its untruth, 

 over his own signature. 



Now, Brother Editor, (for I am not a 

 stranger to the trials, labors, and courtesies 

 of the craft — having for a quarter of a cen- 

 tury held the honorable position of Editor 

 on a daDy and weekly paper, as well as a 

 class periodical), I feel sure that you have 

 been deceived by a " wily " falsehood — 

 and will cheerfully make the amende hon- 

 orable. It is but Just to correct a wrong 

 statement, especially when a failure to do 

 so will injure an honorable pursuit, by 

 casting a reflection and doubt upon its 

 product. Many of its devotees are your 

 constant readers — among them 

 Yours Respectfully, 



Thomas G. Newman. 



A reporter of The Herald called upon us 

 last week for an interview, which we hope 

 he will write up and insert in The Herald 

 at an early day. We gave him pointers, 

 described modern apiarian inventions, 

 showed him Prof. Wiley's letter, acknowl- 

 edging that there was no foundation for his 

 silly story about " manufactured comb 

 honey," and asserting that it was simply 

 a "scientific pleasantry," etc. 



The reporter expressed much surprise 

 that the Professor should have done such 

 a foolish thing as to write an article mis- 

 representing an industry, and then take 

 such a long time before even offering an 

 explanation, or making a correction. 



What the outcome of this interview will 

 be we know not, but hope Tlie Herald will 

 be honest enough to give the real facts in 

 the case to its readers. All we ask is truth 

 and justice — we want nothing else. 



Doolittle on Queen-Rearing^. 



Queens can be reared in the upper stories 

 of hives used for extracted honey, where a 

 queen-excluding honey -board is used, which 

 are as good, if not superior, to Queens 

 reared by any other process ; and that, too, 

 while the old Queen is doing duty below, 

 just the same as though Queens were not 

 being reared above. This is a fact, though 

 it is not generally known. 



If you desire to know how this can be 

 done — how to have Queens fertilized in up- 

 per stories, while the old Queen is laying 

 below — how you may safely in troduce any 

 Queen, at any time of the year when bees 

 cay fly — all about the different races of 

 bees — all about shipping Queens, queen- 

 cages, candy for queen-cages, etc. — all 

 about forming nuclei, multiplying or unit- 

 ing bees, or weak colonies, etc. ; or, in fact 

 everything about the queen-business which 

 you may want to know, send for"Doolit- 

 tle's Scientific Queen-Rearing;" a book of 

 170 pages, which is nicely bound in cloth, 

 and as interesting as any story. Price, 

 $1.00. 



An edition iu strong paper covers is is- 

 sued for premiums. It will be mailed as a 

 present to any one who avIU send us two 

 new subscribers to either of our JotjnxAis. 



