Aug. 31, 190S 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURJMAL 



617 



men and we get into conversation. The first thing we ask 

 one another is, "What is your business?" I say, "I have a 

 little factory out here in the country." "What do you make?" 

 "I make comb foundation." "What is that?" "Did you ever 

 hear about comb honey being manufactured?" "Oh yes." 

 " Well, there isn't any such thing, I make the nearest to 

 comb that can be done." "Is that so?" Then comes tlie 

 explanation. If I have a sample I show him and he is 

 absolutely convinced there is no Comb honey manufactured. 

 But when I first meet him, if he knows anything about it lie 

 knows comb honey is manufactured and sold ! I find very 

 few people that do not believe it until it is explained to them. 

 When I tell them, I know they believe me because there is 

 no reason for me to tell them a story and they understand 

 how the story was gotten up. But this extends to you ; it 

 is absolutely necessary to make this matter known widely 

 because there are millions of people who have read that story 

 and believe it simply because they have never been told 

 better. 



Mr. Smith — I want to say I have convinced some parties 

 by exhibiting some of the thin foundation and explaining 

 why it was used and how it was used, and that was all 

 there was to it. It dawned on their minds finally that I 

 was right. I think the more we do that, and the more we 

 can explain this thing and talk it the better, because it is 

 the fact, and it is easily demonstrated when we have the 

 evidence, that is, the foundation, and show the people that 

 that is all there is to it. I am like Mr. Becker, I believe 

 in every bee-keeper standing by his honey. 



Pres. York — Before Mr. Smith spoke I was wondering 

 whether it would not be a good idea for every bee-keeper 

 to carry a little piece of comb foundation ; and I am going to 

 suggest that comb foundation manufacturers get up a little 

 pocket-holder with a piece of foundation in it, and give it to 

 all the bee-keepers. I think it would be a good advertise- 

 ment for them. 



Mr. Abbott — If these comb-foundation men would find 

 out when the Traveling Men's Association meets, and send 

 some of this comb foundation there they would do more 

 towards counteracting this than anything I know of. The 

 traveling men who travel for wholesale houses do more to 

 keep this story alive than any class of men in existence. I 

 never met a traveling man in my life, who was not a bee- 

 keeper, that did not think that comb honey could be manu- 

 factured. He wouldn't believe it at all when I came to talk 

 to him. Every once in a while I meet one who wants to 

 bet money on it. I met one in the streets of St. Louis one 

 day, and he said when I told him it was not manufactured, 

 "You are crazy. I know right where the man is ; he is down 

 the street here not more than four blocks away, and he was 

 talking to a man that knew well." I put my hand on the 

 man's shoulder, and said, "Am I responsible for $500?" He 

 said, "I think you are." I said, "My dear sir, come on down 

 the street with me and I will give you $500 in clean cash' 

 if you show me that man." He stopped and looked at me. 

 He said, "I am awfully busy." I said, "Can you make $500 

 in a day, or an hour? Come on with me. I want you either 

 to stop this story or else go and show the goods." He said. 

 I didn't see it, but I saw a fellow that said he saw it." 

 [Laughter.] That is all there was to it; but they keep send- 

 ing it around. 



Mr. Becker — The general public confuse foundation with 

 honey-comb. They are all well aware that there are fac- 

 tories that manufacture comb foundation, but they call it 

 ''honey-comb." In that way the general public get the wrong 

 idea, and they think it is the genuine honey-comb. Instead 

 of that the word "foundation" should be used, and. as has 

 been suggested, they should be shown a sample so that they 

 understand just what it is. But it is commonly known as 

 honey-comb, and that is the reason I believe the general 

 public has that impression. 



Mr. Pease — A few months ago I placed some cases of 

 honey with a firm here in Chicago. At the time I did this 

 one of the gentlemen said, "I want you to tell me something 

 that I can tell the enquiring public about this artificial honey- 

 comb story." I said, "I will not take time to do it now, 

 but I will come in tomorrow and explain that to you." The 

 next day I went down and took with me a section with a 

 full sheet of foundation that was partially drawn out — drawn 

 out more at the top than at the bottom ; I used the extra- 

 thin foundation and the bottom had not been drawn out at 

 all. I went on to explain to him the process by which this 

 foundation was used, and hnw it was made, and that that 

 was the extent of this artificial honey-comb. I left a sec 



tion containing this partly-drawn foundation with him. Sev- 

 eral weeks after that I went into the store and asked him 

 about his honey, and spoke of this sheet of foundation that 

 I had left with him; and he said he had experienced more 

 satisfaction in using that to explain to the public exactly 

 what comb foundation was, and what artificial honey-comb 

 was, than anything else he had ever seen. I simply offer this 

 as a suggestion. I believe whenever you place a consign- 

 ment of honey with a firm, especially a retail firm, if you 

 will take the pains to place with them a sample of foundation 

 or a section containing the foundation, or partly drawn foun- 

 dation, you will take a long step in educating the public as 

 to what this artificial honey-comb is. 



Mr. Wheeler— I always seem to have to differ from the 

 public. I differ a little on this question of foundation, and 

 I have had considerable experience in selling honey. I have 

 explained foundation to the public, and I have had them 

 go to their friends the next day and tell them, "Why, Wheeler 

 had some manufactured honey there ;" and they confused the 

 foundation with the comb, time and again. I have had that 

 happen. They say, "He buys comb and puts it into the 

 hives." One or two years 1 went to the County Fair and 

 explained foundation to the folks. I had that thrown back 

 at me so many times that I made up my mind I never would 

 speak of foundation at all unless people asked me if I used it. 

 Of course I don't deny using it. But this explaining to the 

 public that you put in a sheet of beeswax — they can't tell 

 whether there is a "sell" there or not, and the trouble is 

 you know how a story goes; they will repeat the thing to 

 their friends, and put an addition to it, and the first thing 

 you know it will come around that you really furnish the 

 bees with comb. 



Dr. Miller— "A little learning is a dangerous thing." 

 The trouble in Mr. Wheeler's case is that he doesn't go on 

 and educate them far enough, and keep right after them, and 

 they will come finally to know enough. He gives them just 

 a little sight of that, and they put a whole lot more to it. 

 He should follow that up and show them it is not so. Get 

 after them after they have heard the wrong thing. I do 

 believe enlightenment on the subject will finally bring the 

 public to the right place. I am just half German blood in 

 me and sometimes it gets me into trouble. Mr. York sug- 

 gested a thing that I had in mind, and by some sort of 

 telepathy he got hold of it and told you to carry around 

 foundation. That was a thing I had been thinking of be- 

 fore, and if he had just waited a little while I would have 

 said that. I believe there is wisdom in it. I have thought 

 after this I will try to have a piece of foundation in my 

 pocket. I don't doubt at all that these foundation makers 

 will approve of that, for we will "draw out" a good deal 

 of foundation in that way ! 



Mr. Whitney— I would like to make another suggestion 

 in regard to advertising this matter. If we would all write 

 a short article on this subject to our local editor: there is 

 no individual here but can do that in his own locality and 

 publish the facts in regard to this foundation business, this 

 comb-honey business, and this extracted-honey adulteration. 

 By doing that we will do a great deal more than we can do 

 in any other way personally. The editor of our paper at 

 home has been importuning me to write a series of short 

 articles for his paper, and I have partly promised to do it 

 on that very subject, and touching upon bee-keeping generally 

 —all the little things and facts about it. I think if we will 

 all do that in our local papers we will do more to correct 

 this impression that has gone abroad than we can do in any 

 other way, and do it easily, too. 



Mr. Meredith — Some three hundred car-loads of excur- 

 sionists visited our Park the past season where I had an 

 exhibit of bees, extracted wax, a press, and utensils used for 

 the production of honey. Among those were comb founda- 

 tion partly drawn out, finished and capped, and in almost 

 every manner, and it was very interesting to the people as 

 they had never seen the way extracted and comb honey was 

 produced, in looking over and seeing how the foundation had 

 been extended. And also I had a number of pieces of foun- 

 dation coiled up in the shape of wax, and I used them for 

 the purpose of selling, selling it for so much, taking an or- 

 dinary piece of foundation and winding it around a rod and 

 selling that to them for beeswax. The biggest part of the 

 people that looked over my exhibit could see what was con- 

 sidered artificial comb was practically pure wax drawn out 

 bv the bees, and I think it had a hig iiifluence in the enlight- 

 enment of people in regard to this artificial comb. 

 (Continued ne.xt week.) 



