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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Dec. 14 1905 



it as seriously as did the bee-keepers, and consequently Dr. 

 Wiley's reputation as a joker suffered a serious relapse. 



There have been many variations of "the Wiley lie," as 

 the statement has been referred to by bee-keepers. State 

 Food Commissions have said that bees entered the conspiracy, 

 and were fed glucose to produce honey. Other Food Com- 

 missions contented themselves with repeating the original lie 

 without variation. But all had the same effect— to prejudice 

 the public against the purchase of pure comb honey, and, to a 

 certain extent, of honey of all kinds. I need not tell an as- 

 sociation of bee-keepers that such stories are made out of 

 vyhole cloth. They are in fact lies— however, not malicious 

 hes, as I doubt not they largely come through ignorance. 

 As to the remedy I would infringe on the copyright of Presi- 

 dent Roosevelt, and suggest fblicity. Every food commis- 

 sioner and chemist should do his part to correct the false 

 impression which has been made, and I assure you in behalf 

 of Commissioner Jones and myself, that we will do our part. 



Another matter in which the bee-keepers have of late 

 eymced much interest, is the chemical composition of honey. 

 Owing to the fact that the word "■glucose" has two or three 

 meanmgs chemically, and an entirely different meaning com- 

 mercially, there has been much confusion among bee-keepers, 

 as to whether or not glucose is a normal constituent of 

 honey. 



In taking up this matter I wish to call your attention to 

 a pamphlet just received, defining honey and setting standards 

 for the same. The pamphlet is a part of a report from a 

 committee of standards of the Association of Official Agri- 

 cultural Chemists, and as their standards have been recog- 

 nized by the United States Secretary of Agriculture, they 

 become important and authoritative. The standard and defi- 

 nition of honey are as follows : 



"1. Honey is tlie nectar and saccharine exudations of 

 plants gathered, modified, and stored in the comb by honey- 

 bees {Apis mcllifica). It is laevo-rotatory, contains not more 

 than twenty-five (25) percent of water, not more than twen- 

 ty-five hundredths (0.25) percent of ash, and not more than 

 eight (8) percent of sucrose. 



|'2. Comb honey is honey contained in the cells of comb. 

 .3. Extracted honey is honey which has been separated 

 from^ the uncrushed comb by centrifugal force or gravity. 



4. Strained honey is honey removed from the crushed 

 comb by straining or other means." 



My quarrel with these standards is in the definition for 

 honey, which I maintain is too sweeping, and incorrect. 



.Strictly speaking, honey— commercial honey— should be 

 limited to the nectar of flowers. Louse honey, or honey- 

 dew honey, or pine-tree honey, are not, and should not be, 

 sold to consumers for honey. Again, honev is not nectar 

 nor saccharine, but a manufactured product, made by the 

 bees, changed from its original condition. 



There is, of course, such a thing as honey from bumble- 

 bees and no doubt other bees, but the only honey of com- 

 merce IS produced by the honey-bee, and to this bee the 

 definition oroperly should be restricted. I would therefore 

 suggest that the definition for honey be that suggested by 

 me to the National Association of State Food Commissions 

 which is this : 



Commercial honey is the nectar of flowers, transformed, 

 and stored in a comb by the honey-bee. 



; As these schedules are subject to revision, it might be 

 wise, if the Association looks at this matter in the light that 

 I do, to take some action, preferably by resolution. 



A word as to the condition of the Illinois honey mar- 

 kets in regard to purity, and I am done: Before the Illinois 

 Food law became operative fully 3.3 ]-3 percent of the 

 extracted honey on the market was adulterated. Since then 

 the adulteration has grown less, until last year- when we 

 found seven samples of adulterated extracted honey out of 

 28 samples analyzed. However, in all but one case, the adul- 

 terant was cane-sugar, and in several cases it was impos- 

 sible to tell whether it had been intentionally added or fed 

 to bees. This year, while only a few samples were analyzed, 

 none have been found adulterated. It seems that adultera- 

 tion of honey with glucose is almost a thing of the past. 

 E. N. E.\T0N. 



Mr. Moore — Isn't the change of cane-sugar to grape- 

 sugar the same as that made by the bees? 



Prof. Eaton— I think not. 



Mr. Kimmcy — Can chemical science make honey? 



Prof. Eaton — No. 



Mr. McCain— I supposed that the nectar was changed to 

 honey while in the .s.-ic of the bee. Isn't that true? 



Prof. Eaton — I am inclined to think that the change is 

 begun in the sac. 



Mr. Abbott — This question of nectar and honey has 

 been threshed over again and again. When the nectar is 

 put into a cell I think it is still nectar. I don't agree with 

 Prof. Cook, that honey is partly-digested nectar. Cane- 

 sugar stored in the combs is still cane-sugar, and will re- 

 main such, Prof. Cook to the contrary notwithstanding, and 

 I want Prof. Cook to know that I say this. I would like 

 to know if Prof. Eaton agrees with Prof. Cook. 



Prof. Eaton — I must admit that I got most of my in- 

 formation on this subject from Prof. Cook, and I am in- 

 clined to agree with him. 



Mr. Kimmey — If I feed the bees 20 pounds of honey or 

 sugar, and then find only 14 pounds in the combs, let me 

 ask where the difference has gone to? 



Mr. Moore — It has been used up in household economy. 

 Prof. Cook has said that if we feed sugar to the bees, 

 honey will be the result. If this is true, then what kind of 

 honey is it? 



KIr. Wheeler — The matter of honey-dew is important. 

 If there was any honey -dew in our honey we might be ac- 

 cused of adulterating our honey. 



Mr. Root — Mr. Selser and Prof. Eaton agree exactly as 

 to the proper definition for honev, but this point raised by 

 Mr. Wheeler is really most important. Suppose I am a 

 beginner, and I unknowingly put honey-dew upon the mar- 

 ket, there is danger of prosecution, in wMch injustice will 

 be done. 



Prof. Eaton — I might say that I do not agree with 

 Prof. Cook in every point. One point is that I do not be- 

 lieve that when bees are fed cane-sugar the result is true 

 honey. It would be lacking in the natural flavor of true 

 honey. In regard to the best definition for honey I think 

 that practical bee-keepers are the best judges as to what 

 this definition should be. The matter is really important, 

 however, as decisions in important suits may turn upon the 

 definition that the courts are guided by. 



It was moved by Mr. Moore that the chair appoint a 

 committee of three to look after this matter of securing a 

 proper definition for honey. Dr. Miller, C. P. Dadant and 

 E. T. Abbott were appointed. 



Upon motion of Mr. Horstmann it was voted the Asso- 

 ciation pay the Secretary $20 for his services. 



DEFINITION AND STANDARD FOR HONEY. 



In reply to a question, Prof. Eaton said that he con- 

 sidered 25 percent of water in honey was a high percentage 

 for a standard. About 22 percent is as much water as was 

 ever found, but he thought it better to be safe, and put it 

 at 25 percent. Eight percent sucrose is also a high per- 

 centage. He had no objections to offer to the standard as 

 proposed for honey. 



i\Ir. France — I suppose that these standards will become 

 authoritj'. If they do, and the proposed definition is also 

 made authentic, then I am ready to quit bee-keeping. My 

 honev this year would be pronounced adulterated if judged 

 by the proposed definition. 



Upon motion of Mr. Moore, a vote of thanks was given 

 Prof. Eaton for his paper. Thanks were also tendered the 

 proprietor of the Revere house for his courtesy and kindness 

 in furnishing a room for the meeting. Mr. Root was also 

 remembered with a vote of thanks for his entertainment with 

 the stereopticon. 



The convention then adjourned to meet at the call of 

 the Executive Committee. 



Honey as a Health-Food.— This is a 16-page honey- 

 pamphlet intended to help increase the demand for honey. 

 The first part of it contains a short article on " Honey as 

 Food ", written by Dr. C. C. Miller. It tells where to keep 

 honey, how to liquefy it, etc. The last part is devoted to 

 " Honey-Cooking Recipes " and " Remedies Using Honey ". 

 It should be widely circulated by those selling honey. The 

 more the people are educated on the value and uses of honey 

 the more honey they will buy. /; _ _ ^ 



Prices, prepaid — Sample copy for a two-cent stamp; SO 

 copies for 70 cts.; 100 for $1.25 : 250 for $2.25 ; 500 for $4.00 ; 

 or 1000 for $7.50. Your business card printed free at the 

 bottom of the front page on all orders for 100 or more copies. 

 Send all orders to the office of the American Bee Journal. 



Why Not send in some new subscriptions' for the Amer 

 ican Bee Journal ? Samples free for the asking. :_j 



