ularly the one by Prof. Hasbrouck, on 

 "Fertilization in Confinement." Al- 

 though as yet I can but express my 

 doubts that 'it will be of any practical 

 utility to queen-breeders, still it shows 

 advancement toward the desired end. 

 In Journal of November I notice 

 W. Emerick's statement that a wing- 

 less queen commenced laying, after 

 placing drones in the hive from another 

 colony. I have had such queens com- 

 mence laying without being to that 

 trouble, although I never had any work- 

 ers hatch from eggs laid by such 

 queens. Query : Has Mr. Emerick ? 



STANDARD ITALIAN QUEENS. 



There has been a good deal written on 

 this subject during the past year, and 

 now are we any nearer together in our 

 conchisions as to what constitutes the 

 " standard of excellence" in Italian 

 queens ? If I should order a queen 

 each from a dozen different breeders, 

 requesting them to send what they con- 

 sidered the " standard of excellence," 

 what a variety there would be as to 

 color, markings and size. Now, al- 

 though there might be no two of the 

 twelve exactly alike, still they might all 

 be pure queens. Upon testing them, 

 however, it is highly probable I should 

 find a marked difference in the color of 

 their worker progeny. Some would 

 throw a very light color, others fair 

 color, while some would be dark. As 

 the profit of the worker bee is in the 

 honey they gather, the one that gathers 

 the most (be they light or dark-colored) 

 is the bee for the producer of honey. 

 Formerly I was altogether in favor of 

 light-colored workers. W. S. Barclay, 

 of Beaver, Pa., was, 1 believe, the first 

 person who spoke to me advocating 

 a dark worker. I did not give the mat- 

 ter much thought, however, until I read 

 Ch. Dadant's observations of Italian 

 bees in Italy. Some time after this I 

 ordered an imported queen for dark- 

 colored workers, and soon lost a good 

 deal of my partiality for light-colored 

 workers. Still I bred both long enough 

 to satisfy myself which was the most 

 profitable bee for me as a honey pro- 

 ducer. My experience would lead me 

 to choose the dark-colored worker every 

 time. I saw a queen and workers at 

 W. S. Barclay's apiary, bred from the 

 first Parsons importation. I have had 

 several from Mr. Langstroth, also from 

 Mahin, Quinby, Tupper and Dadant. 

 If I remember correctly, the Parsons 

 bee was not as light as the Langstroth, 

 or dark as the Dadant bee. 



ADULTERATION OF SWEETS. 



I was present at the Convention of 



the North American Bee-Keepers' So- 

 ciety, held in Pittsburgh, Pa., Novem- 

 ber, 1874. H. A. King, of New York, 

 had a sample of glucose on exhibition, 

 and read a paper upon the adulteration 

 of honey (see vol. 10, page 278, Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal), warning bee-keep- 

 ers of its deleterious effect in the sale 

 of extracted honey. 



I give the following extracts from 

 New York papers to show the magni- 

 tude this nefarious business of adulte- 

 ration is assuming : 



" It is stated that a refinery at Greenpoint 

 is largely engaged in the manufacture of 

 glucose, which enters into both refined 

 sugars and syrups. It is claimed that syr- 

 ups frequently contain as much as 20 per 

 cent, of glucose, which may be detected by 

 a metalic taste in the mouth. Strained 

 honey, it is said, is also heavily adulterated 

 with glucose, and special agents reported 

 that a large exportation by a New York firm 

 has been condemned in England on account 

 of adulteration. Grape sugnror glucose is 

 the chief ingredient used in the process of 

 adulteration. In this jar is a sample of C 

 sugar ; made and sold in the market, which 

 contains, by exact analysis, 13 per cent, of 

 glucose. The analyses are continued daily, 

 and no sample of refined sugars yet assayed 

 has been found to be unadulterated. 



"The persons conducting the investiga- 

 tions have received the hearty co-operation 

 of the Board of Health. 



"In regard to the returning of sugars 

 to refiners, 1 know that in several in- 

 stances within the past two weeks, lots of 

 over 250 barrels each have been returned to 

 refiners in this city, solely upon the ground 

 of adulteration, and that complaints of a 

 similar character are a matter of frequent, 

 if not daily occurrence."— N. Y. Tribune. 



In a subsequent issue of same paper 

 there is a report of an interview be- 

 tween a sugar refiner and reporter, from 

 which I give a short extract : 



" Reporter.— Do you know anything in 

 regard to the use of glucose or acids by other 

 refiners ? 



"Refiner.— Corn glucose is manufactured 

 as an article of commerce, and is entirely 

 harmless and wholesome, and we think that 

 a business which openly produces a syrup 

 made by combining corn glucose with syrup 

 of refineries is entirely legitimate." 



Why the refiner considers it entirely 

 harmless and wholesome may possibly be 

 inferred from the following extract 

 from the New York Observer : 



"It is said that the use of glucose and 

 other materials nets the refiners about one- 

 half per cent, per pound, or $1.25 per barrel. 

 Take a refinery that turns out 3,000 barrels 

 per day, and the net profit per year from the 

 adulteration alone will amount to over 

 $1,250,000. An investigation is now in pro- 

 gress by the special treasury agents, and it 

 is reported that they have made important 

 discoveries, and secured the most convincing 



