very fine samples of clover, basswood and 

 buckwheat honey, all granulated, also some 

 Southern honey from New Orleans, not 

 granulated but of inferior flavor. 



Mr. Benton recommends Hint glass cups 

 having bails and holding 1 or V/i lbs., which 

 could be procured in any of our cities by 

 wholesale at quite reasonable rates, also a 

 large can should be filled with honey and 

 the producer's name painted on it and sup- 

 plied with a molasses gate, then put into 

 some grocery store. 



Mr. Blackburn thought little pots or cups 

 too expensive. 



Will bees gather honey from red clover ? 

 — was answered in the negitive, as regards 

 black bees, no one having ever seen them 

 working on it. Italians were said to work 

 on it some — especially on the second crop. 



Mr. Benton had visited a bee-keeper who 

 showed him quite an amount of honey 

 gathered from red clover. 



Prof. Cook protested against the use of 

 comb-foundation in surplus boxes, while 

 Mr. Blackburn used them and never had 

 any fault found, and thinks section boxes 

 will stand shipping better by having comb- 

 foundations used in them. 



The next question brought out a condem- 

 nation of the use of grape sugar as being 

 injurious to bees and men. 



The next quest ion was : Should queens' 

 wings be clipped ? Prof. Cook advocated it 

 very decidedly, as it would save a great deal 

 of anxiety and time in swarming them, by 

 being sure that the bees would always come 

 back from high trees or other inacessible 

 places, or where several swarms happened 

 to cluster together in one place. 



Mr. Benton and others also recommended 

 it, and had never lost any queens or swarms 

 by following the plan. 



Prof. Cook stated that the most important 

 thing now was to have good queens and 

 feed to stimulate ; he advocated feeding any 

 time when the bees were not gathering 

 honey. 



Mr. Charles, of the Agricultural College, 

 was then introduced by Prof. Cook and he 

 ■explained and showed a new and very valu- 

 able feeder invented by the Professor and 

 manufactured by himself. This feeder is 

 used as a division board, and is calculated 

 to be used in spring. 



Prof. Cook thinks dysentery Is often 

 caused from feeding them sugar syrup or 

 honey late in the fall. 



Mr. H. Ross asked whether there was 

 danger from feeding unbolted flour. 



Prof. Cook— th ought not , - as_ bees would 

 not take more than they wanted. 



Mr. Wolcott said cholera was caused by 

 annoying the bees when they do not fly, so 

 that they gorge themselves when disturbed. 



Mr. Ross asked whether combs might be 

 turned in transferring ; Prof. Cook thought 

 it made no difference. 



For wintering Prof. Cook recommended a 

 well ventilated dark cellar. 



Mr. Lathland described his success in 

 wintering in his cellar, and prefers hives 

 with loose bottoms. 



Mr. A. E. Cole thinks that lie lost a num- 

 ber of colonies from their eating uncapped 

 honey. 



Mr. Benton then being called on explained 



the use of the extractor, and gave an 

 interesting history of its invention. 



The time of holding the next meeting 

 was left to the Executive Committee. 



Theo. Welckek, Sec. 



[This feeder is described on page 266 of 

 this Journal.— Ed.] 



Read before the Addison Co., Vt., Convention. 



The Adulteration of Honey. 



E. A. HASSELTINE. 



The adulteration of sweets is a subject 

 that is coming before the common people. 

 The universal demand and the consequent 

 supply of sweets in some form, make it a 

 subject, 1 may almost say of paramount 

 importance, and while it may be an easy 

 matter to state this fact, and to talk around 

 it and about it, yet to get underneath it, to 

 analyze the motives which underlie it in its 

 various forms ; to show its relations both to 

 the producer on the one hand, and the con- 

 sumer on the other, is a theme far too wide 

 and deep for me to grapple with to-day, so 

 we must be content to present a few obser- 

 vations which may at least serve as sub- 

 jects for us as bee-keepers to reflect upon, as 

 we go about our various duties. Let us, as a 

 company of honest men, look this evil 

 squarely in the face and if possible make 

 some effort, though feeble, to throttle this 

 monster which bids fair to gnaw at, if not 

 to destroy the interest of every honey pro- 

 ducer. 



A few words about sugar and we pass to 

 consider that part of the subject which 

 more directly interests us. Go into any of 

 our grocery stores and examine any of the 

 cheaper grades of sugar, smell of them 

 and you will easily detect a strong offensive 

 odor, something like that which is termed a 

 barnyard smell. This same scent is retained 

 after using. It can be easily detected in 

 canned fruits, pies of any kind, and when 

 this sugar is used as a sweetening for tea 

 without milk in it changes itto a dark color, 

 like that of strong lye. This has not more 

 than fifty percent of sweetening properties. 

 The foreign qualities of such sugars are 

 said to be glucose or grape sugar, with some 

 of the strong acids, sulphuric or muriatic, 

 with some salts of tin. Its effects upon the 

 human system are a question of dispute 

 among M. D's, and when doctors disagree 

 who shall decide ? It would seem that good 

 sense would at least prefer good sugar. 



The adulteration of honey is doubtless 

 one of the most important questions con- 

 nected with our business as honey producers. 

 The very term impliesdishonesty ; it savors 

 strongly of rascality. Honey may be adul- 

 terated by the producer by the use of sugar, 

 glucose or the use of foundation in boxes. 

 This last does not necessitate an impurity 

 in honey, strictly speaking, but it is our 

 opinion it may give sufficient ground for 

 condemning box honey as spurious. In this 

 case, the dishonesty or rascality must be in 

 the mind of the producer. Bees are honest, 

 and when left to themselves give us their 

 products in their natural purity, but can be 

 to a certain extent made a "cat's paw " for 



