as a memento of the occasion. The 

 speeches after the dinner were highly 

 complimentary to America, her scien- 

 tific inventions and practical methods 

 in apiculture, and we have the satisfac- 

 tion of knowing that British bee-mas- 

 ters are our steadfast friends, and may 

 be relied on to do their part in the 

 grand work of adopting scientific man- 

 agement both for bees and honey pro- 

 duction. They will work side by side 

 with Americans for great and glorious 

 results — for we are brothers, all — with 

 one language, one object and one inter- 

 est. All honor is due to Mr. and Mrs. 

 Cowan for projecting and carrying out 

 to such an agreeable termination such 

 an excellent international reunion of 

 the friends of the honey-bee. 



American Honey in England. 



In the British Bee Journal for August, 

 we find the following article and edito- 

 rial comments : 



We beg to thank you, and through you the 

 other members of the acting committee, for 

 the fair and courteous treatment bestowed 

 upon our display of American honey at Kil- 

 burn. The judges manifested an honest 

 disposition to pin the colors where they 

 rightfully belonged, and it will always be a 

 pleasant recollection that after patient and 

 thorough investigation the highest prize for 

 the best pure honey was given to that we 

 displayed. The quality of our season's 

 shipments has been so frequently and seri- 

 ously aspersed that perhaps a firm with less 

 heart in the business would have folded 

 their tents, like the Arabs, and silently 

 stolen away. But we have faith in Ameri- 

 can bee-keepers, and knowing their honey 

 to be a first-class, meritorious article, we 

 have never abated for a day the struggle to 

 place it in the very front rank ; and now, 

 after a hard fight, we are abundantly re- 

 warded by an order from Her Majesty, the 

 Queen, the quality of our honey compli- 

 mented by both their Iioyal Highnesses the 

 Prince and Princess of Wales, and by its 

 being named the purest and best by such 

 eminently respectable judges. Encouraged 

 by this, and the satisfaction of the public as 

 manifested by the constantly increasing 

 demand for our honey, we have determined 

 to locate a permanent branch in London, 

 where we expect to build up and maintain a 

 good trade in the products of the little 

 almoners of nature, thus effecting a benefit 

 to the bee-keeping industry, not only in 

 America, but also in Europe. 

 Yours faithfully, 



H. K. & F. B. Thurber & Uo. 



London, July 12, 1879. 



393 



We received the above letter from Messrs. 

 Thurber, the great American honey cater- 

 ers for Europe, and we cheerfully publish 

 it. We had " a good time " at Kilburn with 

 Mr. Hoge, their agent, and did our best to 

 improve the occasion, and with great pleas- 

 ure acknowledge our obligation to him for 

 his frankness in all matters connected with 

 what has been a vexed question as between 

 us and our American fellow-workers. 



English bee-keepers have had great cause 

 to deplore the fact that English honey mer- 

 chants have for years foisted upon the pub- 

 lic the tasteless outcome of Chili, as the 

 finest product of the most celebrated apisti- 

 cal districts, and such "stuff" labeled 

 "Narbonne," with sundry superlative ad- 

 jectives appended or soaring in its behalf, 

 led the English world to believe that such 

 (properly named) "stuff" was the embodi- 

 ment of excellence ; whereas it was simply 

 cheap rubbish put up in gaudy attire, and 

 sold at large profit, to the great detriment of 

 the English honey producer. It cannot be 

 denied, and, indeed, Mr. Hoge candidly 

 admits, that the earlier consignments of 

 American honey had been "treated," such 

 "treating" having been at the instigation 

 of the dealer to prevent the honey from 

 solidifying, he, the dealer, being perfectly 

 cognizant of the fact, it having been so 

 stated on his invoices. 



We do not wish to reopen the question, 

 but with the treated honey in our mind we 

 feel that we said no more than such trans- 

 actions warranted, but with the present 

 samples before us we have great pleasure in 

 testifying to their general excellence. They 

 vary as did the flowers in the various dis- 

 tricts at the times when the nectar was 

 gathered, and one may find in the " styles 

 of honey," as the venders call them, flavors 

 varying from a slight remove from golden 

 syrup to the most delicate-flavored extract 

 of white clover blossoms, the prices vary- 

 ing accordingly. 



There are few people in the world who 

 have not, at some period of their life— and 

 many times, too often— written what they 

 would, with a better knowledge of the facts, 

 rather had not been committed to paper, and 

 in this particular, i. e., in regard to Ameri- 

 can honey, we are willing to withdraw any- 

 thing which we have written which may be 

 thought to impugn the integrity of Thur- 

 ber's comb honey ; it is beautiful in appear- 

 ance, and sufficiently varied in flavor to 

 please all tastes ; and to increase its popu- 

 larity we would venture to suggest that 



