527 



dation in its many forms completed the 

 "trinity" of inventions out of which has 

 sprung'all the other useful appliances and 

 practices which, taken together, constitute 

 bee-keeping the pleasant and profitable pur- 

 suit it is to-day. Under the influence of 

 the new system, botanists have ransacked 

 the entire floral kingdom and have given us 

 a catalogue of honey producing plants, of 

 such varying habits, that the wise apiarist 

 may till up all the gaps occuring between 

 the regular periods of bloom of the plants 

 usually depended upon for honey, and thus 

 secure a constant flow of nectar during the 

 entire season. By many experiments made 

 by competent bee-keepers under every 

 variety of climate and circumstance, the 

 wintering problem is so far solved that the 

 progressive apiarist expects to see his bees 

 come forth bright and lively in the spring, 

 with the same confidence that he does his 

 other farm stock. 



To secure to our bees the benefits arising 

 from the commingling of the blood of dif- 

 ferent races no pains have been spared, and 

 no expense or toil has been deemed too 

 great ; and the magnificent result is, that all 

 the qualities which go to make up the per- 

 fect honey bee, such as vigor, endurance, 

 long tongues, swiftness of flight and sweet- 

 ness of tempter, America to-day stands 

 without a rival. The abundance of the 

 floral supply and quality of the various 

 varieties of American honey also excel that 

 produced in any other portion of the known 

 world ; so that wherever it has been in- 

 troduced, whether in our own or foreign 

 lands, it has never failed to create a demand 

 for more ; and, although the quantity pro- 

 duced is now reckoned by barrels, tons, and 

 car loads, exceeding hundreds of times the 

 quantity produced by our fathers, the prices 

 obtained on an average are remunerative, 

 and from causes already enumerated, will, 

 doubtless continue to be. The fear of stings, 

 natural stupidity, the lack of scientific edu- 

 cation, together with the lack of that pecu- 

 liar adaptation for the work, forming a kind 

 of "protective tariff" for the honey pro- 

 duced in other respects, will always render 

 his business free from the ruinous compe- 

 tition observable in nearly all the other 

 industries of our country. With the vast 

 accumulation of correct knowledge and 

 appliances adapted to every need, the intel- 

 ligent bee-keeper of to-day feels as certain 

 of a fair return for his labor as though 

 engaged in any other occupation. 



Viewing then this industry from the 

 standpoint of its growth on correct princi- 

 ples as distinguished from its former career 

 when founded on absurdities, and taking 

 into consideration the universal appetite 

 and craving demand for its delicious pro- 

 ducts, we should at once conclude that it is 

 destined to attain a vigorous old age; but 

 there is another side to this question which 

 it is well to consider as affecting our future 

 markets for honey, and consequently the 

 permanence of the industry itself. It is 

 a well-known fact to those who read and are 

 posted on the production of sugars and 

 syrups that, with a few trifling exceptions, 

 all the sugars produced during the past 

 three years and now being produced, are 

 adulterated on an average of 35 percent, on 



the whole amount, and the various syrups 

 differing in quality, principally in name and 

 amount of coloring material used, are adul- 

 terated still worse ; that as a consequence 

 all the refiners unwilling to engage in the 

 nefarious business of slowly poisoning the 

 public, and not being able to sell a pure 

 article of sugar or syrup at the same price 

 of this vile, though fine looking "stuff," 

 left the business in disgust, and to-day the 

 whole field is occupied by these counter- 

 feiting scoundrels. Honey has thus far to 

 a very large extent escaped their ravenous 

 "maw," but as many of their victims, 

 either through warnings in the newspapers, 

 or the failing health of their families from 

 the use of this "trash," have been casting 

 about for a change and are rapidly substitut- 

 ing honey, these villains are becoming 

 alarmed and are extending their field of 

 operations to include this industry also. In 

 a recent law suit among the members of the 

 firm of the Buffalo Grape Co. for the re- 

 covery of $450,000, the fact was brought out 

 by the affidavit of one of the firm, that one 

 bushel of corn produces thirty pounds of 

 grape sugar, or a still greater quantity of 

 glucose, and that the refuse of each bushel 

 brings 8 cents for swine feed. Now, it 

 must be apparent to every honey producer, 

 that if his Dure unadulterated article is to 

 compete with honey mixed with this sub- 

 stance so that the mixture will contain from 

 50 to 75 per cent, of glucose (the usual pro- 

 portions), his business as a bee-keeper will 

 soon be closed out, and this new industry, 

 with all its triumphs in the past and hopes 

 for the future, will sink into oblivion. We 

 do not make these statements to discourage 

 bee-keepers, but to stir them up to a sense 

 of their danger, while there is yet time to 

 avert so great a calamity; but we cannot 

 avert it by ignoring its existence. It, there- 

 fore, behooves bee-keepers everywhere to 

 at once drop their silly questions of who 

 shall or shall not deal in supplies ; whether 

 or not we shall destroy our present bee 

 papers that we may establish on their ruins 

 our Journal, &c, and with one grand co- 

 operative purpose unite in solid phalanx to 

 oppose the onward march of this giant 

 enemy to our industry. 



Let the National Association originate 

 some trade mark and label to be adopted by 

 all the minor associations in all the States. 



Let producers pledge themselves to sell 

 only to dealers who will become members of 

 this association, and in turn pledge them- 

 selves in good faith to carry out all its 

 requirements. 



Let vigilant committees be appointed in 

 all the different associations, whose duty it 

 shall be to watch for and report all violations 

 by the members, whether dealers or pro- 

 ducers, of the association rules, and when 

 convicted let it be known through all our 

 mediums of communications with the 

 public. 



Let those who are qualified write fre- 

 quently for the country papers, setting forth 

 the extent of syrup adulterations, the dan- 

 ger to the community by their continued 

 use, giving simple methods of detecting the 

 poison such as the tea or alcohol test ; also 

 setting forth the merits, in all points, of 

 pure honey as a substitute. 



