7 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



87 



more room the center board may be re- 

 moved. 



Edward J. Wickson, of the Utica Her- 

 ald, addressed the eoiiveution upon the 

 commercial aspects of the industry. In 

 closing, Mr. Wickson made the following 

 reference to a subject of great importance, 

 both to honej' proilucers and consumers. 

 lie said : 



Donbtless one of the most vit^il questions oon- 

 uected with the niarkt>ting of lioney is called forth 

 by the effort, which is "now being miule by un- 

 jirincipaled men, to sell the people thiit which is 

 not honey. The article which they falsely offer 

 as honey' is very inferior, and ono who is ac- 

 quainted witli the genuine article would not he 

 misled by it, even if it bad a honey label on the 

 exterior and a comb iiwide. But the very icfnor- 

 ance of the people generally of what good honey 

 is, affords an opportunity for the introduction of 

 this spuriou* article. Tt is in the hands of shrewd, 

 unscrupulous men. and they spare no elfort in 

 l)ushing it forward, because there is great protit 

 involved in it. As it now a|)pears, the people will 

 become educated in bad honey much faster than 

 iu the genuine delicious product of the bee. This 

 W'ill be fatal not only because it will supplant the 

 legitimate demand for the real article, but because 

 of its inferiority it will lead them to look with 

 aversion upon the very name. A land flowing 

 with milk and glucose would not have led tlie 

 Israelites through the wiklemees nor will a co- 

 pious dosing with glucose lead modern people to 

 esteem very highly^the historic sweets of Canaan. 

 The whole matter is exceedingly unfortunate not 

 to say criminal, and bee-keepers should prepare 

 tomeetjind battle against its advance at every 

 point. It seems to me no stronger showing could 

 be made than by securing an accurate exhibition 

 of the fraud, such as a skillful chemist might, 

 make by ascertaining the exact difference between 

 the genuine product of the bee and this substance 

 which can be artificially produced from a num- 

 ber of worthless -sources. So long as the article 

 they offer is not positively harmful. I can not see 

 that there is any opportunity to meet it with a 

 prohibitory law, but if there is any virtue in ef- 

 fort* to inform people of the imposition practiced 

 upon them : if there is any effect in a square, gen- 

 erous exposure of these gentlemen, let them have 

 it at the hand of this associatiou which is formed 

 in the interest of the legitimate production and in 

 the promotion of a growing agricultural industry. 



I think this convention owes it to the industry 

 to fake immediate steps to meet the advance of 

 this specious fraud. First, we should know more 

 about what it is and in what respect the artitlcial 

 differs from the genuine. It has come upon us 

 suddenly. It seems to me that we could act more 

 wisely after gaining fuller information. I would 

 suggest, Mr. President, that first this convention 

 adopt some expression of a general nature de- 

 nouncing the attempt to defraud and calling up- 

 on people to beware of being imposed upon. 

 Then 1 would suggest that a committee of your 

 leading bee-keepers be appointed to study the 

 (juestion during the coming year, to gain all pos- 

 sible information concerning its exact quality of 

 material, and who is engaged in spreading it over 

 the country, In order that next year, after listen- 

 ing to a full report of the committee, we may be 

 prepared to act intelligently and effectively 

 against the imposition in such way as the wisdom 

 of the convention may indicate. 



Upon motion of Mr. Nellis, the associ- 

 atiou heartily ap-troved the action taken 

 by the North American Bee-Keepers' So- 

 ciety concerning the introduction of spu- 

 rious honey. After nmch discussion and 

 upon motion of 3lr. Alexander, the fol- 

 lowing gentleman were appointed to pre- 

 sent the fact of adulteration to the Leiris- 



lature, and ask that an act be passed re- 

 quiring a label, "pure honey," to be 

 placed upon all packages of the genuine 

 article, and making it a misdemeanor to 

 affix the name to a spurious article. The 

 coinmittee are as follows : J. E. Hether- 

 ington, J. II. Nellis, G. G. Daius, M. Quin- 

 by, E. J. Wickson. 



A short discussion concerning winter- 

 ing bees ensued. Mr. Root would winter 

 bees in a place where they would be as 

 free as possible from out-door influences. 

 The temperature should be as little below 

 51) degrees as possible. There should be 

 perfect quiet. 



A. L. Fish — I built a bee house with an 

 air chamber in the walls twelve inches 

 wide. Overhead the space was packed 

 with fine saw-dust and shavings. To 

 overcome this I covered the floor with 

 gravel and cement. I am not troubled 

 with moisture as much as formerly, but 

 still there is too much. I think some ab- 

 sorbent can be placed above to absorb this 

 moisture as it rises. I think of trying a 

 coating of loose straw. I can control 

 temperature until June, if necessary ; but 

 how to get rid of the excess of moisture 

 which comes from the exhalations of the 

 bees has been a puzzle. 



Mr. Bacon — I have used cut straw for 

 this purpose with excellent results. It is 

 contained in a box with a cloth bottom, 

 and this rests over the frames iu which 

 the bees are. 



Mr. Betsinger described a way he had 

 devised of giving his bees a fly under 

 glass. He built a bee house, in which 

 each two hives sit in a little stall by them- 

 selves with a little space in front of each 

 hive. The exterior of each stall is a little 

 window, and about three times during the 

 winter he admits the sunlight, and the 

 bees take a fly in the stall. He intends 

 next season to encase all his hives iu the 

 stalls. The cost of the house is a dollar a 

 hive. 



Mr. Bacon told of a hot-bed which he 

 made in which to fly his bees. He had 

 tried it once with one hive. The bees 

 had a fly. They were left iu the hot-bed 

 all Jay and over night. Altogether, after 

 having this long time in the air, there 

 were found but three table-spoonfuls of 

 dead bees. Mr. Bacon believes the hot- 

 bed good for giving a hive which might 

 have the dysentery a chaace to fliy and 

 recover. He does not believe that it can 

 be recommended as yet for general use. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



One of the most interesting exercises of 

 the convention was the " question 

 drawer," which was expounded by Mr. 

 Van Deusen, with the aid of Capt. Ilether- 



