BEE KEEPERS. 455 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



Convention met at 1:30 o'clock, President Scholl in the chair. 



Mr. Nowland, of Iowa. I am glad to meet so many who are engaged in the same 

 business that I am. We have a county association in our county which is doing 

 well. I think our honey crop was about one-third of a crop. 



On invitation, Governor Gray appeared before the convention and entertained 

 the meeting a few minutes as follows : 



Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen of this Association: 



I am here in response to an invitation extended by your committee, and pleased 

 to meet you and thank you for the invitation. I must confess, however, my in- 

 ability to say anything to you in regard to the objects of your association. I know 

 nothing about bees, except from my youth up I have been afraid of them. Neither 

 do I know the best means of increasing the production of honey or variety, but I 

 do know that the hand of Divine Providence has filled the land with flowers and 

 the busy bees, for the production of honey, and can understand how any associa- 

 tion, having for its object the protection of this industry, is a laudable one, indeed. 

 When I speak of protection I allude to one of the growing evils, that is. the adul- 

 teration of almost every article of food, and hope the time will come when we will 

 have laws with severe penalties attached, that we can, at least, prevent adultera- 

 tion of food; that the manufacturer who offers an article for sale, will be com- 

 pelled to brand it in the market just what it is, so the purchaser may know when 

 he is buying a pure article or a substitute. There is little inducement to engage 

 in the production or manufacture of a pure article when, after the production, he 

 finds in the market an impure article so similar to his own that the difference can 

 not be told in many instances, except by chemical analysis. I hope your meeting 

 in Indianapolis will be a pleasant one, individually, and a success so far as your 

 Association is concerned, and that you may have many meetings like this conven- 

 tion. I thank you again for the invitation to appear before you, but owing to 

 pressing business engagements I shall have to bid you good day. 



Mr. Scholl. I am glad the Governor has been with us. We are trying to do all 

 the good we can. Adulterations have not been carried on to the extent as repre- 

 Bented in the public journals. We are doing all we can towards counteracting 

 influence by placing on the market a pure article. 



Mr. Cotton. The adulteration takes place from the second class of dealers, and 

 not from the bee keeper. 



Mr. Muth. It is a known fact throughout, that bee keepers produce only pure 

 honey. Adulterations are carried on only by dealers, and especially by Eastern 

 dealers. They damage our business; we are the ones that produce pure honey. It 

 is sometimes misunderstood by our agricultural papers regarding this adultera- 

 tion. We should beware of Eastern honey, as it is more or less adulterated. 



