1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



393 



honey that cannot be detected. That is very true, but arti- 

 ficial honey can be made and bees will just as willingly put it 

 into combs and seal it up as they will the purest nectar ; and 

 more so, for they have to work hard for a little load of nectar, 

 and a whole pan of sugar syrup right in the top of their hive 

 is much more tempting. A pound of sugar will make, on an 

 average, I am told, two pounds of " basswood honey." Can 

 you wonder at honey being cheap? If you buy any honey, 

 insist on knowing who made it. 



It passes understanding that one so intelligent as Mrs. 

 Brown should make such a misleading statement. Can you 

 give us any evidence, Mrs. Browu, that bees will just as will- 

 ingly put " artificial honey " into the combs and seal it up as 

 the purest nectar, and more so ? So far as reported, it has 

 been the evidence of bee-keepers that bees prefer to all other 

 sweets genuine nectar from the flowers, either in its raw or 

 ripened form. How do you know, Mrs. Brown, that a pan of 

 sugar syrup right in the top of their hive is more tempting 

 than a little load of nectar, even if they have to work hard 

 for the latter ? Did you ever get them to store sugar syrup 

 right in a flood of clover or basswood? When you have tried 

 some experiments in that direction you will probably say 

 something like this : 



" It seems rather strange that bees should be so prodigal 

 of their time and labor as to go off a long distance laboriously 

 searching from flower to flower for nectar that must be much 

 reduced before it becomes honey, when a substitute for ripened 

 honey in the form of sugar syrup is right at hand, but such is 

 the fact. The inexperienced portion of the human family 

 may be deceived, but not bees. They prefer the pure article 

 every time, when a choice is allowed." 



Adulteration of honey has no little to do with "honey 

 being cheap," but it is in the extracled form, and the price of 

 honey is not in the least affected, as insinuated in the fore- 

 going clipping, by adulterated comb honey. But it is affected, 

 dear Mrs. Brown, by such statements as yours, especially 

 coming from such a source. 



Again, who " told " that "a pound of sugar will make 

 two pounds of ' basswood honey ?' " And, if it was told, isn't 

 it a pretty big yarn to repeat ? 



In your last sentence above, you suggest that when people 

 buy any honey they should insist " on knowing who vxnAc it." 

 You probably meant to say that they should learn the pro- 

 ducer's name, for if it is pure honey, and if it was " made " at 

 all, of course the bees did it. 



Hadn't you better, Mrs. Brown, correct as soon as possi- 

 ble the misleading statements in that paragraph, which are 

 bound to do harm, even tho they were written with the best 

 of motives? 



Ti?e Weekly Budget. 



Mr8. A. A. Simpson, of Greene Co., Pa., wrote us June 

 15: "The bees are just booming. I have had 48 swarms, 

 and loads of honey." 



Mr. Harry Lathrop, of Greene Co., Wis., wrote us June 

 12: " White clover promises an immense crop here. Bees 

 are beginning to store heavily." 



Miss Mathilda Candler, of Grant Co., Wis., writing 

 June 13, said : " My bees are working nicely in the sections, 

 and the most of them have swarmed." 



Mr. N. E. France — State Inspector of Apiaries for Wis- 

 consin — wrote us June 10, as follows : 



—Si " I am happy to write you that nil bee-keepers I have met 

 are so willing to do as directed. I have great faith in curing 

 nearly every foul brood case reported to me this season." 



Mr. W. L. CoGGsnA'LL's honey crop in 1896 was 78,000 

 pounds. He is perhaps the largest bee-keeper In New York 

 State, unless Capt. Hetherlngton and P. H. Elwood are ahead 

 of him. 



Mr. J. A. Clark, of Nodaway Co., Mo., writing June 16, 

 said : 



" Just allow me to say that the American Bee Journal is 

 a welcome visitor, and a great help in my work in the apiary. 

 Bees are doing fine; white clover is immense." 



The W. T. Falconer Mfg. Co.— another of our regular 

 advertisers — have this to say in the June number of the 

 American Bee-Keeper in regard to the bees and also their bee- 

 supply business : 



" Notwithstanding the cold and backward spring weather 

 that we have been experiencing in most northern localities 

 during the past month, bees seem to be doing very well, and 

 the supply trade is better than it has been for several years 

 before." 



Mr. a. T. Tandv, of Merrimack Co., N. H., wrote us 



June 12 : 



"There is one man, not a great way off, that is doing 

 much damage to the business. Ilis honey shipt to market 

 looks very fine, but theie is little flavor of honey to it, and 

 people are inclined to think that it is made from sugar, which 

 I think is a fact. He is doing a big business now." 



We hope Mr. Tandy will learn the real facts in the case, 

 and if it is true, as be believes, begin to apply the law on the 

 fellow — if there is a law against adulteration there. Tamper- 

 ing with honey must be stopt, and bee-keepers will have to 

 commence the work. 



Joseph H. Bolton, of Mankato, Minn., (formerly of St. 

 Paul) " has skipt out." He took his wife with him. So have 

 written to us Mr. C. A. Goodell, of that place, and also the 

 firm from whom Bolton bought his stock of bee-keepers' sup- 

 plies, for he was a promising young bee-supply dealer at Man- 

 kato. Mr. Goodell reports that he lost -SoO, and that Mr. 

 Taylor, of Forestville, lost §120; and says further that he 

 received money for bee-supplies and kept it ; also that he 

 drew checks on a Mankato bank that proved to be worthless. 

 The manufacturing firm who sold Bolton supplies, upon our 

 requesting further information concerning him, kindly 

 favored us with the following : 



American Bee Journal, Chicago, 111. — 



Gc)iHc?)ie?i.— Replying to your favor of June 1-t, we 

 would say that J. H. Bolton, of Mankato, Minn., has skipt 

 out, owing us quite an amount. He was a young married 

 man, economical, and of good habits, but he got into debt 

 buying a farm, and making extensive improvements. The 

 bills coming due, and he seeing no way in which to meet them, 

 became frightened and threw up his hands. If he had had the 

 nerve, and faced his creditors, he would have been granted an 

 extension, and as he was a hard worker and capable man, he 

 would have workt out. This is the opinion that was given the 

 writer by some of the Mankato people ; also, that he took 

 little or no money with him. We have no desire to wrongly 

 injure the man, altho he owed us a large amount. 



Yours truly, Bee-Supply Dealers. 



Crimson Clover in Northern Ohio.— Glean- 

 ings for June 1 contained this paragraph about crimson clover 

 in Medina Co., Ohio : 



Our crimson clover is now in full bloom, and It is a sight 

 indeed. I learn from Prof. Thorne, of the Ohio Experiment 

 Station, that they also have succeeded during the last winter 

 in wintering it over. A neighbor was here a few hours ago, 

 who says he has ten acres. It was sown among corn at the 

 last cultivating. He thinks the stand was almost as good as 

 mine. He plowed it under, and is now going to grow corn on 

 the same ground. From reports received it seems to be suc- 

 ceeding well through northern Ohio, especially along near the 

 lake, and several reports have come of successful wintering in 

 York State. A. I. Root. 



