696 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Mot. 





GBORCB W. YORK, • Editor. 



PtJBLISHT WEEKLY BY 



CEORCE W. YORK & COMPANY, 

 IIS Mlcbleaa St., . CHICAGO, ILL. 



$1.00 a Year— Sample Copy Sent Free. 

 [Bntered at the PoBt-Offlce at Chicago as Second-Class Mall-Matter. 



United States Bee-Keepers' Ujiioji. 



Organized to advance the pur.suit of Apiculture; to promote the Interests 



of bee-keeiiers ; to protect its members ; to prevent the adulteration 



of honey: and to prosecute the dishonest honey-commission men. 



Membership Fee-SI.OO Per Annum. 



lixecutlve Committee), 



Pkesident— George W. York. Vice-Pres.— W. Z. Hutchinson. 

 Secretary— Dr. A. B. Mason, Station B, Toledo, Ohio. 



Board of X>ireotors. 



E. R. Root. E. Whitcomb. E. T. Abbott. 



W. Z. Hutchinson. Dr. C. C. Miller. C. P. Dadant. 



General Afanag-or an<l Treasurer, 



Eugene Secor, Forest City, Iowa. 



VoLfflVII. CHICAGO, ILL., NOV. 4, 1897. No. 44, 



Editorial Con)n)ct)i$^ 



Our Dear Baby Oirl, whose gladdening arrival on 

 Sunday, Oct. 24, we announced last week, was pernaitted to 

 stay with us only three short days, passing away Wednesday 

 evening, Oct 27, after about 30 hours of suffering from hem- 

 orrhage of the bowels. It was so hard to give up the dear 

 baby, for allho It remained less than half a week It had 

 already deeply placed its little self in the affections of Its 

 mamma and papa. We had only a few hours before its death 

 finlsht mailing the Bee Journal, telling of its happy coming, 

 and now so soon to record its going away is a sad thing to do. 

 But wherein we cannot understand we can only trust that 

 some day all will be made plain. Until then sorrowing hearts 

 will strive to bear up bravely under their heavy burdens. 



Mrs. York continues to recover nicely, and hopes soon to 

 be up again. But the time will hang heavy upon her unex- 

 pectedly empty hands and arms. 



••-'-^ 



Illinois State Convention.— Secretary Jas. A. 

 Stone, of the Illnois State Bee-Keepers' Association, requests, 

 us to announce that the Springfield meeting of that associa- 

 tion will bo held at the State House, Thursday and Friday, 

 Nov. 18 and 19. The Grand Lodge I. O. O. F. of Illinois will 

 meet in annual session in Springfield that week, and they 

 have secured a rate of one and one-third fare for the round 

 trip, without the use of railroad certificates. Should you be 

 unable for any cause to get this rate from your agent, take a 

 a receipt from your agent showing that you paid full fare, 

 and present this receipt to the Railroad Committee at Spring- 

 field. 



We trust there may be a large gathering of bee-keepers at 

 the Springfield meeting, Nov. 18 and 19. 



A Special Sweet Clover Number is what the 

 Busy Bee for October is, bringing forth things old and new in 

 reference to that plant. Editor Abbott thinks the value of 

 sweet clover is only beginning to be appreciated. Ohio and 

 Wisconsin have repealed their laws which clast sweet clover 

 among " noxious weeds." As showing the advance of senti- 

 ment, the position of Gleanings at the present time is con- 

 trasted with that of five years ago. In 1892 an editorial of 

 Gleanings said : " Sweet clover is not a success with us for 

 fodder or feed at all, altho stock will eat it to some extent if 

 cut at just the right time." A late editorial In the same paper 

 says : " Its value for cattle, horses and other stock has now 

 been fully settled ; but it must be cut or pastured when the 

 plants are small, say a foot or two high. Of course, stock will 

 eat it after they have become accustomed to it when it is 



several feet high and in bloom Its value for stock is 



easily shown by the fact that it Is never found where horses ot 



cattle are pastured." 



<-»-»^ 



The Rietsche Foundation Press, of which 

 there are now in use across the sea more than ten thousand, 

 owes much of its popularity to the fact that, unlike in this 

 country, it Is difficult to buy foundation and feel always sure 

 that it is made of pure wax. Revue Internationale says ex- 

 cellent manufacturers of foundation are not lacking, but un- 

 fortunately others have given place for complaints that are 

 .iustlfied, and the competition of the Rietsche press has had 

 the happy result of putting on their guard manufacturers who 

 use foundation-mills, obliging them to use only pure wax. 

 •*-■»-»• 



The Piorth western Convention next Wednes 

 day and Thursday, Nov. 10 and 1 1, at the New Briggs House, 

 northeast corner of Randolph Street and Fifth Avenue. 

 Everybody is Invited to be present and help make it profitable 

 and pleasant meeting. Dr. Miller expects to be here, and 

 many other prominent bee-keepers of the Northwest. Con- 

 vention will begin at 10 a.m., Nov. 10. 



Against Food and Drug: Adulteration.- 



Hon. Eugene Secor, General Manager of the United States 

 Bee-Keepers' Union, has written us as follows concerning an 

 effort being made by the Government to investigate the adul- 

 teration business : 



Forest City, Iowa, Oct. 23, 1897. 

 George W. York, Chicago, 111. — 



Dear Sir : — 1 enclose a circular received from the special 

 agent of the Agricultural Department, Division of Chemistry, 

 in regard to food and drug adulterations. Would it not be a 

 good idea to publish the circular in the Bee Journal, and ask 

 your readers to write the Department if they know of any 

 adulteration of honey, and to make such other suggestions as 

 are askt for In the circular '? 



I have opened correspondence with Mr. Wedderburn, in 

 the hope that we may get some aid from the Department In 

 determining adulterations In extracted honey. I believe it 

 will be to our interests to favor a national pure-food law, (or 

 the reason that the laws of the United States are more feared 

 because of better enforcement than the State laws. 



Yours truly, Eugene Secor. 



Certainly. We are glad to give In full the circular re- 

 ferred to by Mr. Secor, and we trust that our readers will com - 

 ply with his excellent suggestion. Here it is: 



UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 



DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY. 



Washington, D. C, Sept. 17, 1897. 

 Dear Sir : — Under authority of Congress, the Department 

 of Agriculture Is investigating the extent and character of 

 food and drug adulterations, and is desirous of securing all the 

 information possible on the subject. Having been appointed 

 special agent to Inquire Into and report upon this matter, the 

 undersigned writes to request that you kindly furnish the 

 Department all the information you have in regard to adulter- 



