1897 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



493 



extract!' iig-combs. At the rato they were stor- 

 ing at the home yard it would have taken them 

 almost two weeks. As the pressure does not 

 yet seem to be "relieved" in our main apiary, 

 we expect to take down another lot of colonies. 

 The home yard is located on one side (west 

 side) of the town, and as the town is a mile 

 wide and long the bees have no pasturage ex- 

 cept on the west side. Then besides there are 

 something like 1.50 colonies. 



OFF TO CALIFORNIA. 



"TiMK and tide wait for no man," and the 

 time to start for the Christian Endeavor con- 

 vention at San Francisco has come. Business 

 at the Home of the Honey-bees is still booming, 

 and it is necessary to continue running our fac- 

 tory day and night to keep pace with the 

 orders which come by wire as well as by mail. 

 Usually business has slacked up so much by 

 this time of year that there is opportunity for 

 vacations. Most of them will have to be de- 

 ferred a little this season. The San Francisco 

 convention can not be deferred, and, having 

 made my plans to go, I am off, feeling sure that 

 the wants of our many friends will be carefully 

 and promptly looked after by the many faithful 

 helpers left behind. 



I expect to be in Salt Lake City July 3d to 

 5th; Reno, Nev., 5th; San Francisco, care of 

 Mechanics' Pavillion, July 7th to 14th; Los 

 Angeles, care John H. Martin, box 1.53, from 

 15th to 19th; and, unless I change my plans, I 

 shall be back to Medina by July 34th. I hope, 

 in later issues, to tell something of my trip, and 

 may also bring you some views, as I take along 

 a Kodak with me. J. T. Calvert. 



BETTER PURE-FOOD LAWS. 



A SHORT time ago I indorsed the suggestion, 

 made by some of the members of the new Un- 

 ion, that its first work, as soon as its funds 

 should be available, should be to work for the 

 passage of pure-food laws in every State in the 

 Union where such laws were needed. I sug- 

 gested that, in the city of Chicago, where adul- 

 teration is practiced more extensively than in 

 any other city (for the reason that the State 

 lacked a good pure-food law), the Union be- 

 gin its work in Illinois first; and that C. P. Da- 

 dant and James A. Stone should be the men to 

 buttonhole the members of the Illinois Legisla- 

 ture. In referring to this in the American Bee 

 Journal, Mr. Dadant says: 



Mr. Root has evidently more faith in my capacity 

 as a lobbyist than I have myself, for I would make 

 a sorry politician. 



But, let me ask. Is It really necessary to have 

 more laws than we now have to prevent the sale of 

 glucose under the label of honey? Can a man sell 

 you salt for sug-ar, or dust for pepper, garlic for 

 onions, or silver for gold, with impunity? If so, 

 we are not a civilized race, and all the vaunts of the 

 so-called progressive men are empty bubbles. 



I am not a lawyer, and perhaps my reasoning goes 

 astray; but, in my opinion, we need less laws than 

 action. 



I have no doubt that, if such laws as are al- 

 ready on the statute-books were rigidly enforc- 

 ed, the adulteration evil would be largely cur- 

 tailed. But I understand the laws in Illinois 

 are not as strong as they might be, or at least 

 have been so garbled, or amended in the inter- 

 est of the adulterators of food, that they are 

 practically a dead letter, and that this is the 

 reason why adulteration in Chicago is much 

 more rife than in New York, where there are 

 better laws. In Cleveland, for instance, it is 

 very risky business to handle adulterated hon- 

 ey, or, in fact, in any city iu Ohio, because we 

 have good pure-food laws and an energetic food 

 commissioner. The daily papers have contain- 

 ed accounts of the good work already done. 



Let there be an equally good law enacted in 

 Illinois, and elBcient officers appointed to see 

 that such laws are enforced, and the adultera- 

 tion evil will begin to wane at once, just as it 

 has done recently in California. In this latter 

 State, you will remember that the efifect of the 

 pure-food law was almost instantaneous. I do 

 not believe it is so much the lack of action as it 

 is the lack of good laws to make an action, when 

 begun, result in something. An action backed 

 by a weak law seldom amounts to any thing. 



I have every confidence in Mr. Dadant's ca- 

 pacity. The henchmen of the food-adulterat- 

 ors have done so much lobbying that it is time, 

 or will be, when the new Union has funds to 

 back it, to do some lobbying too. 



CANE SUGAR IN HONEY. 



The following letter received from Mr. W. 

 A. Selser, an expert analyzer of honey, will ex- 

 plain itself: 



Mr. E. R. Rixit:— In .vour issue for June 15, page 

 457, you make a statement that is not correct; and, 

 knowing you are misinformed, I want to set you 

 right. As you may know, I have taken a special 

 course in analytical chemistry, in its bearing on 

 honey; in other words, I consider myself a honey 

 specialist. When honey shows 10 per cent of adul- 

 teration with cane sugar, it does show downrigh 

 rascality, and proves the adulteration by mans's 

 agency of 10 per cent with cane sugar. I consider a 

 man a rascal if he steals 10 cents from my pocket 

 or 75 cents. I see no difference, except that the 10 

 cents won't do him much good, neither will honej' 

 adulterated with 10 per cent of cane sugar. I can 

 explain just where this mistake occurs. It is in 

 mixing up chemical and commerical terms. Pure 

 honey (or nectar either) does not contain any cane 

 sugar commercially speaking; that is, there is no 

 sugar of any kind, as sold in the market, that is 

 found in pure honey; but there is a very large per- 

 centage of sucrose, and sucrose is a chemical term 

 for cane sugar, but it is not the cane sugar of com- 

 merce, under any circumstances. If you ask a 

 chemist what sucrose is he will tell you cane sugar, 

 but also tell you, not as you understand cane sugar 

 of commerce, and has not the same chemical 

 properties by any means. 1 am very sorry that an- 

 other chemical word has ever been adopted to dis- 

 tinguish the difference. 



I have been doing some expert work on honey 

 adulterations for parties in comparison with gener- 

 al chemists, and my analysis has proven the most 

 satisfactory. We also find a large percentage of 

 what chemically is called reducing sugar in pure 

 honey. This is another purely chemical term. 

 Kindly correct your item and let the bee world un- 

 derstand that there is not one per cent of cane or 



