isit: 



■tLKanings in ri>:i<: cui/rnRH. 



cr iiiii)rovcincnt ; iiair.cly, allowiiii^ a larj^e 

 ainouiil of /.iiic surface just in front of the en- 

 trance, as at C. The ordinary Alley traps 

 have too few perforations Ihrovis^h which the 

 bees pass back and forth into the hive, to al- 

 low of pro]ier ventilation, and probably for 

 next season, at least, we shall modify the traji 

 somewhat on the line sutjjj^ested in your let- 

 ter, leaving at the same time a large amount 

 of perforated-z.inc surface so that, during the 

 height of the honey-flow, the bees may not 

 sutler from want of sulTicient ventilation. If 

 the entrance is too contracted, or at all ob- 

 structe(i by perforated zinc, the heat inside of 

 the hive is apt to be such that the super will 

 be deserted, and the bees will be clustered out 

 in front ; and those bees that cluster outside 

 cluster over and about the entrance so as to 

 make the opening much snialler, and thus at 

 the same time considerably aggravate the dif- 

 ficulty.— Ed.] 



THE NEW UNION. 



A .Movement on Foot to Kidnap it ; a Note of 

 Warning. 



Editor Gleanings: — I've just read Mr. Her- 

 man F. INIoore's article on page 554, in regard 

 to the pure-food laws of Illinois, and it occurs 

 to me that the new Union is being the means 

 of getting some of our eyes open. Like you, 

 I presume a goodly number of honey-produc- 

 ers, as well as others, have been thinking 

 that the work of the U. S. B. K. U. would be 

 in securing pure-food legislation; but Mr. Da- 

 dant's ideas were first-class; and he, being 

 one of the Board of Directors of the Union, 

 I thought we might soon hear that work had 

 been begun by the Board along the lines he 

 suggested ; but here comes our old ( or, 

 rather. If «w_^) friend ]Mr. Moore, formerly of 

 Ohio, but now an attorney in Chicago, and he 

 gives us the lazv of Illinois on pure food, or, 

 rather, the adulteration of pure food. It is as 

 good a law as could be asked for, unless a 

 pure-food commissioner would make it more 

 valuable, and I doubt not we shall hear that 

 the Board of Directors have begun work 

 along the line proposed by the constitution, 

 in looking after the adulterators of and dealers 

 in adulterated honey. 



Mr. Moore's article is very timely, and 

 shows his interest in this work ; and I hope it 

 will be the means of starting the Union on its 

 mis.sion. I'm wondering if it would not be a 

 good plan for General ]\Ianager Secor to get 

 some one in each State in the Union to look 

 up the law on this matter as Mr. Moore has 

 so thoughtfully and kindly done. Perhaps 

 some bee-keeping attorney in each State will 

 follow ]Mr. Moore's example, and give us or 

 the General Manager the law on the subject. 

 There need be no great expense in learning 

 just what each State has on this subject, and 

 no very great expense in having such laws 

 enforced, for they provide for their execution 

 at the State's expense ; but the Union can see 

 to it that some one " starts the ball rolling." 



It may be well to have scjine samj^les of 

 suspected honey purchased and analyzed, as 

 you suggest, and begin the good work right 

 in "bad Chicago ;" and with Mr. Moore, Dr. 

 IViro, Dr. Miller, Mr. York, and a goodly 

 number of other members of the Union right on 

 the ground, we may look for gratifying results 

 being accomplished, and without' making a 

 very big demand on that f.'iSOO income of the 

 Union, which Skylark, in one of his " flights," 

 ])redicts \nll l)e " overleaped " this year. 



While I think of it, Mr. Editor, isn't Sky- 

 lark an active member of the Ananias family ? 

 No person by the name of Skylark has .sent 

 me " two dollars and fifty cents " for member- 

 .ship in the U. vS. B. K. U. The man who sent 

 in that " two dollars and fifty cents " has got 

 a good straight honest name, and not a word 

 about " vSkylark "-ing in it. I might say that 

 each bulldog that sits on the "coffers'" that 

 Skylark refers to has a collar around his neck 

 with the name of the State he represents on 

 it, and those bulldogs are so fed as to develop 

 the most intense bulldog nature ; and woe 

 betide any non-union person who may attempt 

 to interfere with the deposit each so faithfully 

 guards. 



I have not thought of your suggestions 

 enough to say w'hat wall be the best course to 

 pursue; but I am sure that our Board of Di- 

 rectors are abundantly qualified to handle the 

 matter, and I hope they will at once proceed 

 to business, and the Board may draw on my 

 Illinois coffer to the full amount of any ex- 

 pense they may incur; and if there doesn't 

 happen to be enough in that coffer I'll open 

 up others to honor their drafts. 



As I have said before, every honey-produc- 

 er, every lover of honey, and every dealer in 

 honey, ought to help on the good work b\- 

 sending a dollar to General Manager Secor or 

 the Secretan,', and not be selfishly reaping the 

 benefits of other people's investments. If 

 only a small portion of such should respond 

 to this suggestion I might have to enlarge 

 tho.se "coffers," and feed the " bulldogs " a 

 little more heavily. 



I'm sure Mr. Moore's article wall cause a 

 thrill of joy in every member and friend of 

 the Union, and I know I shall work with re- 

 newed pleasure for the accomplishment of the 

 objects for which it was organized, for their 

 accomplishment seems nearer in sight. 



While having some business correspondence 

 recently with A. B. Williams & Co., of Cleve- 

 land, O., dealers in hone}-, I referred to our 

 Union and its objects, and stated, as above, 

 who ought to belong to it. The next mail 

 brought a request for information in regard to 

 the Union; and the next day, -after getting 

 the information, their dollar for membership 

 in the Union lay safely in my Ohio ' ' coffer. ' ' 



Nearh' every day I am receiving a member- 

 ship fee, and .some days several. On the ISth 

 of last May I received 24 names and $1\ from 

 Mr. J. Webster Johnson, of Arizona, Secretary 

 of the Salt River Vallc}- Bee-keepers' Associ- 

 ation, making 24 members; and another day 

 I received 7 names and ^7.00 from J. P. West, 

 of Minnesota, making all members of the 

 Union; and I presume General Manager Secor 



