THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



113 



solution milk3\ The above test is 

 generally all. that is necessary to 

 detect the presence of the sulphate 

 of lime. It may be necessar}^ 

 sometimes, to add a drop or two 

 of sulphuric acid to the solution 

 before the precipitate will appear. 



For the detection of sulphuric 

 acid, a drop or two of the suspected 

 glucose is to be placed in a glass 

 vessel and dissolved in two or three 

 tablespoonfuls of water. Add a 

 few drops of chloride of barium to 

 the solution, when if sulphuric acid 

 is present in considerable quantity, 

 a white precipitate will appear and 

 make the solution milky. This 

 test will generally be all that is 

 necessary to indicate the presence 

 of sulphuric acid in glucose. 

 When the acid is present only in 

 minute quantities, it will be neces- 

 sary to add to the solution of 

 glucose and water, a drop or two of 

 dilute chlorhydric or muriatic acid 

 before adding the chloride of ba- 

 rium. In making the tests, rain 

 water should be used. It is hardly 

 necessary for me to add that pure 

 honey contains no lime or sulphuric 

 acid. There is, however, in all 

 pure honey, a slight trace of formic 

 acid which is secreted hy the bee ; 

 but this acid will not interfere with 

 the tests which are indicated above. 



With great respect, I am, 

 Yours truly, B. F. Marsh. 

 Rev. L. L. Langstroth, Oxford, O. 



It will be remembered that the 

 glucose manufacturers wrote to Mr. 

 McCord that "they feed it [glu- 

 cose] ver}^ largely in California, 

 and make monev out of it." Mr. 

 Wm. Muth-Rasmussen has sent us 

 the following very emphatic denial 

 of the accusation : 



Mr. Editor: — I have just read 

 Mr. Langstroth's article with your 

 comments on page 341, American 

 Bee Journal. 



Allow me to say, that during my 

 14 years' experience in the bee 

 business in California, I have never 

 seen glucose, nor have I among 

 my large number of beekeeping 

 acquaintances found any who ever 

 had. I know of beekeepers, who 

 in seasons of drought bought honey 

 in San Francisco to feed bees to 

 save them from starvation. They 

 paid 7 cents and freight for 

 honey which they had sold the pre- 

 A'ious year for 5 cents. Others 

 bought grapes at the vine3'ards and 

 hauled load after load to the moun- 

 tain apiaries to save the bees. I 

 never heard of grape sugar being 

 used for that purpose, though it is 

 not impossible. But the assertion, 

 that " they feed it (glucose) very 

 largelj' in California, and make 

 money out of it," I shall not hesi- 

 tate to pronounce in the meaning 

 it is intended to convey, as an un- 

 mitigated lie. 



I doubt that glucose or grape 

 sugar either can be found in this 

 State outside of San Francisco. 

 I believe it is used there by packing 

 firms, as it is but a short time since 

 I saw in one of the stores here a 

 small can of honey which had been 

 there for 6 years, and was still 

 liquid. The " honey " was rather 

 dark, of inferior flavor, and thinner 

 than good honey ought to be, still 

 it was labelled " Orange Blossom 

 Honej'^," " Warranted Pure." Two 

 barefaced lies on each can. Every 

 one familiar with southern Califor- 

 nia knows that bees never get 

 orange tree blossom honey to 

 amount to anything. The orchards 

 are too far from the apiaries, and the 

 orange tree blooms in the winter and 

 early spring, when bees never fly 

 far in search of food. 



The price of honey in California 

 is governed by the price in the 

 eastern states, deducting freight, 

 commission and other incidental 

 expenses. Any one can, therefore, 

 by looking at the quotations in the 



