28 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jan. 26, 



THOMAS C. NEWMAN, 



Editor and Puophietok, 



CHICAGO. ILL.. JAN. 26, 1881. 



8g° The Semi-Tropic California says 

 "Ourpospect tor a honey crop in 1881, 

 in Los Angeles, and vidnity, is good." 



ts«T We have now obtained the copy 

 of minutes of the National Convention 

 of 1871. Thanks to Mr. A. F. Moon, of 

 Rome, Ga., for it. 



W The " Bee Hive and Home Maga- 

 zine," proposed to be issued by Mr. 

 Crowfoot, is not to be issued now. Mr. 

 Crowfoot says : " The enterprise is in- 

 definitely postponed."' 



^" The editor of the Somerset, Pa., 

 Democrat, speaking of the honey of Mr. 

 II. II. Flick, of Lavansville, Pa., says 

 it "equals California honey in color and 

 excells it in taste," and that lie has a 

 large apiary on his farm near Lavans- 

 ville. 



g§° It would save us much trouble, if 

 all would be particular to give their P.O. 

 address and name, when writing to 

 this office. We have several letters 

 (some inclosing money) that have no 

 name. Many others having no Post- 

 office, County or State. Also, if you 

 live near one postoffice and get your 

 mail at another, be sure to give the ad- 

 dress we have on our list. 



eg" The weather in the North is still 

 cold, but milder than it was in the early 

 part of this month. It has been colder 

 all over the country than it has been be- 

 fore for years. In Texas it is reported 

 to be colder than for 30 years before. 

 Mr. W. Williamson, of Lexington, Ky., 

 in a letter, dated January 20th, says: 

 " The severe weather is breaking up— 

 we hope for good. We anticipate an 

 early spring. Those of the bees that 

 live through the severe winter will need 

 feeding very early." 



<g" Last Sunday's Chicago IVmescon- 

 tains the following item of news: "A 

 pouch of registered mail matter of the 

 first-class, which arrived in Chicago by 

 a Lake Shore train on Wednesday eve- 

 ning, from Rochester, was found to 

 have been cut open ami robbed of valu- 

 ables to an indefinite amount." These 

 were registered letters and packages 

 containing money. We hope there 

 were no letters in it addressed to us. 



tjgfi- We have idled orders for quite a 

 number of Binders for the Weekly Bee 

 Journal. We put the price low. 80 

 per cent, less than any one else could 

 afford to sell them, lor we get them by 

 the quantity at wholesale and sell them 

 at just enough to cover the COSl and 

 postage, the latter being 21 to 23 cents, 



on each. We do this to induce as man] 

 as possible to get them, and preserve 

 their Weekly numbers. They are ex- 

 ceedingly convenient; the Journal 

 being always bound and handy for 

 reference. The directions for binding 

 are sent with each one. 



The Basswood or Linden Tree. 



Will you please state the habits of 

 the basswood tree ; its height, how long 

 before it will yield honey, and if it will 

 flourish in this State. 



E. M. Gkesham. 



University of Va.. Jan. 18, 1881. 



Basswood or linden ( Tilia Americana) 

 is indigenous to a large portion of the 

 North American continent; growing, 

 often, to a very large size, and vieing 

 with other forest trees in height. It is 

 quite hardy, and grows readily and 

 thriftily from the seed. We have heard 

 of its blooming and secreting honey in 

 six years after planting. The seeds 

 should lie sown in drills and cultivated 



one year, then transplanted, setting from 

 10 to 14 apart each way. It prefers the 

 proximity to water-courses, bottom- 

 lands, and gravelly soils in which water 

 stands near the surface the whole sea- 

 son through. With these points borne 

 in mind, and kept partially shaded until 

 the roots and rootlets are well developed, 

 we think it will flourish in your State. 

 It is worthy of a trial, as it possesses a 

 magnificent foliage, and is a great fa- 

 vorite with the bees when in bloom. 

 We give on the first page a very correct 

 illustration of a twig in bloom. 



<@T We will send sample copies to any 

 who feel disposed to make up clubs for 

 1881. There are persons keeping bees 

 in every neighborhood who would be 

 benefitted by reading the Journal. 

 and by using a little of the personal in- 

 fluence possessed by almost every one, 

 a club can be gotten up in every neigh- 

 borhood in America. Farmers have 

 had large crops, high prices, and a good 

 demand for all the products of the 

 farm, therefore can well afford to add 

 the Bee Journal to their list of 

 papers for 1881. 



We have concluded to make the 

 following oirers for all clubs sent in be- 

 fore Jan. 31 : For a club of 2. weekly, we 

 will present a copy of "Bee-Culture ;" 

 for a club of 5, weekly, we will give a 

 copy of "Cook's Manual," bound in 

 cloth ; for a club of 6, we give a copy of 

 the Journal for a year free. Ho not 

 forget that it will pay to devote a few 

 hours to the Bee Journal. 



«$.■ On Monday morning, express and 

 mail cars, with all their contents, as 

 well as four messengers, were entirely 

 burnt up, in a railway accident near 

 Ehnira,N. Y. 



®" The Volume of the Bee Jour- 

 nal for 1880, bound in stiff paper 

 covers, will be sent by mail, for $1.50. 



<gT Notices and advertisements in- 

 tended for the Weekly Bee Journal 

 must reach this office by Saturday of 

 the week previous. 



"Compulsory Honesty." 



We have received from Mr. Clias. F. 

 Muth, of Cincinnati, O., the following 

 communication, criticising the bill pub- 

 lished in our issue of the 12th inst. un- 

 der the above caption : 



Compulsory honesty, if demanded on 

 too broad a scale, will accomplish noth- 

 ing, just like compulsory temperance or 

 compulsory religion. 1 feel lliat way a 

 little more, perhaps, because that law is 

 proposed by a house which is recognized 

 by our business community as one of 

 the largest adulterators in the country. 

 They do not adulterate honey, of course, 

 but they have to add a certain quantity 

 of glucose in order to keep the honey 

 from granulating; the trade demands 

 it. So they stated, some tune ago, that 

 they had to add a certain quantity ot 

 cornmeal to mustard, in order to make 

 it more palatable— but their mustard 

 was pure. Like the French army, w Inch 

 was never conquered — only beaten. 



Honey has become a staple article of 

 great importance of late years, and has 

 an important future. It can be shown 

 of sufficient importance to our legisla- 

 tors to pass a law exclusively for the pro- 

 tection of honey ; and it is my opinion 

 that we shall accomplish nothing with a 

 petition for universal protection. 



Let us draw up a petition for the pro- 

 tection of honey alone, setting forth the 

 great growth of its production of late, 

 and the prospects forits future. Letus 

 make it plain to our representatives 

 how necessary to a healthy development 

 of the production of honey is the pro- 

 tection of the law against its adultera- 

 tion, etc. 



If we draw out a petition (or resolu- 

 tions) in good style, I am certain that 

 the representatives from Ohio will use 

 their best endeavors to have a law passeo 

 in our favor. Our friends in olhei 

 States, exercising a similar bearing on 

 their respective representatives, will aio 

 i he matter considerably. Would it not 

 be well to petition our State Legisla- 

 tures as well as Congress ¥ 



Cincinnati, O., Jan. 17, 1881. 



We care but little with whom the bill 

 referred to originated, so that the 

 amendments we suggested (or similar 

 provisions) to make it operative and to 

 cover the public wants be incorporated. 

 The mere draft of the bill, as published 

 in the American Grocer, did not seem to 

 cover the whole ground, but with proper 

 effort on the part of bee-keepers and 

 others it could easily be made to cure 

 the grievous evils complained of. We 

 must admit we are unable to compre- 

 hend the analogy between compulsory 

 honesty and compulsory temperance oi 

 compulsory religion. The first would 

 compel the dealer to give the purchasi i 

 an honest equivalent for his money, and 

 anything else would be deceiving an 

 ignorant or unwilling purchaser. Tht 

 second would compel a dealer to refuse 

 a customer what n-as called for, pre- 

 supposing the purchaser not to be a free 

 moral agent. Compulsory religion bears 

 no closer comparison, as it would be an 

 attempt to compel certain phases of 

 conscience, without reference to acts 

 performed. 



Petitions have been drawn up, and 

 presented, and "pigeon-holed" time 

 and again. providing exclusively against 

 the adulteration of honey. Andweare 

 not prepared to assert, that were a spe- 

 cial law enacted it would help matters. 

 We have heard of nothing good result- 

 ing from the special law in Minnesota, 

 New Jersey and Kentucky. So effete is 

 the law in the latter State, that mixed 

 "strained" honey can be bought in any 

 quantity and at many stores in Louis- 

 ville at the present time— so we are in- 

 formed. 



In Illinois we have an apt illustration 

 at the present time of the non-effect- 

 iveness of special laws. The dairymen. 



feeling sorely the evils inflicted upon 

 them by unscrupulous counterfeiters, 



with an honest but short-sighted zeal 

 or a sellish ambition to protect them- 

 selves alone, succeeded in procuring the 

 passage of a stringest special law pro- 

 tecting dairymen and dairy products. 

 .Not only has the law proven ineffectual, 

 but the evils have augmented to a mag- 

 nitude which is truly stupendous, and 

 now the stuff is in the majority. Hun- 

 dreds of families in Chicago at the pres- 

 ent time dispense with butter, because 

 they know not what nor from whom to 

 buy. Some time ago a paper was circu- 

 lated anemg business houses, and sev- 

 eral thousand dollars were subscribed 

 with which to employ legal talent and 

 prosecute the offenders, and — there it 

 rests. Last week many of our business 

 and commission houses signed a paper 

 pledging themselves not to traffic in the 

 stuff; but it will probably effect noth- 

 ing but lessen competition. And still 

 not a tremulous fear quivers the nerves 

 of the guilty manufacturers, nor do the 

 pangs of remorse rob them of a moment 

 of refreshing slumber. As well pass a 

 special law making it a crime to steal 

 money or other valuables in small par- 

 cels, but classify the plundering of com- 

 munities among shrewd business or 

 financial operations. 



We need no law to prevent honey 

 adulterations, unless it will prevent su- 

 garand syrup adulterations, with which 

 we come directly into competition. We 

 have no moral right to ask protection 

 for our pure commodities, unless we ac- 

 cord the same protection to other honest 

 producers; nor is it in accord with the 

 theory of democratic government, to 

 legislate class or special laws to punish 

 crime. We can see no remedy but a 

 general law, simple and practical in its 

 enforcement. Let the informer be repaid 

 out of the fine for any trouble or ex- 

 pense he may incur. Make it an object 

 to the defrauded customer to prosecute 

 the swindler, and he becomes an effect- 

 ive agent in enforcing compulsory 

 honesty. 



Since the above remarks were put in 

 type, we notice the following article 

 from the pen of Mr. F. J. Emery, in a 

 late number of the Inwu Homestead, and 

 as it bears so directly upon the subject 

 under discussion we cannot refrain from 

 copying it : 



To point out that which has been done 

 elsewhere, in a parallel case, might be 

 done here also as a remedy. About 30 

 years ago in England a law was passed 

 relative to adulteration ot food and etc. 

 It has been very strictly carried out. 

 t'he substance ol the law is that no ar- 

 ticle shall be sold under a false name. 

 For instance a man may sell chicory, 

 but he must not mix it aiid call the mix- 

 ture coitee. Hemaj sell oleomargarine, 

 but he must not cail it butter; and so of 

 the endless Variety of items used as 

 food. A public chemist is appointed 

 whose duly it is to analyze what is 

 brought to him of suspected articles 

 bought at the retail shops, and if adul- 

 terated, a State prosecution before a 



justice summarily disposes of the case 

 by a tine. A light line for the first of- 

 fence— heavier lor a second conviction, 

 and the shop and its owner are adver- 

 tised in the papers as having such and 

 such articles adulterated, and particu- 

 lars of analysis are given. II the retail 

 dealer pleads that he bought the adul- 

 terated art iclcs in good faith from the 

 wholesale dealer he is told " the public 

 must be protected, and you have your 

 remedy against the wholesale dealer." 



Kg" When changing a postoffice ad- 

 dress, mention the old address as well 

 as the new one. 



