THE AMERICANflBEE JOURNAL. 



Jan. 5, 



THOMAS C. NEWMAN, 



Editor and Proprietor, 

 CHICAGO, ILL., JAN. 5, 1881. 



New Year's Greeting. 



To-day The American Bee Jour- 

 nal presents itself in a new form— with 

 open page and smiling face tendering 

 its salutation to all its readers. The 

 present form and style of page is the 

 most convenient (all things considered) 

 in which a periodical of its class could 

 be presented ; and it will doubtless be 

 esteemed and admired. 



The Bee Journal enters upon the 

 present year with a record of unparal- 

 leled success as an apicultural journal — 

 started as a monthly twenty years ago, 

 to-day it blooms into a full-grown 

 WEEKLY, with a promising future. 



Its initial number, published in Jan- 

 uary, 1861, was the first publication ever 

 issued in America "devoted exclusively 

 to bee-culture," and now it is the only 

 Weekly paper devoted to apiculture in 

 the World ! 



The American Bee Journal was 

 called into being by the necessities of 

 the times. It was designed to advocate 

 the cause of progressive bee-keeping. 

 To its mission it was ably and faithfully 

 dedicated by its founder. To support 

 its " high calling," we are fully deter- 

 mined to use every means within our 

 power. Our watch word is "Progress," 

 and our motto, "Improvement." 



We do not desire to boast, but we 

 want every subscriber to feel that the 

 money paid for it is but a tithe of its 

 real and practical value in the manage 

 mentof the apiary, and the production 

 and sale of pure honey. 



Its old patrons, to whom it has long 

 been a guiding-star, as well as its thou- 

 sands of new readers, will together 

 hail this issue of the Bee Journal 

 with joy. For many years its friends 

 have desired more frequently to see its 

 smiling face and read its refreshing ar- 

 ticles. Now their dream of the future 

 is to be realized, and we trust that 

 neither the Journal nor its friends 

 will ever have occasion to regret this 

 " progressive step." 



The Bee Journal will take a lively 

 interest in all wise efforts looking to the 

 advancement of the art and science of 

 bee-culture. We shall aim to give "all 

 the news" respecting inventions and 

 improvements in management, no mat- 

 ter where they may emanate— whether 

 in the States, Territories or Provinces 

 of America, or the countries of Europe, 

 Asia or Australia. For some we may 

 be too broad in our views, for others too 

 narrow ; to some we may seem too pre- 

 cise, to others too liberal ; but no matter 

 whether praise or blame be heaped upon 

 us or our efforts, we are fully determined 

 to give as near "exact justice" to all 

 as our capacity and knowledge will 

 permit. 



In givingour readers " the news" the 

 Bee Journal will not lose sight of the 

 fact that opinions and discussions them- 

 selves are " news," while presenting 

 facts that are new, or even old ones un- 

 der a new aspect. 



One thing must not be forgotten — and 

 the Bee Journal points to it with 

 pride — its contributors are among the 

 most experienced and successful apicul- 

 turists in the world. We take this op- 

 portunity to express our thanks for their 

 valuable communications, which have 

 done much to develop progressive api- 

 culture, and bring it up to its present 

 standard of excellence. 



As a weekly, it will review all the 

 monthly magazines as they come out, 

 giving each proper credit for all extracts 

 and selections— the aim being not to in- 

 jure them, but to foster and lend them 

 a helping hand, whenever and wherever 

 necessary. It will seek to act in har- 

 mony with all, and should it have cause 

 to differ with any, it will do so with the 

 best of feeling, and with convincing but 

 kindest criticism. 



Its interest in progressive bee-culture 

 will cause it to labor for methodical 

 work and organization ; for these it will 

 continue to exert itself with unabated 

 zeal and devotion. Its influence will 

 continue to be felt for progression, both 

 at home and abroad. 



The many friends of the Bee Jour- 

 nal are invited to continue their co- 

 operation and support, and assist in 

 making the present volume even more 

 valuable than any of its predecessors. 

 To one and all we tender our compli- 

 ments, and fervently wish each 

 A HAPPY NEW YEAR. 



A Christmas Present. — Now that the 

 volume of the Bee Journal for 1880 is 

 complete, we find that we have a few 

 complete sets of numbers, and shall 

 immediately have them bound. As a 

 volume of reference it will be very 

 valuable to the beginner or the more 

 advanced bee-keeper, and will be an 

 excellent Christmas Present for a bee- 

 keeping friend. Price bound in paper 

 covers, $1.50, postage paid; in nice 

 leather and cloth binding, $2.00. Those 

 who wish one, should order early as 

 there are but a few of them to dispose 

 of. 



^"Dr. N. P. Allen, President of the 

 National Association is contemplating 

 a trip to Florida, Texas or California, to 

 spend the winter. His object is to im- 

 prove his health, and at the same time 

 to assist in building up local associa- 

 tions and to further the cause of apicul- 

 tural progression. President Allen has 

 the reputation of being a good dentist, 

 and will incidentally practice his calling 

 to some extent in the places he may 

 visit. Any one in these States inter- 

 ested in scientific apiculture is invited 

 to correspond with him, in reference to 

 his proposed trip. Should he carry out 

 this programme, we hope he will spend 

 a pleasant winter, recruit his health, 

 and also render substantial assistance 

 to the cause of apiculture. 



<£S°" Will it injure my bees to be cov- 

 ered up with snow V" This inquiry is 

 sent us by a correspondent. Certainly 

 not; and the more snow the better, 

 providing it is dry snow. Sufficient 

 ventilation for the bees will pass through 

 ordinary dry snow, but with the "wet" 

 or " heavy" article it is another thing. 

 Care should be taken that the entrances 

 do not become closed with ice, and to 

 keep the hives on level or high ground, 

 to prevent them from being flooded 

 when the thaw comes. 



Where are we Drifting? 



The following advertisement we clip 

 from one of the Chicago daily papers, 

 and is only one of several of a similar 

 character which have from time to time 

 appeared in the same sheet : 



I WANT A MAN THAT IS POSTED IN MANU- 

 facturinK margarine or lard-butter, either Salary 



or interest. Address T 96, Daily News. 3?9i2ti 



Now, were a person to advertise for a 

 confederate to assist in making coun- 

 terfeit money or bogus coin, we doubt 

 not detectives would work the case up 

 and by skillful means soon arrest, con- 

 vict and imprison the proposed counter- 

 feiter, as he would richly deserve. But 

 as it is only a popular article of food to 

 be counterfeited, it resolves itself into 

 mercantile and manufacturing enter- 

 prise, and is " business." Suppose, 

 however, the advertiser finds his "man 

 that is posted " (as undoubtedly he has), 

 and they manufacture " margarine," 

 "lard-butter," or, in plain English, 

 bogus butter, using 20 per cent, of good 

 butter and 80 per cent, of fat matter — 

 rendered from cattle, hogs, horses, dogs, 

 and other carcasses taken up from the 

 streets, the stock yards, Bridgeport and 

 elsewhere, and carried "just over the 

 line into Indiana" for manufacture, and 

 brought back to be sold as " pure leaf 

 lard" — and one of our readers ignorantly 

 buys this stuff for genuine butter, and 

 innocently pays for it with counterfeit 

 money (which is as genuine as the but- 

 ter he buys), he will immediately be ar- 

 rested, and the innocent butter-vender 

 becomes the most indignant and clam- 

 orous prosecutor. 



This matter of food adulteration is 

 nothing new. The question no longer 

 is " What is adulterated ?" but " What 

 is pure ?" Tea, coffee, spices, baking- 

 powder, sugar, syrup, honey, flour, vin- 

 gar, liquors, drugs, medicines, oils— 

 everything, even butter and cheese ! 

 But who is at fault for all this, except 

 the apathetic public V For many years 

 honest bee-keepers have suffered in two 

 ways from the adulterous tendency of 

 the times — first, from being brought 

 into competition with glucosed sugars 

 and syrups ; and, second, from being 

 obliged to sell in a market flooded or 

 ruined with glucosed honey. True, 

 in two or three States they have suc- 

 ceeded in getting well-meant but mis- 

 taken laws passed prohibiting the sale 

 of mixed honey ; but these were and 

 still are inoperative dead-letters on the 

 statute books. Nowhere have they re- 

 ceived the support and co-operation of 

 the masses of the people, and we have 

 yet to hear of the first attempt at their 

 enforcement. 



Never has the subject of food adulte- 

 ration received the attention it has 

 urgently demanded, till now when the 

 disgusting but most unhurtful side of 

 the question has been presented. Glu- 

 cose made from refuse corn was sold as 

 pure sugar in every grocery in the land, 

 and even the poisonous acids used in its 

 manufacture scarcely provoked a re- 

 mark ; glucose syrups, as innocent of 

 contact with sugar-cane as the butter 

 and cheese of to-day are innocent of 

 origin from the beastly cow, were tempt- 

 ingly poured as silver-drips over the 

 warm cakes with which to poison our 

 little ones. Candies, beautifully painted 

 yellow, green and red, formed into 

 attractive toys, lozenges and hearts, 

 and inscribed with Christian mottoes 

 and love-tokens, were made from terra 

 alba (white earth) and glucose, with 



which to plant the germs of lingering 

 disease in t he new generation. Jellies, 

 beautiful to behold, supposed tobemade 

 from the rarest and best fruits, were 

 sold from grocers' counters at less prices 

 than honest apple-parings could be pur- 

 chased. Every bushel of corn, that in 

 the days of our grandfathers would have 

 made but a gallon and a half of honest 

 whisky, now, by the use of poisonous 

 acids and chemicals, will make several 

 times that amount, and an hundred 

 times the amount of delirium, pauper- 

 ism and crime. Drugs and medicines, 

 on the purity of which many lives are 

 dependent, have been mercilessly adul- 

 terated, and the honest, time-honored 

 and venerated physician, in his pre- 

 scription not having kept pace with the 

 latest adulteration. loses his patient and 

 is berated for a want of medical skill. 



We want no special or local laws to 

 forbid and threaten to punish adultera- 

 tions. The people will not be satisfied 

 with a law which declares it a crime to 

 make butter and cheese from the fatty 

 portions of hogs, cattle or carrion, and 

 leaves the inference to be drawn that it 

 is honest to sell as pure and wholesome 

 sugar and syrup made from glucose ; we 

 do not want a legislative enactment 

 which makes it a misdemeanor to man- 

 ufacture and sell as "strained honey" 

 the product of anything but nectar- 

 yielding flowers, and leaves the matter 

 to enterprise to make maple sugar and 

 syrup from anything that can be flavored 

 and colored. We do not want any law 

 that will punish swindling, and fraud, 

 and obtaining money under false pre- 

 tenses in one locality, and to counten- 

 ance the same in another. We do not 

 want a law which is vindicated when 

 the makers of bogus butter are pun- 

 ished, and allows all kinds of counter- 

 feit and even jjoisonous food to be sold 

 under every other name but the proper 

 one. 



We do want a law as general and com- 

 prehensive as the government itself, to 

 punish all fraud in the sale of food ; we 

 want it as applicable in New York as in 

 Chicago ; as applicable in the West and 

 South as in New England. We want a 

 law as easy and certain of enforcement 

 as any other police or sanitary regula- 

 tion. We want a law which will guar- 

 antee to every purchaser that he is buy- 

 ing just what he calls and pays for. Each 

 special law is a stumbling-block and 

 hindrance in the way of a general law. 

 Every local law makes general legisla- 

 tion more difficult to obtain, and but 

 adds to the long array of inoperative 

 enactments. If parties must make vile 

 compounds, oblige them to be sold for 

 jusi what they are. The time is in the 

 near future when these laws will be 

 irresistibly demanded of Congress, and 

 until that time comes, the already over- 

 indulgent and heart-sick public must 

 suffer and bear. 



Bees in Kansas.— We have received 

 the third quarterly report of the Kansas 

 State Board of Agriculture. In it we 

 find that only about one-third of the 

 counties of the State report a fair crop 

 of honey. Brown county has 108 colo 

 nies of bees, which produced 6,983 lbs. 

 of honey ami 150 lbs. of wax. This is 

 an excellent report, and " Brown" is 

 evidently the banner county of the 

 State for honey production. Doniphan 

 county reports from 10to.501bs.of honey 

 for each colony. In another county 65 

 lbs. are given as the average. 



