AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Ill 



Thus bee-keepers were hurt, and often, 

 I dare say, indignant. They saw their 

 business unjustly suffering, and seemed 

 powerless to prevent the wrong. Prof. 

 Wiley knew nothing of this, and so, 

 when convinced of his mistake, would 

 only regard it as a harmless error. Could 

 he have known the real facts, I believe 

 he would have been quickest to retract 

 and correct. 



Our bee-papers knowing, as Prof. 

 Wiley could not know, the injury which 

 the business had suffered, attacked Prof. 

 Wiley in no mild fashion ; in fact, about 

 the most energetic language possible 

 was made use of to designate his wrong 

 doings. This led to Prof. Wiley's article 

 in the Indiana Farmer. He had sup- 

 posed the narration more of a joke than 

 anything else, and so, misinterpreting 

 the action of the bee-keepers, he did not 

 reply, as he certainly would have done, 

 had he appreciated the true state of the 

 case. He had received no word or letter 

 from any bee-keeper, but had only seen 

 these attacks, and as he could not pos- 

 sibly understand the righteous indigna- 

 tion of bee-keepers, he penned the un- 

 fortunate letter to the Indiana Farmer. 



Prof. Wiley regarded the attacks as 

 violent and uncalled for, and so replied 

 to the whole matter as though it were a 

 joke — not a matter touching the real 

 interest and prosperity of bee-keepers. 

 Most of us mistook his phrase "Scien- 

 tific pleasantry." We supposed that he 

 meant that he published the first article 

 as a joke, and not as a truth. On the 

 other hand, when he published his first 

 article he believed it wholly true, and of 

 such interest that it would create won- 

 der and provoke interest and merriment, 

 hence his expression. Thus we see Prof. 

 Wiley has not been untruthful, nor has 

 he been even disingenuous. 



Since these letters, Prof. Wiley has 

 issued two Reports on honey adultera- 

 tion. Without the least doubt, both of 

 these Reports were the result of careful 

 analyses, and as skillfully made as the 

 present chemical methods will permit. 

 If not wholly reliable, it is only because 

 of the complex nature of honeys, and the 

 want of sufficient research, and of conse- 

 quent reliable methods for such analyses. 

 Prof. Wiley's Reports make it still 

 more evident that extracted honey is 

 largely adulterated, and so are most 

 valuable. I regard Byron Walker as a 

 very sincere friend of every bee-keeper 

 in showing that wholesale adulteration 

 is carried on in Detroit and Chicago. 

 Prof. Wiley ishelpingon this good work. 

 Adulteration of extracted honey is ex- 

 tensive. Let us hunt out the wrong 



doers. Prof. Wiley is helping us to do it. 

 Now, what every bee-keeper should 

 desire is, that we know just who is adul- 

 terating ; and, to do this, we must have 

 accurate methods to detect adulteration. 

 Prof. Wiley will take hold with all his 

 energy, backed up by the aid of the 

 Government, to help us in securing such 

 methods if they are not now in existence. 

 He has no desire to do ought, to in any 

 way injure the honest producer. He is 

 very desirous to bring every adulterator 

 — every abettor of fraud — into sure and 

 speedy condemnation. 



Therefore, brother bee-keepers, I urge 

 in deference to our best interests, and to 

 fairness to,one of our ablest and most 

 gentlemanly scientists, that we desist 

 from any further criticism or attack 

 upon the mistakes of the past ; that we 

 do not demean ourselves by further ref- 

 erence to the " Wiley lie," or "scientific 

 pleasantry," but gratefully accept Prof. 

 Wiley's promise of aid ; and together 

 work (and I believe it will be success- 

 fully) to throttle this horrid demon of 

 fraud and dishonesty. 



I wish to say that I have had full and 

 extensive correspondence with Prof. 

 Wiley in relation to this matter, and so 

 I am sure that he is not misrepresented 

 here in relation to it. 



Agricultural College, Mich. 



[Prof. Wiley is invited to further cor- 

 roborate Prof. Cook's statements as to 

 his (Prof. Wiley's) being anxious to 

 sincerely aid bee-keepers in detecting 

 adulterators of honey, by announcing 

 such fact in the Eke Journal, over his 

 own signature ; and also, we think, 

 though somewhat late, it would help 

 matters very much if he should now 

 acknowledge his error in making the 

 statement referred to by Prof. Cook, in 

 1881, and make suitable apology to 

 bee-keepers for the same. 



It seems to us, that such would be the 

 honorable and manly thing to do, as it 

 demeans no man to admit making mis- 

 statements unconsciously, and ask par- 

 don for the same when proven damaging, 

 as that is merely another way of saying 

 that he is wiser now than before mak- 

 ing such misstatements. In fact, it 

 appears to us that such would be the 

 only really conscientious way to conduct 

 one's self after unfortunately being in 

 such a position. — Editors.] 



