200 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



March 31, 



GEORGE W. YORK. EDITOR. 



PUBr,ISHT WEEKLY BY 



IIS Michigan Street, CHICAGO, ILL. 



[Entered at the Post-Offlce at Chicago as Second-Class Mail Matter.] 



UNITED STATES BEE-KEEPERS' UNION 



Organized to advance the pursuit of Apiculture: to promote the interests of bee- 

 keepers; to protect its members ; to prevent the adulteration of honey; and 

 to prosecute the dishonest honey-commiasiun men. 



AXe/nibers/i/p i-'ee— S2.00 itor JVnnuiiu 



Executive COMJUXTEE-Pres., George W. York; Vice-Pres.. W. Z. Hutchinson; 



Secretary, Dr. A. B. Mason, Station B. Toledo, Ohio. 

 Board op directors— E. K. Root; E. ^Vhiteomb; E.T.Abbott; C. P. Dadant; 



W. Z. Hutchinson; Dr. C. C. Miller. 



Gexeual Manager axd Treascrer— Eusene Secor, Forest City, Iowa. 



VOL. 38. 



MARCH 31, 1898. 



NO. 13. 



Note.— The American Bee .Journal adopts the Orthofrraphy of the following 

 Rule, recommenfled by tlie joint action of the American Philological Asso- 

 ciation and the Philological Society of England:— Change "d" or "ed" final 

 to "t" when so pronounced, except when the "e" affects a preceding sound. 



Ne^v Use for Honey-Leaflets.— That bright 

 Doter and picker of the Canadian Bee Journal, D. W. Heise, 

 suggests that instead of the Canadian societies continuing 

 bee-journals as premiums to members, they should furnish a 

 supply of our honey-leaflets — "Honey as Food." Why not ? 

 They would help to make an outlet for the honey of the mem- 

 bers — the very abject desired. 



Some Origfiual Ideas.— In the Southland Queen, 

 Mr. Madley is reported as saying you don't need comb founda- 

 tion to secure straight combs if your hives front south, but if 

 they front north or east foundation must be given to prevent 

 crooked combs. He " never saw a bee-tree that the bees went 

 in on the north or east side." Rev. T. C. Thedford says bees 

 measure cells when making them by the length of their legs. 

 He forgot to say which legs. "Madford" and " Thedley " 

 have truly "original ideas !" 



Plain Sections and Fences.— Editor E. R. 

 Root, in Gleanings for March 15, replies as follows to the 

 article which appeared on pages 114 and 115, on the no-bee- 

 way or plain sections, and fences or cleated-s!at separators : 



That Blind Editor. — Some chap in the American Bee 

 Journal, referring to my early disapproval and subsequent 

 approval of the plain section, accuses me of being blind when 

 I want to be blind, and of being able to see when I want to 

 see. 1 take it that this is a polite insinuation that, when it is 

 to the interest of our supply trade to recognize the merits of a 

 good thing, I am loud in my praise of the thing in question: 

 and that, when it is not to the interest of the supply business, 

 then I am very mum. Naughty York, not to put on his name 

 a,Di address ! I wish I could just catch that fellow without a 



name. I would show him that even he looks through a glass 

 darkly, for it is very evident he fails to see thatl'have not 

 been as naughty as he thinks. However, I will forgive him, 

 for, tho not committing himself directly, he apparently thinks 

 the plain section and fence a good thirg. 



We want to say that the " chap " Mr. Root refers to knew 

 exactly what he was talking about when he made the accusa- 

 tions and insinuations that seem to have opened the eyes of a 

 certain " blind editor." We wouldn't think of disclosing our 

 contributor's name and address, for no telling what calamity 

 might befall him should he ever cross Editor Root's pathway, 

 even If the latter does say he'll "forgive him." That's all 

 right. He may "forgive," but to forget — that's another 

 matter. 



Xbe California Bee-Keepers' Exchangfe. 



— We have received the following regarding the Exchange, 

 from a Californian who knows whereof he speaks : 



"Mr. Editor: — I notice that on page 152 you have an 

 'editorial comment ' that Is a trifle misleading in relation to 

 the business of the Exchange. The best of our dealers esti- 

 mate that the honey crop In this section of the State is about 

 200 carloads ; the Exchange has handled about 25 car lots ; 

 therefore, instead of handling one-fourth of the crop, it is 

 only one-eighth, which makes quite a difference. 



"The time to know how the Exchange is going to succeed 

 is after the settlement for the year is made. If the bee- 

 keepers have realized as much for the sales as they would 

 to have sold to dealers, then there will be no cause for com- 

 plaint. But if the net price falls short of that, then look out. 

 The Exchange idea is all right, but the trouble just now is 

 the lack of confidence in its workings. 



" We do not anticipate much of a honey crop this year, as 

 the rains are few and light." 



Xhe Pure Food and Drug: Congress was 



held in Washington, D. C, March 2, as per announcement, 

 and the United States Bee-Keepers' Union was represented by 

 General Manager Eugene Secor and Rev. Emerson T. Abbott, 

 as we have previously mentioned in these columns. In the 

 Busy Bee for March, Mr. Abbott gives this report of the 

 doings of the Congress : 



THE PURE rOOD CONGRESS. 



There was held in Washington, D. C, beginning March 

 2, one of the most important meetings ever convened on this 

 continent. I refer to the National Pure Food and Drug Con- 

 gress. It was called together by a local committee made up 

 of public-spirited and enterprising gentlemen who live in and 

 adjacent to the city of Washington. There was a general re- 

 sponse to the call from all over the country, and representa- 

 tives of the various industries interested were there from as 

 far west as California, and as far east as Maine. 



There were nearly 300 people in attendance, and almost 

 every leading productive industry of the land was represented. 

 The writer and General Manager Secor went as delegates to 

 represent the United States Bee-Keepers' Union. As there 

 was considerable expense attacht to such a long trip, I had 

 some doubts at first about the propriety of sending delegates, 

 but the moment I reacht Washington and saw the class of 

 men there present, and the industries which were represented, 

 all doubt was dispelled. One of the leading ideas of our Union 

 is to " prevent the adulteration of honey," and more was done 

 at Washington In co-operation with other industries in two 

 days than we could do in years working alone. What we 

 want and need is a National Pure Food Law covering every 

 article of human consumption for either food or medicine, and 

 we seem now to be in a fair way to get it, and the members of 

 the United States Bee-Keepers' Union can feel that they have 

 had a hand in the making of it. 



Your delegates leceived the fullest recognition on the 

 floor of the Congress, and bee-keeping at once took its place 

 along by the side of other trades and industries, and was rec- 

 ognized as a part of the great movement for pure food and 

 common honesty, which is sweeping over the country from 

 Maine to California. Mr. Secor was placed on the Committee 

 on Credentials, and the writer was made a member of the 

 Committee on Permanent Organization, and was subsequently 

 elected chairman. Later Mr. Secor was appointed a member 

 of the Committee on Resolutions, and myself a member of the 

 Legislative Committee of 25 to consider the " Brosius Bill," 



