1898. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



761 



one year to feed pure glucose to bees, instead of our trying to 

 do it every year. This last construction might imply that I 

 had some sinister motive; and after all I have said aganst 

 glucose honey and glucose in general, this would be rather a 

 travesty on your humble servant. 



The editor of the American Bee-Keeper protests (and 

 rightly, too) against the statement wherein I am made tp say 

 in the report of the Omaha convention, that "Southern honey 

 has a strong flavor which is liked by some." What I actually 

 said, or at least thought I said, was that some Southern honey 

 has a strong flavor. In the general discussion, we were talk- 

 ing about the peculiar flavors of different honeys, and why 

 some preferred a kind of honey that another disliked. I men- 

 tioned the fact that buckwheat houey in New York is pre- 

 ferred by some to anything else, and that, in a similar way, 

 there are certain flavors in Southern honeys that are liked by 

 some and disliked by others. Mr. Hill says he would not for 

 a moment attribute to me the "thought of a willful misrepre- 

 sentation," and that he believes I am " utterly incapable of 

 studied deception." I thank him most sincerely for such a 

 statement ; and while I may not deserve It, I try to be what 

 the language implies. 



I lay no blame to Mr. York, as It takes a pair of sharp 

 eyes to catch every error that may creep through the stenog- 

 rapher's pencil. 



Even if we had " a pair of sharp eyes," or several pairs, 

 it would make no difference, for no one person could remember 

 all that was said in discussion at a national convention. So 

 of course we have to rely upon the stenographer's report. But 

 we are very glad to have necessary corrections made, and 

 would be pleased to receive them direct, so as to publish the 

 corrections as soon as possible after the appearance of the 

 errors. 



Saltpeter Rags for Smokers.— Editor Root, In 

 Gleanings, tells in the following how Dr. Miller uses saltpeter 

 rags for lighting the bee-smoker : 



While visiting at Dr. Miller's I saw him poll out a piece 

 of rag from his tool-basket, light it with a match, or appar- 

 ently attempt to light it, and put it down the smoker. There 

 was no flame, and it seemed the rag had gone out. 



" Here, that's gone out !" I exclaimed. 



" Oh '. that's all right," replied the Doctor; " it will go ;" 

 and then he proceeded to cram in some planer shavings. 



" You will put it out now, I am sure." said I. 



"I think not," he replied ; and at this he began working 

 the bellows, when it immediately began to send out quite a 

 ■volume of smoke. 



"The rags in our locality do not burn that way," I re- 

 markt. 



" Perhaps not," returned the Doctor; "but we dip ours 

 in saltpeter water, and then dry them. See? Just the mo- 

 ment the flame of a match touches the rag it will catch fire 

 and stay lighted." 



Dr. Miller formerly soakt his rotten wood in saltpeter 

 water, and then after it was dry used it for lighting his 

 smoker. But the rag lights instantly, and is then pusht into 

 the smoker. No cramming in of other fuel will put it out. 

 This saves much annoyance in lighting the smoker. 



Ordinances Proliibiting' Bee-Keeping.— 



For the benefit of bee-keepers who may be annoyed by their 

 city oflicials attempting to pass ordinances against bee-keep- 

 ing, we take the following from a local newspaper of River- 

 side, Calif., dated Oct. 1, 1898 : 



City Attorney Purington rendered the following opinion : 

 To the Honorable Board of Trustees of the City of Riverside. 



Gentlemen: — Some time ago you referred to me the 

 question whether an ordinance prohibiting the keeping of bees 

 within the city of Riverside would be valid. 



I have been unable to find but one decision directly in 

 point, and that is the case of the city of Arkadelphia vs. Clark, 

 decided by the Supreme Court of the State of Arkansas, June 

 22, 1889. The court held that neither the keeping, owning 

 nor raising Is in itself a nuisance within a city, but whether 

 they are so or not is a question to be judicially determined in 

 each case. Such an ordinance undertakes to make each act a 

 nuisance without regard to the fact whether it is so or not, or 

 whether bees in general have become a nuisaoce in the city. 

 Such an ordinance is therefore too broad, and invalid. From 



the reasoning in the opinion, and from the authority cited in 

 the brief submitted to the court, I am of the opinion that an 

 ordinance of the kind would be held unconstitutional by the 

 courts of this State. 



It may be well to preserve the foregoing legal opinion for 

 future use. It might come handy if at a time when some 

 would-be-great "city fathers " make an attempt to destroy 

 bee-keeping within their city limits. Bee-keeping is not a 

 general nuisance just yet. 



*—-*■ 



Honej- and Healtll. — An eminent medical author- 

 ity says honey should again occupy at least part of the empire 

 unjustly wrested from it by sugar, says an exchange from Ger- 

 many. Sugar is undigested, and taken pure is injurious, pro- 

 ducing flatulency, acidity of stomach, and sick headache. 

 Pastries prepared with much sugar, taken in large quantity, 

 spoil the stomachs of children, and even of adults. Those 

 who have stomach troubles can endure the least quantity of 

 sugar. The small amount of muriatic acid in the healthy 

 stomach can transform but a a small amount of sugar, any 

 surplus over this disturbs the entire alimentary canal for days. 

 The sugar contained in honey is already transformed, so it 

 may be taken in large quantities by children and invalids. 

 Where children are fed with cow's milk, honey should be 

 added, for cow's milk is not as sweet as human milk. 



Mr. Jas. a. Stone, of Sangamon Co., III., Secretary of 

 the Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Association, sent us a dollar 

 for the Langstroth Monument Fund last week. 



Mr. J. A. PEA.RCE, of Kent Co., Mich., writes : 



"I fully endorse the Idea of putting bees out early In the 

 spring, say from the first to the middle of March." 



Mk. T. R. Joslin, of Douglas Co., Nebr., wrote us Nov. 

 21; 



"I have had a grand success with my bees this season, 

 and I give the credit to the ' old reliable ' American Bee Jour- 

 nal. 



The A. I. Root Co. had a fire scare at their factory the 

 night of Oct. 29. But owing to their efficient automatic fire- 

 equipment no great damage was done. We congratulate 

 them upon their escape from a serious conflagration. 



Mr. W. W. Whipple, of Arapahoe Colo., wrote us Nov. 7: 



" I do not want to miss a single number of the American 

 Bee Journal, as it is the one thing I rely upon for up-to-date 

 information in bee-keeping, and I do not see how any one can 

 get along without it." 



Mr. H. W. Buckbee, of Rockford, III., proprietor of the 

 Rockford Seed Farms, is one of the leading florists and seeds- 

 men in all the West. Nov. 19 he exprest us a large box of 

 most beautiful flowers — roses and chrysanthemums of several 

 varieties. We loaned them the uextday for pulpit decoration, 

 and they were greatly admired by the church people. Mr. 

 Buckbee will soon be found among our most reliable adver- 

 tisers again, and we trust our readers will remember him 

 when in need of anything in his line. 



Mr. J. H. Martin (Rambler) has lately wheeled from 

 California over into Oregon, in which State he hoped to do a 

 good deal of wheeling, but it seems he encountered such wet 

 weather that he had to do most of his traveling by rail. 

 During his rail trip from Roseburg to Salem the railroad com- 

 pany sent his bicycle ofl" In a direction that he intended It 

 should not go. When he presented his check for It at Salem 

 he was not able to get it. He had to proceed to Portland 



