April 27, 1899. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



265 



success of bee-keeping' (thus no more honey produced), but 

 each one, having: acquired a taste for honey, will never 

 again be found without honey on his table (thus much more 

 consumed). And they will all saj-, " I see now that you 

 people earn your money, and that dollars don't roll uphill to 

 you without effort on your part, as I once believed they did." 

 Now, I honestly think that this is a fair probability of 

 results ; and having' cleared my conscience of what seemed 

 to me a duty, I submit the foregoing'. 



J. H. TiCHENOR. 



We think Mr. Tichenor has advanced several good rea- 

 sons wh^' farmers should more g'enerally keep bees. His 

 views will doubtless help to strengthen Rev. E. T. Abbott 

 in his belief along this line, as he (Mr. A.) has several times 

 threatened to start a paper to be called " Farm Bee-Keep- 

 ing." We very much doubt if such a paper would pay, tho 

 we believe thoroly in the idea that it would be no detriment 

 to anybody if each farmer would keep about five colonies of 

 bees — at least enough to produce honey for his own home. 



Barrel an Unsatisfactory Honey-Package. — A bee- 

 keeper and honey-dealer to whom we have sold quite a good 

 deal of honey in barrels the past few months, wrote us as 

 follows lately : 



" A barrel is a very unsatisfactory honey-package for 

 the man that handles it in the last instance. Nineteen times 

 out of 20 the barrel must be taken apart to get the honey 

 out." 



We have often wisht that those who put up their honey 

 in barrels could be compelled to buy and handle such honey 

 for awhile. After they had a little experience with the 

 stuff leaking out, and a number of pounds soaking' into the 

 wood — all the loss, of course, to come out of their own pock- 

 ets — we believe they would be done with putting honey into 

 barrels or wood of any kind. Tin is the thing for a honey- 

 package. In some instances a half-cent a pound more can 

 be secured for honev in tin. 



fir. J. L. Hubbard, whose picture appears on the first 

 page of this issue, until a few years ag^o lived in New 

 Hampshire. He wrote us as follows some time since : 



My Dk.'VR Mr. York : — I received the first number of 

 the American Bee Journal soon after its publication in 

 1861, and think I have had every number printed since then. 

 They have been read and studied with much pleasure, and, 

 I hope, profit. It has ever been a champion of the right and 

 progressive in its ideas. At first it was supposed by some 

 that the whole subject would soon be gone over, and that 

 there would then be but little use for a bee-journal, but the 

 subject seems to have been continually opening in new 

 directions, and grows more interesting. 



Besides teaching new ideas in bee-keeping a bee-jour- 

 nal is very useful to keep one posted in regard to the busi- 

 ness in all parts of our country and the world. 



In the earlier days of the Bee Journal my name was 

 sometimes found in the reading and advertising columns, 

 but of late years I have been doing but little in the bee- 

 line, and am now sojourning among the mountains of 

 western North Carolina. 



The American Bee Journal has not lost vigor by age, 

 but, if possible, grows more reliable. May it live long and 

 prosper. J. L. Hubbard. 



Henderson Co., N. C. 



An Illinois Pure Food Bill was past at the late session 

 of the leg^islature. It was introduced by Senator Dunlap — 

 one of the best men in the whole State. From an editorial 

 in the Chicag'o Record of April 14, we take these paragraphs: 



This measure is one of the important ones to be en- 

 acted at this session of the legislature. Illinois has been 

 backward in pure-food legislation. The passage of this 

 Bill means that a start at least is to be made in the direc- 

 tion of State supervision of food products offered for sale. 

 Time will show what changes are necessary for the perfec- 

 tion of the law. It was not intended to be very far-reach- 

 ing in its effect at the outset, but was designed by its 

 framer. Senator Dunlap, to serve rather as the beginning- 



point for other pure-food legislation. It creates the ma- 

 chinery for food inspection, with the intention that the 

 duties of the inspection officials will be gradually enlarged. 



The Bill creates the office of State food commissioner, to 

 be filled by appointment of the governor. The salary is 

 $2,500 a year. The commissioner, with the consent of the , 

 governor, may appoint two assistant commissioners at a 

 salary of $1,800 a year each, one of whom must bean expert 

 in dairy matters, and the other a practical and analytical 

 chemist. The commissioner is also authorized to appoint 

 necessary inspectors, not exceeding six in number, the com- 

 pensation of the inspectors to be $3 a day and expenses. It is 

 made the duty of the commissioner to enforce laws now ex- 

 isting, or that may hereafter be enacted regarding the pro- 

 duction, manufacture and sale of dairy products, or the 

 adulteration of any article of food. The terms " food " and 

 " adulteration " are defined, and the sale of articles adul- 

 terated within the meaning of the Act is forbidden under 

 penalty. The Bill al.so makes regulations concerning vin- 

 egar, candy, fruits and veg-etables, jellies and jams, ex- 

 tracts and chocolates and cocoas. 



In order to give dealers time to prepare for the opera- 

 tion of the Act, the enforcement of penalties under it is 

 suspended until July 1, 1900. 



Our only regret is that the new law doesn't go into 

 effect July 1, 1899, instead of a year later. But it is really 

 encouraging to feel that we have such a law, and there is 

 hope that in time we shall be able to make th^ adulteration 

 road a hard one to travel. 



Now, if a food commissioner who has more than a cot- 

 ton string for a backbone is appointed, there will be just 

 cause for hope that in a few years the consuming public 

 will be reasonably sure of getting just what they pay for in 

 the line of thing's to eat. 



Mr. E. L. C.\rrington, of Florida, desired us to an- 

 nounce that he will not ^ffer queens and bees for sale this 

 year, as all his bees are dead or dying. 



« ♦ » » ♦ 



" Two Worlds " is the name of the $50 prize story be- 

 gun in the Progressive Bee-Keeper for April. It was writ- 

 ten by Mrs. J. M. Null. There were 17 contestants for the 



prize. 



* ♦ * # # 



The Farm Journal is cream, not skim-milk, and just 

 the paper for the man who keeps cows. We give it for the 

 balance of 1899, and all of 1900, 1901, 1902 and 1903, nearly 

 five years to every subscriber who accepts the offer on page 

 254. " This is a short time offer, as we have only a small 

 number of Farm Journal subscriptions on the terms offered. 



JSSRS. F. L,' Murray and F. P. White, of Lafayette 

 Co., Wis., called on us last week. Mr. Murray is the secre- 

 tary of the Southwestern Wisconsin Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion. Mr. White's bees have wintered very well, but Mr. 

 Murray lost quite a number of colonies. The latter has two 

 apiaries. We hope soon to show pictures of the apiaries of 

 both Mr. White and Mr. Murray. 

 ♦ ♦ ♦ * # 



Somnambulist, in the Progressive Bee-Keeper for 

 April, has these congratulatory words to offer in reference 

 to our new department, called "The Afterthought," in 

 charg'e of that cogitating individual : 



" Permit us to congratulate you. Friend York, on your 

 new department, for all the Journal readers extend to it a 

 most hearty welcome. But as to ' unreliable glasses ' being 

 strictly appropriate— well, one cannot help seeing a clash 

 of arnis between that word ' unreliable ' and the matter fol- 

 lowing." 



" Sommy " and " Cogy " ought to get acquainted. 

 They'd make a fine team. 



