1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



1371 



use this wording on any honey bought of 

 another, even though that purchased honey 

 is mixed with one's own production. The 

 words "put up by" have not thus far re- 

 ceived the recognition or sanction of the 

 government officials, although they offer no 

 objection to the words "distributed by" or 

 "bottled by." It is our opinion that, if a 

 test case were to be made, the courts would 

 allow the phrase "put up by " on any honey 

 purchased or produced by the bottler. We 

 do not see why the same phrase could not 

 cover both. This question (^an not be defl- 

 nitely determined until it has been adjudi- 

 cated by the courts. 



As long as there is a state of uncertainty 

 we would suggest that the General Manager 

 of the National Bee-keepers' Association take 

 the necessary steps to have a friendly suit 

 taken so that the question may be definitely 

 settled. 



THE HONEY SEASON FOR GREAT BRITAIN 

 AND FRANCE. 



The results of the honey season through- 

 out the British islands have been rather dis- 

 appointing this year, and from practically 

 the same causes as operated in this country, 

 to cause a short crop. In France, also, the 

 honey yield has on the whole been poor, due 

 to cold and rainy weather during the sum- 

 mer months. This is more particularly true 

 in the north and west of France. There was 

 plenty of sainfoin clover in bloom, but the 

 bees either could not get out at all, or if they 

 did venture abroad they were caught in 

 heavy showers of rain, whereby many of 

 them perished. Mr. Edward Bertrand, in 

 Switzerland, reports honey was never better 

 in quality but short in quantity. w. k. m. 



adulterant that beekeepers will want to 

 know just where this matter stands. If there 

 is any product that wants to be clearly and 

 accurately labeled it is glucose. 



The extraordinary part of this controversy 

 is that a perfectly truthful and accurate 

 name should be objected to. w. k. m. 



GLUCOSE SYRUP VS. CORN SYRUP. 



There has been evolved during recent 

 years quite a considerable prejudice against 

 glucose as a food, hence the Corn Products 

 Co. asked for a hearing before the Board of 

 Food and Drug Inspection that it might be 

 allowed to label glucose as "corn syrup." 

 The hearing was set for September 30, but 

 we have not as yet been informed as to the 

 result of the hearing. 



We do not see how the Board can allow 

 such a label to pass, as "corn syrup" is not 

 always made from corn starch; on the con- 

 trary, large quantities are made in Europe 

 from potato starch, and it could readily be 

 made from cassava starch in the South, prob- 

 ably, at a lower cost than when it is made 

 from corn starch. The word "glucose" is 

 as accurate and truthful as it is possible to 

 be, and we do not see why it should be can- 

 celed in favor of a word that, to say the 

 least, is ambiguous and misleading. The 

 time may come when we will produce real 

 corn syrup in this country from the sap of 

 the cornstalk; for when the corn-plant is pre- 

 vented from forming ears it secretes quite a 

 quantity of sweet juice. In fact, it has been 

 suggested we might get our sugar in this way. 

 Glucose has been used so extensively as an 



IS PARTHENOGENESIS A MYTH? 



In Germany some of the bee- journals are 

 considerably exercised over the appearance 

 of a new book by Professor Kuckuch, of the 

 University of Moscow, entitled "There is no 

 Parthenogenesis." The book is edited by 

 Dickel, the celebrated German opponent of 

 parthenogenesis, who supplies, of course, an 

 introductory note in its favor. 



In this connection we are in receipt of a 

 very nice letter from Miss Adele M. Fielde, 

 now traveling on the Pacific coast, who has 

 supplied the scientific world with considera- 

 ble additions to the accumulated knowledge 

 of ants, in which she says that parthenogen- 

 esis has been proved in ants. Let me give 

 her own words: "My ants were virgin work- 

 ers, and all question of their virginity was 

 settled by their segregation from all other 

 ants, of any sex, from their own pupaj stage, 

 and within their cocoons up to the time when 

 their offspring were hatched and active. 

 There was no opportunity for the fertilization 

 of their eggs, which were always kept in seg- 

 regated ants. The result of the experi- 

 ments, which included three species, if I 

 rightly remember, showed that unfertilized 

 ant eggs produce male ants. An unfertilized 

 queen's eggs produced 63 male ants and no 

 females or workers." 



The above strikingly confirms what we 

 know about bees in the same connection, 

 and it is a wonder our European friends are 

 so easily drawn into the vortex of a profit- 

 less discussion. What we want is more ob- 

 servation, w. K. M. 



THE DEALER AND NOT THE PRODUCER GETS 

 THE BENEFIT OF THE HIGH PRICES. 



Out in the State of Washington the retail 

 grocers in convention assembled have de- 

 clared against the present oleomargarine 

 law, saying it caused the price of butter to 

 be raised at least 8 cents per pound. This 

 looks to us as if the law were a good thing, 

 because it is evident that oleo can be used to 

 depress the price of butter considerably be- 

 low its natural value. The present law de- 

 mands a revenue tax of 10 cents per pound 

 on colored oleo, and this the grocers want 

 removed, evidently so they can sell for but- 

 ter whenever the customer can be duped. 



This leads us to inquire how far the low 

 prices of honey are due to the desire of re- 

 tailers to obtain a very high profit. Bee- 

 keepers are inclined to blame the wholesalers 

 and jobbers, but that is not where the shoe 

 pinches. A little over a year ago, when 

 comb honey of fair quality was selling in New 

 York at 15 cents a pound wholesale, the re- 

 tailers over in Brooklyn were selling a sec- 

 tion for 30 cents. It was practically the same 



