AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



217 



Piire Food and Congress.— There is 

 a bill pending before Congress known as 

 the Paddock pure-food bill. Its author, 

 Senator Paddock, says : 



It will not throw a straw in the path- 

 way of any honestly conducted business. 

 It is aimed at fraud and deception only. 

 Its object is to protect the public against 

 adulteration, honest manufacturers 

 against dishonest competition (which the 

 bill makes illegal), and to extend the ex- 

 port trade of the country by definitely 

 fixing a standard for our export products. 

 In my judgment it will be of very great 

 benefit to every reputable industry en- 

 gaged in the manufacture of food pro- 

 ducts or of drugs. 



The strong features of the bill in my 

 opinion are the clear definitions of what 

 shall constitute adulteration under the 

 law, the simple yet effective machinery 

 for its enforcement, its universality of 

 application, its unquestionable constitu- 

 tionality, and the certainty that it will 

 have back of it the support of commer- 

 cial honesty everywhere throughout the 

 country. 



Upon being asked how it would affect 

 food compounds, he replied : 



No food compound, not injurious to 

 health, which is labeled as a compound, 

 comes under the prohibitory clauses of 

 the bill. The bill only requires that 

 such articles shall be sold under proper 

 designations, and not as imitations of 

 other articles with a view to deceiving 

 unsuspecting purchasers. It thus inter- 

 feres with no trade-marks or proprietary 

 articles known under distinctive names 

 In commercial transactions. In addition 

 the pure-food bill provides against the 

 fallibility of science. It allows appeals 

 to the courts from the official tests of 

 the chemical division of the department 

 of agriculture, and provides legal and 

 scientific safeguards against possible 

 errors in the application of its provisions 

 to trades. There are no obnoxious reve- 

 nue stamps, no complicated machinery of 

 spies and needless provisos of tagging, 

 stamping and registering. 



The Prospect for a good honey crop 

 next Summer is thus commented upon 

 by Mr. C. H. Dibbern in the Western 

 Ploivman for last week : 



The very dry weather we had during 

 the late Fall has been inimical to the 

 honey prospects for the next season. 

 Still I do not think that the white clover 

 is seriously injured. The trying ti;ne 



for clover comes in February and March, 

 and it is never safe until Spring has 

 come to stay. A good honey crop is not 

 assured, even then, as we found out last 

 year. I have about come to the conclu- 

 sion that the honey crop depends more 

 on the weather and state of the atmos- 

 phere while it is being gathered than 

 any other one thing. I have also ob- 

 served that the prospects for a crop are 

 usually better after a poor season than 

 after a good one. So let us all take new 

 hope and do our best for 1891, and 

 trust to the weather and bees for the 

 rest. 



The Iowa State Horticultural Society- 

 held its 25th annual session at Des 

 Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 20-22, 1891. 

 The meeting was largely attended by 

 leading fruit-growers in Iowa. From 

 the Independent of Forest City, Iowa, we 

 copy the following : 



Many important and practical ques- 

 tions were freely discussed with marked 

 ability by experienced horticulturists. 



The subject, " Friends and Enemies," 

 was handled with skill, power and 

 ability by our neighbor, Hon. J. M. 

 Elder, of Concord. 



The President of the Society, Hon. 

 Eugene Secor, of our city, presided with 

 dignity and honor. Towards the close 

 of the session, Mr. Secor was unani- 

 mously re-elected President of the Asso- 

 ciation for the ensuing year, which was 

 a compliment worthily bestowed. ■ 



The President of the Society delivered 

 his annual address on Tuesday evening, 

 in the presence of a large, intelligent, 

 and appreciative audience. The address 

 was able and comprehensive, and showed 

 that our townsman was familiar with 

 the subject of horticulture in Iowa, and 

 the manner in which he handled this 

 theme clearly proved his ability and vast 

 research in this rapidly-increasing and 

 important industry. 



Bcc=K:ccping for Profit, by Dr. 



G. L. Tinker, is a new 50-page pamphlet, 

 which details fully the author's new system 

 of bee-management in producing comb and 

 extracted -honey, and the construction of 

 the hive best adapted to it— his "NonpareU." 

 The book can be had at this office for 25c. 



Supply Dealers should write to us 

 for wholesale terms and cut for Hastings' 

 Perfection Feeders. 



