AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



643 



I had marketed honey. These mixtures 

 are commonly put up in jelly glasses, 

 variously labeled — " White Clover 

 Honey," "California Honey," "Michigan 

 Honey," or "Florida Honey." 



One specimen of that more often met 

 with than any other, was sampled by 

 the members of the convention ; and I 

 believe even the most skeptical were 

 convinced that it was chiefly glucose. 

 Another sample, put up to sell to the 

 fancy grocery trade, I had analyzed by 

 Health Officer Duffield, formerly State 

 Chemist, who pronounced it a clear case 

 of adulteration, with the same substance. 



Hight here, allow me to say, that I 

 utterly fail to see the point Mr. S. would 

 make when he asks the question: "Is 

 an article that does not taste like honey 

 an adulteration ?" In reply, I woul ask, 

 if it is labeled and sold as honey, is not 

 the injury done, to all concerned, in an 

 inverse ratio to the amount of honey it 

 contains ? 



Mr. S. would not have members of the 

 convention sheltering themselves behind 

 the Bee-Keepers' Union ; but rather 

 have those who know of any dealers 

 selling such goods, make complaint to 

 the proper prosecuting attorney, etc. 



Well, previous to our convention, I 

 laid this matter before the prosecuting 

 attorney of Wayne county, calling his 

 attention to the statute of 1885, which 

 Mr. S. refers to. He informed me that, 

 like the Sunday-closing law, this one 

 was practically a dead letter, as the fine 

 for the first oflfense was so small ($15 

 •to $25), and no imprisonment being 

 provided for in case of non-payment. 

 Besides, in order to secure the convic- 

 tion of the offender, it is necessary to 

 prove that he knoivs the goods sold to be 

 adulterated — a most difficult thing to 

 do, as these goods are commonly fur- 

 nished by some other party, who, in 

 turn, g6ts them of some firm who is sup- 

 posed to put them up. 



Now, suppose one should finally suc- 

 ceed, after repeated adjournments, in 

 convicting the manufacturer. The fine 

 imposed on him would be but a drop in 

 the bucket compared with the profits of 

 the business, and, of course, the traffic 

 would go on just the same, while the 

 expense of such prosecution (to a person 

 away from home) would, under the cir- 

 cumstances, be apt to be a greater 

 burden than any one bee-keeper should 

 be expected to bear for the benefit of 

 the bee-keepers of the State ; for Detroit 

 is the honey market of the Sta-te. But 

 let the Bee-Keepers' Union take hold of 

 the matter, and the expense would be 

 but a trifle to any one individual con- 



cerned, and repeated convictions, with 

 the imprisonment that would be likely 

 to follow, would speedily put an end to 

 the business. 



In conclusion, allow me to say, that 

 after Mr. S. has spent as many days as 

 some members of the convention have 

 weeks, and as many dimes as some that 

 I could mention have dollars, in ferreting 

 out and fighting this fraud, he will no 

 doubt be better qualified to criticise the 

 actions of its members. 



Capac, Mich, 



[Both Mr. Smith and Mr. Walker 

 having been heard on this subject, we 

 shall decline to publish anything further 

 regarding the matter of the resolution 

 passed at the Detroit Convention. — Ed.] 



Poplar Errors ResardiDsBee-Keepiiig. 



C. A. HATCH. 



Perhaps there is no branch of rural 

 industry on which the popular idea is 

 more at fault than bee-keeping. 



This is partly owing to the fact that 

 all the operations of the bees are covered 

 from inspection by the hive in which 

 they live, and partly by the efforts of 

 the bee-keepers themselves to throw 

 mystery and witchery about the whole 

 business, so as to add extra flavor to 

 their success, and, perhaps, in some cases 

 to deter others from entering the same 

 field by creating the impression that 

 some kind of a charm, or charmed life, 

 was necessary to success. 



The fact is, that there are but few 

 things about it which are to the modern 

 bee-keeper mysterious ; and as for the 

 charm, witchcraft, etc., these have all 

 departed, with the rattling of the cow 

 bells to settle swarms, years since, 



But, aside from these, there are sev- 

 eral things on which the popular mind 

 is at fault ; not from any lack of light 

 on the subject, but simply because old 

 impressions have remained, and the pub- 

 lic has not cared enough about it to look 

 the matter up. 



FEW HONEY FLOWERS. 



As to flowers, the popular notion is 

 that "every flower secretes nectar, 

 whereas the number that really do 

 secrete honey in sufficient quantity to 

 be available for the bees, is compara- 

 tively few. Only to those to which in- 

 sects are necessary for fertilization, has 

 the All-wise Father seen fit to give 

 this inducement to the bee to visit its 



