106 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



ing," in the Review for September, 1893, 

 know that very nearly as good results can be 

 obtained without mating queens in confine- 

 ment. 



tiX^'^Ji-fm^'u* 



MB. HEDDON S NEW BEE JOUKNAL. 



Well, I have lived to see what I had always 

 faintly hoped might greet my vision — a bee 

 journal published by my old friend, James 

 Heddon of Dowagiac, Mich. I say " faintly 

 hoped " because he has so many times talked 

 and planned of starting one, only to drop 

 the project. His journal is after the style 

 that he has always said he should publish, an 

 editorial quarterly. It is made up in news- 

 paper style, having four pages of six columns 

 each. This style is chosen because of its 

 economy — allowing the paper to be furnish- 

 ed at only 25 cents a year. The first issue is 

 Heddon clear through, and all who have read 

 his writings know what that means ; sharp, 

 clear, clean-cut ideas with some point to 

 them. There are no side issues, simply bees 

 from beginning to end in a straight forward, 

 business like manner. Considerable space 

 is used in this issue in a sort of introductory 

 way, but in the future it is to be used in de- 

 scribing implements and methods, in which 

 role Mr. Heddon has no supierior. 



I am sorry that Mr. Heddon found it 

 necessary to issue a full-page supplement 

 devoted to adulteration and a defense of 

 himself against the recent charges made 

 against him, but, under the circumstances,* 

 perhaps no less could have been expected, 

 and I feel sure that every one who reads that 

 supplement will decide that they must have 

 absolute proof before they can V)elieve that 

 a man possessed of such integrity and tal- 

 ents could be so foolish. 



SWEET OLOVEE AS A HONEY AND FOKAGE PLANT. 



1 recently expressed doubts as to the value 

 of sweet clover as a cultivated honey plant. 

 This stirred up my old friend. M. M. Bald- 

 ridge, of St, Charles, 111., and he spent con- 

 siderable time in looking up what had been 

 published showing its value, and sent me the 

 references. I have looked up and read most 

 of them (I did not have all of the books to 

 which references were made) and it seems 

 evident that in the dry climate of the West, 

 and in some of the Southern States, sweet 

 clover and alfalfa have been very useful as 

 forage plants and for furnishing honey. In 

 the wcjrn out lands of the South sweet clover 



has been a great help in bringing up the 

 lands to a higher state of fertility. Stock 

 doesn't like it at first, but will learn to eat it. 

 I have read of occasional crops of surplus 

 honey being secured in our Northern States 

 from sweet clover, but I have also read some 

 adverse reports. W. G. Larrabee gives one 

 in March Gleanings, but this report of Mr. 

 Boardman's is almost the first report I re- 

 member having seen from the North where 

 sweet clover was cultivated with satisfactory 

 results. Dr. Miller tried raising it and 

 failed. James Nipe, of Wis., tried several 

 acres of it and reported the failure in the Re- 

 view of March, 1888. It was tried at our 

 Agricultural College at Lansing, and pro- 

 nounced a failure. Friend Baldridge writes 

 me that he has a surprise in store for me re- 

 garding sweet clover. I am perfectly ivilliny 

 to be convinced that it will pay our Northern 

 farmer-bee-keepers to raise it. 



»^it»*^^;"ii^ii-» 



THE TALK ABOUT ADULTERATION. 



'' From words to deeds is a great space,"' 

 Of late one or two of our bee journals have 

 been devoting considerable space and energy 

 to bringing prominently before the public the 

 extent to which honey is adulterated, or to 

 which they believe it to be adulterated, and 

 in exposing those whom they think are en- 

 gaged in that practice. I have every reason 

 to believe that this course is taken from the 

 best of motives, with the hopes that those 

 thus exposed will abandon this deception — 

 if they are guilty. With the history of the 

 past before us I fail to see how such conclu- 

 sions can be drawn. Theft, counterfeiting, 

 and all forms of crime and misdemeanors 

 are held in check, not by exposing them, but 

 by heavy penalties, either of fine or impris- 

 onment. When a man has reached that 

 moral plane which allows him to commit 

 crimes or misdemeanors, he is past being 

 shamed into good behavior. The only ef- 

 fect of exposing such men when they are en- 

 gaged in the adulteration of food products, 

 is that of prejudicing the consumer against 

 said product. The only thing that such men 

 can appreciate is the laying upon them of 

 the heavy hand of the law. A man may not 

 care to be exposed, but it is only when he 

 has a heavy fine to pay, or go to prison, that 

 the one tender spot in his callous nature has 

 been touched. 



Years ago the bee journals began talking 

 al)Out adulteration of honey ; next the agri- 



