The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1885-02-21
..IIoney" and "Comb" to Order.

As a matter of interest to bee growers,
we take the following from The -Amrrj.
can Bee Journal. The New York Maj
and Ecpress recently contained the fol
lowing very erroneous article, which has
been extensively copied by the news
papers of America
Not only has American enterprise sue
caeded in manufacturing a honey-comb
to save the bees the trouble of furnishing
a receptacle for for theii swset store
but it even threatens to do away with
the services of the industrious little bee
by supplying the honey also. More than
one variety of manufactured honey is at
present sold in the market as being the
genuine product of tue busy little bee.
Some of il comes i'll the form of strained
and clarified honey, put up in glass jars.
More of it is supplied i'll the comb in
small boxes with glass on either side,
through which it may be seen looking as
natural as ii it had been stolen from the
hive. Connoissenrs have great difficulty
in detecting the difference between the
genuine and the manufactured article by
lis appearance only. but nearly any one
who has used the boaG-.fde treasure Of
the hive to any extent, will note the diff
ference in taste. In res! honey there is
an agreeable sharp taste as if millions Of
little needle points had barely touched
the tongue and palate. This is missed
in the spurious article, which partakes OF
the flavor of maple syrup.
The artificial comb used to supply the
place Of that made by the bees, has not
been very successful thus far. The bee
at once detects the imposition and re-
fuses TO store its sweets in the cavities.
1t guawS at the parts which hold it to
the hive until it falls, aud the then com
mences to build its own. The reason of
this is, that it has been found difficult to
find sufficient beeswax to supply the de-
mand, and. consequently, other kinds
had to be utilized. Spermaceti, paratfine,
and wax obtained from mineral products
have all met with the same recogni-
ton from the bees. They have, how
ever, been successfully used III storing
tn, manufactured honey, and when the
cavities are filled and covered over with
a thin sheet of wax, they present to the
inexperienced, the self-same appearance
as that taken from the hive.
The sensational heading which the
New \ ork paper gave the item is as fol
lows: ''Human Ingenuity EndeavorinS
to do away with the Work of the Bees
and is nothing but sensational falsehood
throughout. OF course it will be almost
useless to even try to refute it-for while
truth travels on foot, falsehood and mis-
representation sly like the lightning
That Wiley lie is the only founda-
ton for the above, and that he tried to
palm orr as scientific pleasantly,
when pressed by the Bee J0urHal for the
proof for his wild assertions.
We will repeat what we have often as
serted, that there is no such thing on
the markets, or elsewhere, as ''manuiac-
tured comb honey ~ There is no such
thing as artificial comb" in existence !.
Comb foundation is but the ''mid-rib'' or
sheet of wax upon which the bees build
their cells, or draw out the wax into nat
ural comb Call things by their right
names.
If the great newspapers who have
copied tie article from the Nal ard Ec-
press, cared one tenth part as much for
the truth as they do for sensation"
with which to ''sell'' their readers as well
as their papers, We might hope they
would publish contradiction of that
stupid article-but, alas, this is an age
of ''humbugs ard swlndles," and we can
not hope for justice from them.