1896 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



489 



little's fears that there would be a corner on 

 skillets. Not overproduction, eh? Let us see. 

 Suppose friend Doolittle could just supply his 

 own home market in Borodino, N. Y., at as 

 good prices as he got 25 years ago. He has the 

 whole market to himself, and is getting rich. 

 But he has the bee-fever, and withj;lt the 

 bosom friend that is always by its side — the 

 mania for teaching others. Well, he raises up 

 three competitors who produce, each, as much 

 as he does for the home market. Any one of 

 them can supply it. Is there no overproduc- 

 tion in Borodino? So it is with counties. States, 

 and the whole United States. 



Friend Doolittle makes the astounding asser- 

 tion that the number of farms in the United 

 States remains about the same as it was in 1870; 

 and, therefore, if overproduction of honey 

 causes the low price, there " must be an over- 

 production of farms," which has caused a 

 shrinkage of 50 to 60 per cent in the price of 

 land. This would be good sound reasoning if 

 the premises were founded on facts; but they 

 are not. Since 1870, more than three million 

 farms have been opened up for cultivation in 

 the United States, besides many millions of 

 acres cleared and brought into cultivation on 

 farms that were in existence in 1870. This 

 would aggregate enough land to make several 

 great States; so I sweep this argument into the 

 Pacific, as it has no grounds to stand on. If 

 the other statistics given by friend Doolittle 

 have no better foundation they are worthless 

 indeed. 



He does not take kindly to bee-keepers unit- 

 ing for their own protection, because it is " not 

 in accord with the greatest good to the great- 

 est number, more properly expressed in loving 

 your neighbor as yourself." Now, if I under- 

 stand this at all it means that the union of 

 bee-keepers would raise the price of honey, and 

 that would not be the greatest good to the 

 greatest number, and it would not be "loving 

 your neighbor as yourself." 



Now, this leads to the legitimate conclusion 

 that friend Doolittle should divide his honey 

 equally among his neighbors, giving each one 

 as much as he keeps himself. If it doesn't 

 mean this, I give it up. 



I hope I honor and venerate the religion of 

 Christ, as taught in the New Testament, as 

 sincerely as friend Doolittle; but in no place do 

 I find it the duty of a merchant, though he be 

 a Christian, to take his neighbor into his 

 counting room, show him his books, and prove 

 to him that he had made $10,000 the preceding 

 year, and advise him to go into the same busi- 

 ness next door to him. If it is his duty to start 

 Jones on one side of him, he is equally bound 

 to advise Thompson to start on the other, and 

 so on indefinitely until he stuffs the town full of 

 them. This is exactly what bee-keepers are 

 doing. 



Some writers come out and say it is not over- 

 production, but "underconsumption." They 

 are the same thing. g Overproduction means 

 that more honey is produced than is consumed. 

 Underconsumption means that less honey is 

 consumed than is produced— a distinction with- 

 out a difference. . 



LThere are five causes apparent to me for the 

 low price of honey: 



Dl. The stoppage of the wheels of industry, 

 and the consequent inability of the poor man to 

 buy any luxury. 



2. The glutting of the large city markets, 

 which rule the prices. 



3. The perfect helplessness of large producers, 

 who are entirely at the mercy of the commis- 

 sion men. 



4. The entire lack of union or combination 

 among bee-keepers. 



5. Adulteration, that has disgusted people 

 with honey, or, rather, with the foul imitation. 



Four of these causes of low prices can all be 

 removed by union among bee-keepers — a 

 national union and exchange. Let it be broad 

 in its scope of defense and protection to bee- 

 keepers. Let defense and protection mean 

 from any thing that will injure a bee-keeper's 

 interests in his calling. Make it representa- 

 tive, with annual or semi-annual meetings, 

 the commercial or exchange part of it to be 

 run by a board of directors and a manager. 

 Organize unions or exchanges in each State, on 

 the same plan, to be subordinate to the national, 

 and send representatives thereto. Each State 

 exchange should prosecute adulterators and 

 pi'otect bee-keepers within its own borders, the 

 national union standing ready to help any 

 State exchange in case of any extraordinary 

 outlay, such as carrying a case up to the Su- 

 preme Court of the United States. Each State 

 should distribute its own honey throughout its 

 own borders, and send its surplus wherever the 

 national might direct. This plan would pre- 

 serve the social character of the meetings, 

 protect bee-keepers from all wrong, kill adul- 

 teration, distribute the honey properly over 

 the country, and give large producers as good 

 a chance to sell as small ones. 



First for the State exchange. Dr. Miller, 

 can't you start the ball in Illinois? Two more 

 besides our California exchange will be enough 

 to start a national at Chicago, for sale of honey, 

 and general management. Wake up! Once 

 more I sound the tocsin of alarm — wake up! 

 for the hour of your deliverance is at hand. 



CHICAGO AGAIN OPENED UP. 



I am happy to announce to my California 

 readers that the market of Chicago is once 

 more opened- up to them. Through my inter- 

 cession and pathetic pleadings I have " melted" 

 Dr. Miller's stone-bound heart, and he has gen- 

 erously given us the half of Chicago. He 

 doesn't say whether it is only for this year 



