204 



June, 1916. 



American Hae Journal 



priates $10,000 to fight bee-diseases ; 

 that the crop is from 75 to 100 pounds 

 to the colony and consists of both ex- 

 tracted and comb honey, while unripe 

 honeys find their way to the vinegar 

 cruet. He attributed the success of 

 the bee-industry to the dry climate and 

 the abundant honey-flora, on which he 

 was equally well-informed. 



In other States, judging from infor- 

 mation gathered in our rounds, the bee 

 is regarded more or less humorously — 

 a nuisance tolerated only because of its 

 ministrations to the sweet tooth of 

 man. And in no State, not excepting 

 California, was there a full appreciation 

 of the commercial possibilities of 

 honey-producing. 



A'ansas does not recognize honey as 

 a commercial enterprise, though it is 

 said to be an important by-product. 

 J/issoiiri claimed to produce some 

 honey from wild flowers, alfalfa, sweet 

 and white clover; Xorth Dakota dis- 

 poses of its honey locally when there is 

 a surplus. Italian bees are kept and a 

 white honey is generally produced. 

 Wiscojisi'n does not recognize honey- 

 growing commercially. 



Besides Texas, of the three other 

 southern States represented by sep- 

 arate buildings, Mississippi, West Vir- 

 ginia and J'lrghu'a, only the latter ex- 

 hibited honey, although interviews with 

 the managers indicated unlimited and 

 almost untouched possibilities in their 

 sections, owing to the mild climate and 

 the abundant pasturage. 



A charming MississiPpihostts,% talked 

 very entertainingly on bees and beekeep- 

 ing in that State. At first it would 

 seem that bees are kept solely for the 

 wax that is needed in grafting pecan 

 and orange orchards; but later she 

 told of a poisonous yellow jasmine 

 honey, for which there is no known 

 antidote, and of a superior product 

 called the melilotus honey, produced 

 in the central part of the State. Some 

 one indiscreetly remarked that he had 

 never seen the honey advertised, to 

 which the lady indignantly replied, 

 " We don't have to advertise ouah 

 honey. We haven't enough for ouah- 

 selves." 



In 48 counties out of 55 recently 

 visited by a State official in ITcst I'ir- 

 f^htia, nearly every farmer kept a few 

 bees. No literature on beekeeping was 

 obtainable in their building. Buck- 

 wheat is said to be the important source 

 of honey, a dark product with a pecu- 

 liar odor and strong flavor, delicious 

 to the native but for which the outsider 

 must cultivate a taste. 



Louisiana had no separate building, 

 but her extensive exhibit of resources 

 in the Agricultural Building contained 

 no honey, although we were told that 

 much is produced from the tupelo gum, 

 sweet gum and Japanese clover. 



AGRICULTURAL BUILDING. 



Of the honey exhibited in that build- 

 ing, the famous 12 varieties of a leading 

 N^ezu York dealer were the most fasci- 

 nating ; not that the honey was whiter 

 or more attractively displayed, but who 

 could gaze on such labels as locust, 

 raspberry, milkweed, white clover, 

 buckwheat, alfalfa, dandelion, hearts- 

 ease, sumac, goldenrod, fruit blossom 

 and basswood, and not be consumed 

 with a desire to sample the contents of 

 the jars ? 



O/ii'o had a large show-case filled 

 with comb and extracted honey, also a 

 considerable amount of wax, and the 

 Idaho and Virginia booths contained 

 exhibits of extracted and comb honey 

 from private exhibitors. In Idaho 

 alfalfa and white clover furnish the 

 nectar, and in lirginia, alfalfa and 

 crimson (not red) clover are the prin- 

 cipal honey plants. AFontana had a fine 

 display of white sage and alfalfa honey. 



The honey in the Xei'ada booth while 

 of good quality and tastefully arranged, 

 did not fairly represent the importance 

 of an industry which though still in its 

 infancy, yields annually many tons. 

 Both white and sweet clover are plenti- 

 ful in Nevada, but the principal pastur- 

 age is alfalfa, which, in the higher alti- 

 tude, furnishes a fine grade of water- 

 white honey. 



HORTICULTURAL BUILDING. 



Both Washington and Oregon had a 

 modest exhibit in that building, while 

 Utah's was somewhat more pretentious. 

 The latter display occupied a separate 

 show case, and their comb honey was 

 displayed in attractive cartons appro- 

 priately decorated, in the sides of which 

 round holes were cut to permit of in- 

 spection. 



CALIFORNIA STATE BUILDING. 



There seem to be only two sections 

 in California so far as honey-produc- 

 ing is concerned, north of Tehachapi 

 and south of Tehachapi, the latter 

 claiming quality and climate and the 

 former claiming quantity and a sure 

 crop. 



Los Angeles, San Diego, and Ventura 

 counties and Imperial Valley combined 

 in one splendid exhibit representative 

 of southern California honey-growers, 

 The northern counties of Sacramento 

 Valley had an equally imposing e.xhibit 

 characteristic of the honey industry in 

 that section of the State. 



Monterey had the best exhibit of any 

 single county in the California Build- 

 ing, and is eager to secure more bee- 

 men for its fine locations which they 

 claim will accommodate 1000 apiaries. 

 The pasturage is white sage and wild 

 flowers, and their exhibit included also 

 honey made from manzanita, a dark 

 amber, and honey from button sage 

 and cascara. 



HONEY EXHIBITS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



Of the 18 foreign buildings visited, 

 only four, Canada, Australia, New Zea- 

 land and Siam included honey in their 

 exhibits. 



Honey in Australia is produced 

 mainly from the many varieties of the 

 eucalyptus or gum tree, of which the 

 red gum is said to produce the best 

 quality. Sample jars were distributed 

 to the public, that to the unaccustomed 

 palate left a peculiar aftertaste, like a 

 dose of medicine disguised in honey. 

 A large upright show case was devoted 

 exclusively to both comb and extracted 

 honey. 



A clear white extracted honey is 

 made from white clover in Ontario, 

 Canada. 



In New Zealand the vegetation and 

 general conditions are much the same 

 as in Australia. The honey runs from 

 dark to a very light amber, almost 

 white, the former being produced from 

 a wild plant called catsear, and the lat- 



ter from white clover. 



The small, ornate Siam Building con- 

 tained two tiny bottles of very dark 

 honey and a few cakes of wax. 



Cuba's exhibit in the Food Products 

 Building contained some honey of a 

 light color and somewhat muddy in 

 appearance. 



Argcyitina was represented by a small 

 exhibit of extracted light-colored honey 

 said to be produced from alfalfa, and 

 some wax. 



Though there is excellent bee-pas- 

 turage in the I'Jiilippincs, it is said that 

 the climate is too hot for any ex- 

 cept the native wild bee. Several at- 

 tempts have been made to domesticate 

 the bee, but colonies imported from 

 Australia and Italy soon die. 



Unlike our States, that consider the 

 honey industry important as it may be 

 estimated commercially in dollars and 

 cents, European countries accept the 

 bee as matter-of-factly as the family 

 cow or hen. It has its own place in 

 their scheme of domestic economy. 



" Everybody keeps bees in Sweden'' 

 said the hostess of that pavillion ; but 

 there was no special information or 

 literature to be had. 



\ young man in the Xetherlaiids 

 Building, after an exhaustive search 

 through the literature of their informa- 

 tion bureau, found mention of honey 

 wine and honey brandy, and a honey 

 plant called heyde, a low-growing shrub 

 found in sandy regions. One naturally 

 concluded that nectar from heyde must 

 be of an intoxicating character, but 

 this impression was later corrected. 

 We found that both comb and extracted 

 honey is produced, and the black Ger- 

 man bee is kept. The Indian colonies, 

 like the Philippine Islands, are too 

 warm for the production of honey. 



The coffee-tree of Guatemala has a 

 small white cluster flower, said to con- 

 tain much nectar. There being 200,000 

 acres in coffee plantations in that coun- 

 try, honey growing should become a 

 great industry provided the climate is 

 favorable. 



Apparently the Japanese are going 

 into honey-growing with their charac- 

 teristic energy and thoroughness. The 

 government is investigating methods 

 and equipment for getting the best re- 

 sults. They use the American hives 

 and only Italian bees. Through the 

 interpreter we learned that the rape 

 plant is the principal source of com- 

 mercial honey in Japan, though there 

 is other and greatly diversified pastur- 

 age. " It is not like here in California, 

 here a flower and there a flower, said 

 he, " but in Japan everywhere flowers, 

 all kinds." The industry is still in its 

 infancy. There was no exhibit. They 

 produce both comb and extracted 

 honey. At present honey is imported 

 to Japan from both Italy and France. 

 As in other lines, Japan is passing on 

 to China the knowledge gained in api- 

 culture. General conditions are much 

 the same in the two countries. 



MISCELLANEOUS EXHIBITS. 



The live-bee exhibit in the Educa- 

 tion Building attracted much attention. 

 There were three observation hives 

 housing respectively Carniolans, Cau- 

 casians and Italians. The most unique 

 feature was the wooden chutes or pas- 

 sage-ways that projected through the 

 outside wall of the building and fur- 



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