1887 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



21 



market; and right over a stone fence, on the same 

 kind of soil, the g-rapes were at least ten days later. 

 What I wanted to learn was, how this was In'ouMht 

 about. Going- to the house I inquiri^d for the pro- 

 prietor, and was informed that he had gone to the 

 lake with a load of grapes for Now Vork city. I 

 was invited to take a seat, or, if I preferred, go in- 

 to the vineyard and look around. .Vs this suited 

 me best, I went out and tt)ok a look at the grai)cs. 

 At that time I thought it the grandest sight I had 

 ever seen. The vines were all healthy, and of uni- 

 form growth. Every bunch of grapes hung free 

 and clear from any obstruction. All were good 

 fair-sized bunches— not a small bunch in the vine- 

 yard. If he had desired to use paper bags, every 

 bunch in the yard could have been covered. 



I went back to the house and met the man, just 

 returned from the lake, and told him I had come 

 all the way from Michigan to learn how to raise 

 grapes. He said he was always glad to see anj- one 

 who was willing to learn. He had tried to teach 

 his neighbors, but found they thought they knew 

 as much (or more) than he did, so he went his own 

 way, but year after year sold his grapes for live or 

 six times as much as his neighbors. He had call 

 for all he could raise, at from 2.5 to 30 cts. a pound, 

 while they sold for from ^li to 44. He averaged 

 as many pounds per acre as they did. All the ad- 

 ditional expense he had more than they was in 

 picking off all the small bunches soon after they 

 had set, and freeing each bunch from all obstruc- 

 tion, so that it would grow in the most graceful 

 gbape. 



He commenced in the spring to cultivate the soil 

 once in ten days with a weighted cultivator, going 

 as deep as he could, and going less deep as the sea- 

 son advanced, until the first of August, when cul- 

 tivation ceased, except to pull up any weeds that 

 made their appearance. The summer pruning 

 consisted mostly in seeing that three or four vigor- 

 ous canes were grown, on which to raise the ne.xt 

 year's crop. In the fall, after frost, the vines were 

 trimmed, and the canes left for fruiting were left 

 to lie on the ground until spring. As soon as 

 warm weather commenced in the spring, the vines 

 were tied to the trellis, and cultivation commenced. 



The point he most emphasized was, to raise all 

 the fruit on large and vigorous canes, as the fruit 

 would be larger and earlier than on weak canes; 

 then the early and constant culti\atioii until about 

 a month before ripening, and picking off all the 

 small bunches, and straightening out all that re- 

 mained, so that they would grow in the best shape 

 for market. When placed in market the grapes 

 sold themselves. His motto was, "Have the best 

 that can be raised, and a few days before somebody 

 else gets them." L. ('. Whiting. 



East Saginaw, Mich. 



Friend W.,your communication is a most 

 excellent one, not only for bee-keepers, but 

 for grape-growers also. 1 really believe the 

 plan you give will work almost every time, 

 from what experience I have had with 

 grapes. Bagging such clusters as you men- 

 tion would be but a small job comparatively, 

 and it would end the troubles among the 

 bee-men and grape-men. The grapes around 

 our bee-hives have improved just in propt)r- 

 tion to the attention we have given them, 

 and it is right in the line of your sugges- 

 tions. 



OUK HONEY- MARKET. 



If'HIliNI) UKDDON'S views IN KEaA.RU TO HONEV 

 BECOMING A ST.\PLE PRODUCT. 



T AM glad to note friend Dadaut's kind and en- 

 1^1' couraging article on page 981— none the less so 

 W because he (controverts ideas of which I am 

 "^ convicted, especially when it is one I do not 

 cherish. 1 would that friend 1). were right, 

 and I wrong; but even after reading his article J 

 can not see it that way. 



For 28 years have we been producing and intro- 

 ducing e-xtracted lu)ney, and during all this time 

 friend D. and his class have been talking about its 

 becoming a staple when we get it fairly intro- 

 duced, and the price becomes a little lower. Well, 

 it is now so low that those less fitted to survive at 

 the business are " freezing out," and those best tit- 

 ted to survi\e, culling for organized effort to stop 

 any further slaughter in prices by all known meth- 

 ods, outside of the general influence of supply and 

 demand. After all this "introducing," don't you 

 think our people and our product ought to be 

 somewhat acquainted with each other? Fifteen 

 years ago I said, and to-day repeat, that it is my 

 opinion that honey will never becoine a staple com- 

 modity, nor even a staple luxury, like oysters, etc. 

 Cane-sugar syrup is a staple, or standard sweet, 

 and at the same price would many times outsell 

 hone}', for the following reasons: First, it is two or 

 three fold sweeter, increasing its worth for sweet- 

 ening purposes precisely in the same ratio. Sec- 

 ond, it possesses uniformity of chaiacter— a feature 

 which enables creamery butter to command a price 

 double that of the best roll butter, equally good. 

 Third, I doubt if there is any honey of any c61or. 

 flavor, or consistency that "wears" with the human 

 appetite as does cane syrup. ] am sorry 1 can not, 

 but I fht not believe that friend Muth nor any one 

 else can work up any lasting or increasing demand 

 for honey for purposes of cookery. 



I know there are " many children who have ne\er 

 tasted honey," and that, too, children of those 

 who have money enough to, and do, indulge in 

 every lu.xury, notwithstanding the commodity is so 

 very, very ancient. These children would have 

 tasted it long ago, and many times, had it been an> 

 thing like a staple with their parents. There are 

 too many well-to-do people who do not wish to eat 

 it, at any price. 



Ves, we have 14 grocery-stores, every one of 

 which is well stocked with honey, 10 of which keep 

 none CAcept my own. This isn't all: I attend to it 

 that they keep the jars and crates conspicuously in 

 sight— as a rule, right ou the counter. I have 

 found, by so doing, sales are increased about three- 

 fold. This is the strongest evidence that the article 

 is a luxurious luxury, being as far from a " staple " 

 as can be. It shows that, among people w ho are 

 able to buy it at almost any price, they think of it 

 rarely, except when they see it. We have cut the 

 price in two in the middle, once, since I have been 

 in the business, and we don't sell any more now 

 than we did before; and if to-morrow morning we 

 should cut it in two again, and thoroughly adver- 

 tise the cut, people would say. ••Did you rrn- .'" and 

 for a little time sales would be lively at these ruin- 

 ous luiees, and finally we should hear exclamations 

 likethis: "Well, T declare! after all I don't believe I 

 like honey any better, if as well, as that nice golden 

 syrup, and I know I don't on buckwheat cakes." 



