1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



143 



BEE AND HONEY TRUSTS. 



The Right and Wrong Kind ; the Rambler is Indig- 

 nant. 



BY J. H. MARTIN. 



Mr. Editor: — I have just received Glean- 

 ings for Jan. 15, and feel like making- a 

 few comments upon companies, trusts, ex- 

 changes, etc. 



In the first place, I do not like it a little 

 bit that the ideas respecting- a hone}' com- 

 pany, as outlined in the last Ramble, should 

 be classed with any little local California 

 affair, as classed as a trust. If the plan 

 outlined is a trust, then The A. I. Root Co. 

 is a trust, and every combination of capi- 

 tal for the org-anization of a company to con- 

 duct business is a trust. 



It seems to me to be a very simple matter 

 for a few capitalists or even one capitalist 

 to put money into bees and so locate and 

 manage them as to secure a continuous hon- 

 ey crop. 



There is one man, at least, who has risen 

 to the higher possibilities of honey produc- 

 tion. Since I came to Cuba I learn that 

 Mr. W. L. Coggshall is working- on this line, 

 having- bees in New York, New Mexico, 

 and Cuba, and is securing in a small way 

 that continuous honey yield; or, if he is not, 

 it is the fault of his selection of localities. 

 It is further evident that, with good health 

 and plenty of capital, he would greatly en- 

 large his business. Now, shall we write 

 Mr. C, with his broad ideas, down as a 

 trust, or class him alongside of that recent 

 effort on the Pacific coast to form a honey 

 company? or shall we class him as a sensi- 

 ble man with a sensible business proposi- 

 tion? 



While we are about it, why not write 

 down the California Citrus Fruit Exchange 

 as a trust? that is a combination of many 

 interests. 



"Stenog" quotes approvingly, page 47, 

 what Prof. Cook says upon that subject in 

 the American Bee /oiirnal. 



I have an idea that your readers outside 

 of California have only a vague idea about 

 the Citrus Exchange and its success, and 

 there is one very important point upon which 

 Prof. Cook has failed to enlighten the pub- 

 lic. 



Let me escort you down Magnolia Avenue, 

 Riverside, Cal. Here are orange-groves 

 for miles. They are mostly in private hold- 

 ings of five, ten, or twenty acres. Let us 

 take the ten-acre orchard. It has been 

 planted 20 years, and is in full bearing 

 condition. There is a cottage almost hid- 

 den under the foliage of pepper-trees. The 

 grounds are planted with a variety of roses 

 and briglit-hued flowers. Over the veranda 



is a climbing vine. In scores of instances 

 instead of a cottage it is a palatial resi- 

 dence. What do you suppose that ten acres 

 with its cottage can be bought for? When 

 I lived in Riverside a few years ago, $10,- 

 000 would scarcely touch it, while in many 

 instances the palatial residence itself cost 

 double that amount. Now let us see who 

 owns these groves. 



Here is a house and grounds showing es- 

 thetic taste in every line. Prof. Slender 

 resides here. He is from Boston. His 

 health failed, and, with a good amount of 

 capital in his pocket, he has found health 

 and profit in a California orange-grove. 

 His neighbor is ex-banker Strong. His 

 wife's health led him into orange-growing. 

 A little further down the avenue is Dr. 

 Herrick. He lives in a palatial residence, 

 and has large moneyed interests. Here is 

 an ex-governor from an eastern State; many 

 ex-congressmen, ex-senators, and, out in 

 Glendale. is Judge Ross, with a national 

 reputation. They are all much interested in 

 orange-growing. They are the class of 

 men who give backbone to the Citrus Ex- 

 change. They are the cream of the busi- 

 ness, and professional men of the East. 

 With their capital and business acumen 

 they have an immense uplifting power. 

 You would think that such men could or- 

 ganize a successful citrus exchange upon 

 the first trial. But such is not the case. 

 The Exchange of to-day has come up 

 through various trials and failures, and 

 even now it does not control all of the 

 orange - growers ; but there is enough to 

 make the Exchange measurably successful. 

 Let us now turn to the bee-keepers' side. 

 Here is Sam Slop. He has an apiary of 

 200 colonies in Esq. Jenkins' canyon. 

 Well — well, I have said enough along that 

 line. I will carry the comparison no fur- 

 ther. California bee-men all know how it 

 is. While there are many good honest men 

 and careful bee keepers, there are no ex- 

 quantities with great capital behind; or if 

 recently they have entered the field, their 

 number is so few as to have little bearing 

 upon the industry. There are too many 

 Sam Slops and not enough of an uplifting 

 power; and if the Citrus Exchange has had 

 a hard time arriving to its present estate, 

 with all of its moneyed influence, what can 

 we expect from such a weak, uncertain in- 

 dustry and personnelle as the honey busi- 

 ness? 



Now, I imderstand that the trust promot- 

 ed by the Pacific Bee Journal was pronounc- 

 ed impractical by a competent committee 

 because it took in all the Sams with their 

 body, breeches, and bees, and not much 

 working capital, and in due time Sam's 

 share would be all experience while the 

 cash went to the other fellow. It confined 

 its operations to one locality, and a very 

 uncertain one at that. 



A companj^ according to the Rambler's 

 plan has a wide field. There is no chance 

 for failure at all points at once. Then the 

 Sams are all eliminated. The plan is not 



