AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



781 



its attendant money grants, but has 

 sought to attract attention to the excel- 

 lence of our honey by large and attrac- 

 tive public display of it. Its first great 

 effort in this direction was made in 

 1886, when at the Colonial and Indian 

 Exhibition, in London, four of the Asso- 

 ciation's delegates set up the largest dis- 

 play of honey ever yet made. It ex- 

 ceeded in quantity the combined displays 

 at the Chicago Fair, and attracted the 

 attention of the world to the honey-pro- 

 ducing capabilities of Canada. Twenty- 

 seven members supplied the whole dis- 

 play, and gave the delegates cnrtc blanc 

 to do with it as they deemed best. 



The delegates took advantage of the 

 license thus accorded them, and gratui- 

 tously distributed four tons of honey by 

 way of advertisement. All kinds and 

 classes of people, from Queen Victoria 

 to the children of the charity schools of 

 London, participated in the gifts. Not- 

 withstanding this, and the expenditure 

 of some $2,000 for labor and material 

 in connection with its sale, the contribu- 

 tors received back 10 cents a pound for 

 extracted, and an average of 16>^ cents 

 for their comb honey, on the total 

 amount of their contributions, and were 

 also paid the cost of the glasses and tins 

 in which they put it up. 



Advantage is also taken of the op- 

 portunity the Toronto Industrial Exhibi- 

 tion offers to keep the product of the 

 apiary before the people of the Province. 

 Though the industrial is largely a To- 

 ronto enterprise, it has much of a Pro- 

 vincial character. Its directorate em- 

 braces delegates from all the incorpor- 

 ated industries in Ontario. Our Asso- 

 ciation is entitled to two members on its 

 Board, through whose instrumentality 

 very liberal prizes are offered for honey 

 and bee-keepers' supplies. The prize- 

 list makes it possible for several exhibi- 

 tors to carry off SlOO in cash, and one 

 or more medals besides. The exhibitor 

 is also accorded the privilege of dispos- 

 ing of his honey at retail ; provided he 

 does not impair the attractiveness of his 

 exhibit. The show lasts 10 days, and is 

 largely attended by people from all parts 

 of the Dominion, thus offering induce- 

 ments to exhibitors rarely found outside 

 its grounds. Advantage is taken of this 

 annual opportunity by a number of our 

 best bee-keepers to make an exhibit of 

 honey that is alike a credit to themselves 

 and the industry they represent. These 

 exhibitions have had no little effect in 

 securing a home market for the honey 

 produced in the country at prices that 

 cannot be exceeded in foreign markets. 



Thus far I have dealt mainly with 

 men and methods. The scope of my es- 

 say demands a word or two on the 

 quality of Canadian honey, and the 

 sources from which it is procured. In 

 briefly adverting to this part of my sub- 

 ject, I know I am treading on dangerous 

 ground, considering the company I am 

 in at present, as my previously expressed 

 opinion has been warmly resented by 

 some of you good people, but that does 

 not disprove the fact that Ontario honey, 

 in the aggregate, cannot be surpassed in 

 point of quality by the product of any 

 other State or county. If our barley 

 be better and brighter, if our apples pos- 

 sess better keeping qualities, and a finer 

 flavor than like products of any State or 

 county in America, is there anything 

 surprising in the superior excellence of 

 our honey ? The character of our soil 

 and climatic condition explains the de- 

 sirable qualities in our barley and apples, 

 and these have something to do in de- 

 terminating the quality of honey. It is 

 a recognized fact that the character of a 

 plant may be greatly modified by the 

 soil from which it grows, by moisture, 

 temperature and light. Such modifica- 

 tions produce a corresponding change in 

 the economic products of plants of like 

 species. But the main cause of the ex- 

 cellence 01" our honey is found in the fact 

 that all, or nearly all, surplus is secreted 

 by plants and trees universally recog- 

 nized as producers of high-grade honey. 

 Clover, basswood and Canada thistles 

 are the sources from which our surplus 

 honey comes. The result is that it is all 

 bright and good. This is true of the en- 

 tire product of the Province, except a 

 limited portion of the eastern part of it, 

 where buckwheat is pretty extensively 

 grown. At all the Fairs I have attended 

 in Canada, I have not seen 100 pounds 

 of dark honey on exhibition, and I have 

 seen at least 100 tons of Canadian honey 

 on exhibition. 



I shall not even attempt to give an out- 

 line of the style of hives used in Canada, 

 or the system of manipulation prosecuted 

 as they are both practically identical 

 with your own; besides I have spun out 

 this essay to a length far exceeding my 

 original intention, and probably your 

 patience as well. 



In closing, let me extend to the ladies 

 and gentlemen present at St. Joseph a 

 fraternal greeting, assuring you of my 

 earnest wish that your first national 

 meeting in the far West may afford 

 pleasant reminiscences to those present, 

 as I have no doubt it will be profitable to 

 the brotherhood of bee-keepers every- 

 where. R. Mcknight. 



