164 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



March 12, 



that year, as well as that of 1871 and ] 872. Owing to the 

 loss of bees during the preceding winter, the supply was in- 

 sufficient again, so that in the fall of 1873 I sold at 27 cents, 

 taking my whole crop, light and dark, together, while in 1874 

 I received 28J^ cents per pound for the whole of my crop. 

 Those prices brought more persons into the business, which, 

 with but little loss in wintering, caused honey to drop, so that 

 26 cents was the price I obtained in 1875, while in 1876 the 

 supply was again adequate to the demand, and 25 cents was 

 the selling price. 



That the readers of the American Bee Journal may know 

 something of the past, without going over the matter for them- 

 selves, I have carefully looked up the market reports as given 

 iu our bee-papers, and here give an average of quotations as I 

 found them. For 1874, 28 to 30 cents; 1875,27 to 30 ; 

 1876, 23 to 25; 1877, 20 to 22; 1878, 12 to 16; 

 1879, 20 to 22 ; 1880, 18 to 20; 1881, 18 to 22; 1882, 

 22 to 25; 1883, 18 to 20; 1884, 17 to 19 ; 1885, 15 to 

 18 ; 1886, 14 to 16 ; and during the past 10 years the prices 

 have ranged between those of 1886 and the 13 to 15 cents of 

 the present. Previous to 1874 I fail to find any quotations in 

 any of the bee-papers which I have. 



ITrom the above it will seem that honey quotations at pres- 

 ent, and for the past 10 years, are fully 100 per cent, lower 

 than they were in the early seventies. Another thing, which 

 is, that honey in such shape as was sold from 1868 to 1873 

 at 25 cents or above, per pound, would not net to-day over 6 

 to 8 cents in any market. To bring from 13 to 15 cents now, 

 honey must be very fancy, in one-pound-sections, without 

 glass, which means nearly if not quite six times the labor and 

 expense to the bee-keeper that si.x pounds of honey, in one box, 

 meant 25 to 30 years ago, so that honey really does not bring, 

 taking all these items into consideration, much more than one- 

 third what it did " years ago." Wherein lies the trouble ? Is 

 It not overproduction, which my old friend of years ago said 

 would be no factor '■ in this generation ?" If not in overpro- 

 duction, wherein does it lie ? Will not some one tell us, for 

 when we know the cause we may be able to apply a remedy ? 



Borodino, N. Y. 



■ -fc * ^ ^ * ^ 



Cv,-.^;- 





The Ontario Bee-Keepers' Convention. 



The annual meeting of the Ontario Bee-Keepers' Asssocia- 

 tion was held in Brautford, Jan. 15, 16, 17, 1896. The 

 almost entire absence of a honey crop last year prevented a 

 large attendance, and it was noticeable that some of those 

 present were not in the best of humor, which condition had an 

 undesirable effect upon the harmony of the sessions — more 

 sweetness needed. Notwithstanuing the fact that a pro- 

 gramme was prepared that might have brought out much val- 

 uable discussion, the time was so much occupied with personal 

 differences that not only was the time lost, but peaceable 

 members became so much disgusted and annoyed with the 

 proceedings that almost all the utility was taken out of the 

 convention. It is a matter of regret that expert bee-keeping 

 delegates should gather together from the very extremities of 

 the Province, and not have an opportunity of teaching and 

 learning lessons from each other's experiences, to be dissemi- 

 nated through the press, so that smaller bee-keepers may 

 glean points whereby they may improve their methods. We 

 would not be understood that the majority of the members 

 who attend this convention from year to year are unreason- 

 able cranks, but when a few men are allowed to break the 

 peace of the whole gathering, the directors and other officers 

 are more to blame than perhaps they allow themselves to believe. 

 We have attended the last two annual meetings, and have 

 come to the conclusion that unless the directors and officers 

 combine against such dissensions as have characterized these 

 two conventions, the money expended in holding such would 

 be more productive if devoted to some better directed enter- 

 prise. 



President Hall's Address dealt with the salient fea- 

 tures of the industry. It was recommended that bee-keepers 

 who get foul brood co-operate with the Inspector as carefully 



as possible in stamping it out. It gave him pleasure to rea- 

 lize that Europeans are seeking Canadian honey ; he therefore 

 felt the necessity of having the Pure-Honey Bill passed, so 

 that the reputation of Canadian honey may arrive at the posi- 

 tion which will make it desirable to honey-consuming mar- 

 kets. The President also recommended that packages be 

 stamped, on the same principle as the branding of Canadian 

 cheese. [Mr. Hall's address will appear later. — Ed. J 



Foul Brood. — The repo.-t of the Foul Brood Inspector, 

 Wm. McEvoy, showed that 85 bee-yards were visited, 32 of 

 which were affected with the disease. Owing to the severe 

 frosUin May, followed by the continued drouth, the brood of 

 many colonies died from starvation, which, in many eases, was 

 taken for disease, and therefore (. great demand was made for 

 inspection, which fact indicates that bee-keepers are becom- 

 ing more anxious for visits from the Inspector than heretofore. 

 A few years ago much opposition was met from bee-keepers 

 who now welcome inspection, knowing that the desire is to 

 cure and not to kill, except when a cure cannot be otherwise 

 obtained. — [Mr. McEvoy's Report will also appear soon.— Ed.] 

 Among the communications read was a letter from the 

 Rev. W. F. Clarke, of Guelph, in which the Foul Brood In- 

 spector was strongly condemned for having destroyed a num- 

 ber of his colonies by fire. To this, Mr. McEvoy explained 

 that he had spent a great deal of time endeavoring to have a 

 cure effected, but ultimately found that destruction by fire 

 was the only wise method to pursue. After hearing both sides 

 of the case, the convention endorsed the Inspector's actions in 

 in this as in all other cases. A vote of thanks was then ten- 

 dered to him for his good work, and a resolution was passed 

 to the effect that the association have confidence in their In- 

 spector, and that they believe his method of cure is the best 

 known. 



The Pure-Honey Bill. — Mr. S. T. Pettit reported on the 

 Pure-Honey Bill, which has been introduced into the House of 

 Commons, but had not as yet passed all the readings. The 

 purpose of the Bill is to prevent the production of sugar- 

 honey, and ultimately to have the same effect on the honey 

 industry of Canada as the law against " filled " cheese has on 

 the cheese reputation and business. Mr. Pettit was one of a 

 committee last year to go to Ottawa in its interest, and, 

 although he did not succeed in getting the Bill through, he 

 felt convinced that all that is necessary for its passage is con- 

 tinued effort by the association for a short time longer. One 

 very good argument in favor of such a Bill was the presence 

 of a sample of adulterated honey brought to the meeting by 

 one of the directors, who obtained it from a grocery-store. It 

 was in a glass vessel sealed with a paper stamped "Canadian 

 honey." The stuff was mildly sweet, light in color, and thin. 

 While it was not unpleasant to taste, its after effects were of 

 such a character as to disgust a consumer with honey as an 

 article of food. A sample of this so-called "Canadian honey" 

 was recently subjected to the Dominion Analyst for analysis, 

 when it was found to contain too much glucose syrup and 

 more than the average per cent, of water. It was, therefore, 

 evident that it had been adulterated with these substances. 

 The only opposition offered to further pressing the passage of 

 the Bill was by one member, who has always claimed that the 

 Adulterated Food Act already covers the necessary ground. 

 He therefore considered it unwise to expend any more money 

 over it. It was, however, claimed by several intelligent mem- 

 bers that the presence of such stuff as was proved to be upon 

 the market showed that the passage of such an Act as is now 

 being pushed is necessary in order to develop a demand for 

 honey and to protect honest honey-producers. It was resolved 

 that Mr. Pettit's report be accepted, and also that the former 

 committee still prosecute the Passage of the Pure-Honey Bill. 



Honey-Packages. — The question was asked, whether it 

 were wiser to sell honey in packages, charging for gross 

 weight for honey and package, or for net weight of honey. 

 For instance, when honey is 10 cents per pound, is it wise to 

 sell 10 pounds net of honey in a pail, or should the value of 

 the pail be retained in honey '? Several dealers claimed that 

 fhe price of the vessel should be added to the honey in asking 

 a price, as it was difficult to get extra for the pail, or get it 

 returned in good order. It was, therefore, advised that 25- 

 pound pails be used as far as possible, because the value of 

 the pail was relatively small compared to the honey contained, 

 and it is also of more value to the receiver, because of its size. 



Foundation in Sections. — While all agreed that at least 

 a starter be used all around the edge, so as to avoid creep- 

 holes between the wooden side and the comb, it was generally 

 conceded that whole foundation of clear wax, about 10 or 12 

 feet to the pound, gave very satisfactory results in the pro- 

 duction of comb honey. Too heavy foundation is apt to cause 

 " fish-bone" comb. 



