M 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



effected pei'ceptibly by inverted syn- 

 tax, thus: "Strong-flavored honey, 

 which some ]ili;e, is Southern." Red 

 apples are sour. Sour apples are red. 

 Cross bees are yellow. Yellow bees are 

 cross; and so one might continue ad 

 infinitum. Each statement is true, but 

 taken separately impart a false idea, 

 just as the statement. "Southern 

 honey has a strong flavor," will surely 

 do. 



Every well-informed bee-keeper is 

 aware that there is an inferior grade 

 of honey known to the trade as 

 "Southern." This product comes from 

 a class of small bee-keepers through- 

 out the South, to whom modern meth- 

 ods of apiculture are comparatively 

 unknown. Yet. to the serious detri- 

 ment of the progressive Southern api- 

 arist, whose knowledge, facilities and 

 product are in every way the equal of 

 those found farther north, his goods 

 are persistently, or thoughtlessly char- 

 acterized as "Southern;" when, in re- 

 ality, Southern honey includes a va- 

 riety as great, and as widely different 

 as "Northern honey." One is equally 

 as specific as the other. 



We had hoped after the formal recog- 

 nition of this existing evil, and its 

 efforts to right the wrong, by the 

 North American Bee-Keepers' Associ- 

 ataion. in convention at Columbus, O., 

 in 1888, that there would be no cause 

 for further complaint in this respect; 

 and it is therefore almost discourag- 

 ing, after a lapse of ten years, to have 

 the same error heralded to the world 

 from the platform of America's lead- 

 ing bee-keepers' society. It is a duty 

 which the progressive producers of 

 honey in the South owe themselves 

 and posterity, to strenuously oppose 

 the indiscriminate reference to South- 

 ern honey as an inferior article. 



Following his son in discussion at 

 the convention, Mr. A. I. Root, in part, 

 said: "Most localities yield both good 

 and poor honey." Now there is the 

 essence of wisdom; the truth of the 



whole matter in eight short words. We 

 had the pleasure of meeting the elder 

 Mr. Root some years since, in the heart 

 of the great mangi'ove belt of Florida, 

 from which the bee-keepers of that lo- 

 cality were then shipping their season's 

 crop of something over two hundred 

 tons of honey; so that Mr. Root had 

 ample opportunity to test the quality 

 of Southern honey which is produced 

 in that section, and his remarks were 

 based upon personal observations. In 

 this case, we feel sure he found South- 

 ern honey to possess no "strong 

 flavor," or other inferior qualities. 



Here is another comment along the 

 same line, by President-elect Whit- 

 comb, of the U. S. B. K. U.: "Climate 

 has much to do with the flavor of 

 honey; a warm climate producing 

 that of inferior quality, and a colder 

 climate producing honey of a much 

 better flavor." 



As this statement stands in the pub- 

 lic convention report, as a positive as- 

 sertion reputed to Mr. Whitcomb, he 

 doubtless has evidence in support of 

 the claim, which would be most inter- 

 esting reading. The affirmation, if 

 true, is capable of being demonstrated. 

 It is founded upon one of two things, 

 fact or fancy. The object of this ref- 

 erence to the matter is not tO' refute 

 the claim, but, rather, to determine 

 which label shall be applied. If it is a 

 truth that the quality of honey is gov- 

 erned,' and is in proportion to the 

 mean temperature of the climate under 

 which it is secreted, it is not to soon to 

 establish it as such in the archives of 

 beedom. 



We believe that the honey produced 

 between the 20th and 35th parallels in 

 America will compare favorably with 

 that taken between the 35th and 50th. 

 Our opinion, however, like Mr. Whit- 

 comb's assertion, has no influence up- 

 on existing facts. Conditions are in no 

 way effected by either. In this connec- 

 tion it is a noteworthy fact that in 

 naming the three choicest varieties of 



