THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



663 



For the American Bee Joumil. 



Facts and Figures— The Honey Crop. 



(iKO. K. niLTON. 



The New York Mail and Express 

 has llie following article which I send 

 for the Amehican Bee JouitNAL. 

 There are several good points in the 

 article, and a vote of thanks are due 

 Mr. Henry Segelken for the stand he 

 has taken and the facts stated in ref- 

 erence to the adulteration of honey. I 

 wish it could be given the circulation 

 the "Wiley lie" has had. Here is 

 the article which was also copied 

 into the Thiladelphia Orocer : 



To ascertain tlie condition of the 

 honey crop this season, a reporter for 

 the Mail and Express called on Mr. 

 Henry Segelken, the chief of the 

 honey department of Thurber, Why- 

 land & Co.. who said : " An unusually 

 large crop of honey was produced all 

 through tlie United States last year. 

 California had the largest and Knest 

 crop ever gathered in the State. Wis- 

 consin, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsyl- 

 vania and New York also had very 

 large crops, but the nuality was noth- 

 ing extra. The California honey was 

 seiit in very large quantities to Lon- 

 don and the European markets. It 

 also was fouiul in New York. Phila- 

 delphia and Boston, where it became 

 a forniidalile rival to the native pro- 

 duct. The result was that the mar- 

 ket became overstocked, and prices 

 naturally declined. Comb honey sold 

 as low as from 10 to lo cents per 

 pound, while the finest California ex- 

 tracted honey could have been liought 

 at from 4 to fi cents per pound. The 

 result was tliat a large quantity was 

 carried over to this year. In" fact, 

 the most of it was disposed of this 

 summer." 



" What about this year's product V" 



" This season the crop is lighter. 

 My advices from California show that 

 the amount produced is very small. 

 That State will not have any for ex- 

 port. It will have barely eiiough to 

 supply the home market, and may 

 have to call upon other localities. 

 Michigan, AViscoufin, and Illinois 

 have only a fair crop this season. In 

 New York, Vermont and Pennsyl- 

 vania, however, there has been" a 

 large i)roduction, and unlike last year 

 it is of excellent quality. It is evi- 

 dent that the bees have been working 

 among the white clover and linden 

 blossoms, for the honey is mostly of 

 a strictly white color. Hardly any 

 buckwheat honey has been produced 

 this season, as the night frosts have 

 cut off the llinv and thus stopped the 

 bees from working on the buckwheat 

 blooms. Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, 

 and Virginia had a good crop. Most 

 of the Southern honey, however, is 

 extracted from the combs and sent 

 to the market in barrels. Fully To 

 per cent, of the Southern lioney comes 

 to the New York market. In some 

 parts of Florida a very fine honey is 

 produced from the orange blossoms. 

 It has a delicious flavor, and is light 

 in color." 



" What is the principal kind of 

 honey sold V" 



" Comb lioney is to some extent a 

 luxury. Kxtracled honey is used 

 nuiinly for manufacturing purposes 

 by bakers, confectioners, druggists 

 and others requiring honey in large 

 quantities. Much has been done in 

 late years to put up comb honey in 

 an attra(;tive shape, and thus create 

 a demand. The beekeepers of this 

 State have the reputation of putting 

 up their honey in the most salable 

 style. In former years the comb 

 honey sent into the market was 

 packed in clumsy, rough-looking 

 boxes, weighing from 4 to 6 pounds 

 each,,1ust as the combs were taken 

 from the hive. Now it is all put up 

 in 1 or 2 pound sections, neatly 

 cleaned. In most instances these are 

 fitted with glass on both sides of the 

 comb, or packed in handsomely- labeled 

 paper cartoons." 



'• How do prices range?"' 



" Prices rule low. '^ancy white 

 clover honey is selling at from 12 to 14 

 cents per pound. Inferior grades 

 range from 10 to 12 cents per pound. 

 Extracted white clover honey, in 

 barrels, realizes from 6 to S cents per 

 pound. The Southern honey, being 

 very irregular in quality, sells at from 

 50 to 00 cents per gallon. New Y^ork 

 honey, and that produced in the At- 

 lantic States, appears to be more 

 favorably received this season." 



" Is bee-keeping a large industry ?" 



" The keeping of bees is a much 

 larger industry than many persons 

 have any idea of. Some of the most 

 Iirominent bee-keepers in New York 

 State have from 500 to 800 colonies, and 

 produce, if the season be favorable, 

 from 20,000 to 30,000 pounds of honey 

 every year." 



" is honey adulterated much V" 



" Many persons are of tlie opinion 

 that comb honey is, or can be adul- 

 terated. This is not the case. Such 

 opinion would be perfectly ridiculous, 

 were it not for the wonders of science 

 in this day and generation. Modern 

 inventionhas gone so far as to stamp 

 out of beeswax a 'comb foundation.' 

 upon which the bees could build their 

 cells, thus saving the time of the 

 busy little insects forgathering honey 

 which otherwise would be devoted co 

 making the thick ground-work upon 

 which the cells are built. A centrif- 

 ugal machine lias been invented 

 whereby the cells can be emptied 

 without breaking them more than is 

 necessary to take olf the outside caps, 

 so that the combs can be replaced 

 again in the hive, to be filled again by 

 the bees. Thus time has been econ- 

 omized. But science has never yet 

 been eipial to the task of filling these 

 ceils artificially, and capping them 

 over in the inimitable styleof nature's 

 workers. Thus you see comb lioney 

 could not be adulterated with safety." 



•• It is reported that the honey crop 

 is a failure in several Western States." 



"So I have been informed, and 

 various reasons have been assigned 

 for-this. I do rot regard it as a de- 

 cided failure. ]?ut there will be a 

 short crop. Instead of exporting 

 honey it will be necessary for the 

 West to purchase from the Atlantic 

 seaboard. Some ascribe the failure 

 of the honey crop to grasshoppers, 



which iireventthe bees from working. 

 If this be the case, the suliject will no 

 doubt be considered and discussed at 

 the bee-keepers' conventions, and 

 some remedy devised to get rid of the 

 pests." 



For the American Bee JournaL 



"Wintering Bees. 



.1. H. ANDRE. 



Almost constantly for 17 years I 

 have kept bees, and during that time 

 I do not recollect of having lost a 

 good healthy colony with plenty of 

 honey. If I ever lost any it was 

 caused by trying to winter late 

 swarms with poor honey. When I 

 practiced out-door wintering the bees 

 were put in a shed built for that pur- 

 pose, having a tight roof, bottom, 

 ends and back, and with an open 

 front facing to the south, or a little 

 southeast is better, and away from 

 the shade of buildings or trees. It 

 was built just high enough from the 

 bottom-board to accommodate the 

 hives, probably 2 feet, with a shed 

 roof to carry water off the backside. 

 The bottom should be 2 feet from the 

 ground, and the posts that support 

 the shed should have strips of tin 

 nailed around them to keep the mice 

 away from the hives. 



Bees placed in such a shed will get 

 the full benefit of the sun, are pro- 

 tected from cold winds, and w^ll get 

 warmth enough from the sun when it 

 shines to move around and obtain 

 food ; but if they were packed on the 

 summer stands the sun would not 

 warm through the packing, and this 

 very packing that is so much talked 

 of, "would be sure death to the bees. 



I have found that a low tempera- 

 ture for a long time is much more to 

 he feared than severe cold for a week 

 at a time, if we can once in a while 

 have a day so warm as to warm the 

 bees enough to jiartake of food. All 

 colonies that are packed on the sum- 

 mei- stands, if not packed warm 

 enough to protect them from cold 

 and enable them to partake of food 

 at any time, are much worse off than 

 those not packed at all ; for a few 

 hours of sunshine would warm the 

 ones not protected, and have no effect 

 on the others. All colonies should 

 have the debris removed from the 

 hives once in 2 or '^ weeks. 



If I were compelled to winter my 

 bees out-doors in thef iitiire. and there 

 came on a cold spell of a week or ten 

 days, during which time I thought 

 the bees could not get food, I would 

 take them to a room and warm them 

 gradually during the day, letting them 

 (|uiet down during the liight, and take 

 them out again in the morning. 



If in door wintering is practiced, 

 a temperature of 40° is best, and this 

 will then enable one to keep fruit in 

 the same room if desired, without 

 being too warm. If bees are kejit in 

 a room where the temperature falls 

 below the freezing point, it should be 

 warmed gradually to 50- on one day 

 of each week. 



I have tried the plan of raising the 

 hive to give space under the frames. 



