o(>(> 



June 28, 1906 



American Ttee Journal 



bees cleverly discovered the nectar in them, invisible 

 though they were from a distance, and came to get it. — 

 Translated by the Boston Transcript. 



(Concluded next week ) 



rf* 



^Convention 

 • Proceedings 



NATIONAL AT CHICAGO 



Report of the 36th Annual Convention of the 



National Bee-Keepers' Association, held in 



Chicago, 111., Dec. 19, 20 and 21, 1905 



[Continued from page 541.] 



The Secretary read the following paper by Hildreth and 

 Segelken, of New y™-k on 



CAN THE TARIFF ON COHB HONEY BE TINKERED 



TO THE ADVANTAGE OF THE UNITED 



STATES BEE-KEEPER? 



There is not very much to be said in answer to a 

 question of this kind; principally for the reason that there 

 are very few markets, if any, which are shipping comb honey 

 into this country in competition with the American produced 

 article. We have noticed in some of the bee papers some 

 comments upon this su'bject and it appears to be a question 

 of some importance to some of our domestic bee-keepers, 

 who seem to be scared and afraid that foreign comb honey 

 will eventually flood the American markets, and thereby 

 lower the price of the home product. 



We are of the opinion that there is no necessity nor 

 good reason for anxiety on the part of our bee-keepers, 

 who seem to be laboring under the impression, and have 

 an idea, that in the West India Islands honey can be pro- 

 duced in abundance and at very little expense; but they do 

 not take into consideration the drawbacks and disadvantages 

 which beset the Cuban or West Indian producer. Cuba is 

 perhaps the only country which is sending comb honey to 

 the United States. This country has been attempting to pro- 

 duce comb honey for the past 3 or 4 years without very 

 much success up to the present time. The principal reasons 

 for the non-success is that most of the honey produced in 

 Cuba has been produced in what is known as the Cajacriolla, 

 or native hive, which is composed mostly of logs formed in 

 a triangle, with a rock for a top, or some similar device. 

 In such an apiary as this, a person of ordinary intelligence 

 can understand that comb honey cannot be produced. 



There has, however, been an evolutionary movement 

 among the bee-keepers of some understanding, "on the sub- 

 ject of apiculture, to use what is known as the "Systemo 

 Americano," which, when translated, would be recognized 

 as our own modern bee-keeping system. It is difficult to 

 say what percentage of producers are using modern methods 

 in Cuba, but it is safe to say that not more than. one-third. 



Then bee-keepers' supplies cannot be purchased in Cuba 

 as cheap as they can in the United States, for the reason 

 of the excessive ocean transportation charges and the high 

 railroad charges after the goods have reached Cuba. It 

 would, therefore, be in order to say that bee supplies would 

 cost the Cuban producer, delivered at his apiary, 20 to 25 

 percent more than the cost of the American bee-keeper in 

 his own country. 



After considering the cost of the material for the pro- 

 duction of comb honey, the next point to consider is the 

 labor. The native bee-keeper in Cuba knows nothing about 

 the production of comb honey, and his experience up to 

 the present time has not been much of a success. Some 

 few parties who are producing comb honey in Cuba are 

 only able to do so with the aid of expert American honey- 

 producers. To the ordinary bee-keeper this is impossible, 

 owing to the large share of the production that would be 

 necessary to give to such an individual, or the comparative- 



ly large salary which would need to be paid. There are, 

 therefore, but very few native honey-producers who are en- 

 terprising to this extent, most of the comb honey being pro- 

 duced by Americans in Cuba. The cost of producing comb 

 honey in Cuba is always estimated by the value of the ex- 

 tracted honey, and wax that would be used in the production 

 of the comb honey, plus the additional cost of labor, and when 

 this is figured down to a true basis, comb honey cannot be 

 produced for less that 7 cents per pound, to any advantage, 

 no matter what the grades may be. Where the price is 

 lower than this, it is much more advantageous to produce 

 extracted honey and beeswax. 



There is another point to consider, which is not capable 

 of exact calculation, but every bee-keeper who has ever 

 produced honey in Cuba has stated that when producing 

 comb honey, the result is considerably less pound for pound, 

 than when producing extracted honey and wax. This would 

 necessarily bring the comparison average still higher than 

 the estimated cost. 



The freight from inland points in Cuba to the city of 

 Havana, which is the principal shipping center for honey, 

 is higher than that in the United States, and the ocean 

 freight rate would figure about 15 cents per shipping-case, 

 or an average of about % cents per pound; in addition to 

 this, the duty would amount to 1 1-3 to lYz cents per pound. 



Assuming that honey could be purchased at the same 

 comparative cost on the basis that we have already esti- 

 mated — 7 cents per pound — and adding the charges mentioned, 

 it will be readily seen that Cuban comb honey cannot com- 

 pete with American produced comb honey. 



Furthermore, it must be taken into consideration that 

 Cuban comb honey cannot reach the American markets as 

 early in the season as our domestic product. Domestic 

 comb honey reaches our various markets, say from the latter 

 part of August up until November. The season in Cuba, 

 if favorable, does not commence before the middle of October, 

 and very often there is no honey-flow to any extent until 

 November or December. It is safe to say that comb honey 

 from Cuba cannot reach our markets before December, and 

 generally not before January. By this time, in ordinary 

 seasons, unless there is a large crop throughout the United 



HENRY SEGELpEN 



States, which rarely, if ever, happens, the domestic crop is, 

 or should be, well cleaned up. Of course, there are always 

 some bee-keepers who will hold on to their honey instead 

 of selling at fair market value when they have an opportunity. 

 It may be somewhat out of place to make mention of this 

 matter here, but. nevertheless, it is a fact which should be 

 taken into consideration. Those bee-keepers have a perfect 

 right to hold on to their honey for better prices, which, 

 however, as our experience for 20 years has taught us, are 

 very seldom, if ever, realized. It is such honey which is 

 being held that may come into competition with the Cuban 

 produce. 



Years ago there was practically no demand for comb 

 honey after the holidays, and whatever was unsold by Jan- 



