234 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



June 



cle in the 'Canadian-Field Naturalist.' 

 All specimens received from that lo- 

 cality proved to be resin, which the 

 merest amateur could easily have as- 

 certained. 



The distribution of the sugar-bear- 

 ing trees in British Columbia is lim- 

 ited to certain dry belt areas; and 

 through correspondence I have re- 

 ceived from botanists in certain o/ 

 the West States; I have reason to bf- 

 lieve that this Douglas !ir sugar is 

 found on trees growing in regions 

 presenting similar ecological condi- 

 tions to the limited area in British 

 Columbia where sugar-bearing trees 

 are found. 



I would sti-ongly discourage apply- 

 ing the term 'honeydew' to this prod- 

 uct, as the term is usually applied to 

 the result of the work of insects. 



In replying to the query contained 

 in the article 'Do any other species of 

 cone trees exude honey?' I have a 

 recollection I hat in some districts in 

 Europe this sugar is obtained from 

 young shoots of the Larch; in fact, 

 Melezitose indicates its connection 

 with the Larch. (Meleze-Larch tree. 

 French). 



The point of scientific importance 

 which interested me most was ;he 

 fact that this particular sugar is 

 found in a greater percentage on 

 Douglas fir than any other known 

 plant, so that for commercial sup- 

 plies it is possible that British Colum- 

 bia will replace Turkestan and Perriia 

 in furnishing melezitose. 



From a botanical point of view the 

 account was of interest from the fact 

 that it had not previously been re- 

 corded." John D. Davidson, 



Botanist in Charge. 



MARKETING HONEY 



By Charles C. Schneider 



In regard to the advisability of 

 marketing honey locally, I fully re- 

 alize it is the paramount issue with 

 the modern beekeeper. 



While at no time an extensive bee- 

 keeper, I have, however, been in close 

 touch with bees in the past thirty-five 

 years. 



When a boy of 16, it was my for- 

 tune to be a near neighbor to an old- 

 time beekeeper, Mr. Christopher 

 Fronce, in the suburbs of Erie, Pa. 

 (I do not know that he is still living. 

 The last I heard of him he was situ- 



ated at Springfield, Pa.) It was often 

 my pleasure to help him in his apiary 

 of from two to three hundred colo- 

 nies, from which he produced from 

 three to four tons of comb honey, 

 mostly basswood and white clover. 



Mr. Fronce was the only beekeeper 

 in that locality, at that time, lu-oduc- 

 ing honey in quantity, and invariably 

 sold his entire crop to commission 

 houses. It has often struck me as 

 odd that he did not try to market his 

 honey locally, as he was not more 

 than one mile from the center of the 

 city, having, at that time, a popula- 

 tion of about 50,000. 



I am sure there are a great many 

 beekeepers located near populous 

 centers, who could work up an ex'- 

 tensive trade in nearby towns to an 

 advantage to themselves in the way 

 of greater remuneration for their 

 product, and in this I wish to state 

 my experience in local marketing. 



At one time I had an apiary in the 

 South, and as I could not get more 

 than 8 cents for comb honey by ship- 

 ping it, I concluded to follow the last 

 shipment of 3,200 pounds to Detroit 

 (my home town) and market the 

 shipment locally, and had no difliculty 

 in handing it out at from 15 to 20 

 cents per pound. I will state, how- 

 ever, that the sections were well 

 cleaned and white. The honey being 

 from Spanish needle and fall asters, 

 was capped from yellow to dark. I 

 did not hear one complaint on color 

 of cappings; also, as might be ex- 

 pected, there was considerable leak- 

 age, owing to a shipment of 800 

 miles, and I did not find it necessary 

 to discount one comb on account of 

 leakage. On the contrary, in numer- 

 ous cases, it increased sales to more 

 combs, and in some instances whole 

 cases, by the customers getting a 

 taste of the honey, on the spot, from 

 their fingers. True, the grocery- 

 men found all kinds of fault with it, 

 and I did not make any sales to them, 

 but they had the satisfaction of see- 

 ing me hand out more honey on the 

 public market in two weeks than most 

 of them possibly sold in their whole 

 career. This set me to the notion 

 that there is more to be made in pro- 

 ducing less honey, with less equip- 

 ment, where a local market is af- 

 forded. 



Our trade is mostly from the api- 

 ary, the past few years, and I feel 



certain we could dispose of ten tons 

 of honey per year, could we produce 

 so much, without going more than a 

 city block from the apiary. Our api- 

 ai-y is located on the main highway 

 leading from Detroit to Mt. Clemens, 

 and not more than 200 feet from the 

 highway, in full view of all traffic be- 

 tween these two cities, five and one- 

 half miles from Detroit City Hall, 

 and eighteen miles from Mt. Clem- 

 ens, and we have some very good 

 customers in Mt. Clemens, who in- 

 vai-iably stop at our apiai-y for their 

 winter's supply of honey, although 

 they have neighboring beekeepers at 

 home. To this I would say, "Appear- 

 ances." Note "Appearance" of view 

 of part of our apiary inclosed, with 

 the "French-German" sitting on a 

 box of "dynamite." Tourists from 

 all parts of the country stop to take 

 a sample of Michigan honey home 

 with them, and they say that appear- 

 ances induced them to stop. (For- 

 give me if I am vain enough to be- 

 lieve it). When painting up the api- 

 ary and keeping the grass cut, the 

 sale of honey was farthest from my 

 mind. It was prompted by the pride 

 and pleasure I have in bees, and I 

 am more than pleased to find the 

 public in the same frame of mind, 

 and reason tells us that the more 

 wholesome and pleasing an article ap- 

 pears, the more salable it is; it being 

 understood, of course, that all per- 

 sons passing by know a beehive when 

 they see one. For instance, the city 

 youngsters, whom we frequently hear 

 remark to dad, "Oh, Papa, look at 

 the little dog houses." 



There are some who may think it 

 too laborious and costly to paint an 

 apiary every year. This is quite true, 

 and not necessary. It is much better 

 not to paint until it becomes neces- 

 sary to do so to preserve the hives, 

 as too much paint is nearly as bad as 

 no paint at all. On the other hand, it 

 is quite possible to clean up the hives 

 as bright as new, every season, by 

 washing them down with a good 

 standard washing powder until the 

 time comes when they need painting, 

 and then apply two coats of good 

 grade white lead and oil, using one- 

 fourth turpentine in the first coat. 



Michigan. 



Apiary of Cliarlcs C. Schneider, in Detroit, Michigan. 



SHOULD EVERY FARMER KEEP 

 BEES? 



By J. H. Tichenor 



Reader, would you hesitate to in- 

 duce your neighbor to keep cows, 

 lest you damage the dairy industry? 

 Or hogs lest you hinder the pork in- 

 dustry? Or hens, lest you bring the 

 production of the hen to naught? 



Co-operation in bees, like cows, will 

 mean greater production, with the 

 minimum cost to producer. It will 

 demand the best, in quality. It will 

 make inspection laws worth while. It 

 will create the habit of honey eating, 

 which, once acquired, is seldom 

 abandoned. It will cure your neigh- 

 bor of that spraying disease, as he 

 can no longer poison your bees with- 

 out poisoning his. Where I used to 

 live years ago, farmers were all 

 growing the Wealthy apple. Did it 



