312 



GI.EANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aprii, 15. 



WHY THE BEST HONEY IN THE WORLD DOES 

 NOT PLEASE THE TASTE OF MANY CON- 

 SUMERS. 



From some things that I pick up from the 

 general correspondence in the office, and from 

 other things that I learned while in attendance 

 at the Chicago convention, it appears that al- 

 falfa honey, which to the notion of many of 

 us is the finest and most delicious in the world, 

 does not sell readily in some of the Eastern 

 markets. And why ? Consumers say that it 

 does not \\a.\e. flavor enough ; that real honey 

 has a strong honey taste. But this alfalfa, 

 they think, because it is so mild, is nothing 

 more nor less than sugar syrup, colored slightly, 

 and flavored with some sort of extract. They 

 want none of it, because if extracted or comb 

 honey does not taste like the honey of their 

 fathers, they jump to the conclusion that it is 

 sugar syrup or glucose. 



At one time honest bee-keepers and honest 

 honey-salesmen had to contend with the so- 

 called manufactured comb honey — something 

 no one ever saw, but which, forsooth, the news- 

 papers said existed ; and now these same hon- 

 est people are obliged to combat another bug- 

 aboo or notion founded on ignorance — that all 

 pure honey should taste exactly alike. Such 

 a delusion is hard to dispel ; but it should be 

 met with the right kind of literature, and with 

 the right kind of talking. There are years 

 when there is little or no clover or basswood 

 on the market, like last season, for instance ; 

 and the only high-grade honey is alfalfa ; and 

 to have this, the very finest honey in the 

 world, called spurious, is most unfortunate. 



Some honest salesmen, to satisfy the old 

 craving, put into some of this nice alfalfa 

 some strong flavored buckwheat or fall honey. 

 But all such honeys, to me, taste like an infe- 

 rior grade. Better put out each grade exactly 

 for what it is ; call it alfalfa clover if you will, 

 but never put it under the name of "pure 

 clover honey ' ' in order to make a sale. While 

 alfalfa is a clover, yet the term " pure clover," 

 to the average customer, means neither more 

 nor less than the old-fashioned white clover, 

 which is indeed a very fine honey. 



Let us call things by their right names, and 

 go in for a general campaign of education. 

 When white clover or basswood is not to be 

 had, then individually explain to the consum- 

 ers the fact, and that the alfalfa which we 

 have to offer is pure bees' honey the same as 

 that from clover and basswood. Whenever a 

 salesman is known in any vicinity he will have 

 very little difficulty in doing this. 



ALFALFA, OR LUCERNE (mEDICAGO SATIVA). 



This one of the clovers is very closely re- 

 lated to, and indeed greatly resembles, sweet 

 clover, which latter is described under the 

 head of Clover in our ABC book. Alfalfa 

 has, during late years, come to be one of the 

 most important honey-plants of the great West 

 — especially of those arid regions that have to 

 be irrigated. It is grown most extensively in 

 Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, 

 Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Washington, 

 Oregon, and is now making rapid stride? in 

 California. 



It has been grown, in an experimental way, 

 in many of the Eastern States ; but outside of 

 irrigated regions it is not known to yield any 

 honey. While it makes an excellent forage 

 plant in a few localities in the East, permit- 

 ting of one or two cuttings, it is grown as a 

 hay particularly in the Western States I have 

 mentioned ; for there is no other forage-plant 

 that will yield the same tonnage per acre of 

 fodder or hay in regions that have to be irri- 

 gated. It yields anywhere from 3 to 5 tons 

 per acre, and gives from 3 to 5 cuttings to the 

 season, and, under favorable circumstances, it 

 is even claimed that 6 and 7 have been made. 

 For the best hay, it should be cut when the 

 blooming commences ; but, unfortunately for 

 the bee-keeper, this also cuts off the supply of 

 nectar when it is flowing at its very best ; for 

 alfalfa, when in bloom in the irrigated regions, 

 is perhaps the greatest honey-plant in the 

 world. But notwithstanding the interests of 

 the bee-keeper, the ranchers cut their alfalfa 

 hay just as soon as it begins to bloom, irre- 

 spective of the fact that it is " killing the goose 

 that lays the golden egg" for the bee-keeper. 

 After cutting, it is stacked in the open field* 

 in a stack that will run anywhere from 10 to 

 100 tons in capacity. 



As one goes through the irrigated region of 

 Colorado along the line of the Northwestern 

 R. R., in a Pullman car going at the rate of 50 

 or 60 miles an hour, he sees hundreds and 

 hundreds of such stacks ; and where one stack 

 has been cut into, or opened up, he sees not 

 the dull grayish-brown hay of the East, but a 

 beautiful grass-green clover hay ; and it seems 

 to keep green, no matter how old it is, provid- 

 ed it is not faded out by the intense sunlight 

 that pours down with such relentless fury on 

 the Great American Desert. But it is only the 

 top layers that are faded. A few inches be- 

 low, the hay is of the beautiful green color I 

 have described. 



The irrigation needed to grow it for forage 

 makes the crop almost certain ; and those bee- 

 keepers who are located in the vicinity of al- 

 falfa-growing can rely almost as certainly on 

 a crop of honey, the very finest, richest, thick- 

 est in the world. Of all the honey I have ever 

 tasted I know of nothing, not even clover 

 (which has formerly held the first rank), that 

 can equal it. It runs from 12 to 13 lbs. to the 

 gallon, while most eastern honeys run from 11 

 to 12 lbs. This heaviness of body is due to 

 the dryness of the atmosphere in which it 

 grows ; for where alfalfa flourishes at its best, 

 hives made of the best seasoned white pine 

 will shrink and twist and check in a manner 

 that is truly astonishing to a " tenderfoot." 

 A light dry atmosphere a mile above the level 

 of the sea, in the regions of Denver, almost 

 entirely devoid of dews and frosts, a cloudless 

 sky, occasional hot winds, a bright sun that 

 pours down, unobstructed by cloud or mist, 

 causes every thing to dry up, and even honey 

 to thicken — so much so that it is difficult to 

 throw it out of the combs with the best of ex- 

 tractors. Indeed, I found that some bee-keep- 



* In the irrigated regions it scarcely ever rains, and 

 therefore great barns for the storage of the hay are 

 not necessary. 



