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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



pendents should write more on the 

 subject through our bee papers ; con- 

 ventions should canvass the matter 

 and resolve to accept some size of 

 frame as a standard, and their influ- 

 ence will go a long way toward estab- 

 lishing a standard frame. Supply 

 dciilers should stop advertising to 

 manufacture all sizes of iixtures,and 

 thereby save themselves trouble, and 

 tlieir customers money. I would not 

 be understood to discourage invention, 

 let us have all the improvements in 

 our hives possible ; then if they can 

 be improved, all we shall liave to do is 

 to lift out our frames and hang them 

 in the improved hives. Carriage 

 makers would not think, fora moment, 

 of changing tlie width of carriages in 

 their new styles, nor should hive man- 

 ufacturers change from the standard 

 size. 

 Mechanic Falls, Me., Dec. 19, 1882. 



Read at Eastern N. Y. Convention. 



Honey as a Staple Product. 



A. J. KING. 



Mr. President: The subject assigned 

 me by your committee, is one of vast 

 importance, and I cannot hut regret 

 the limited time 1 can give to its con- 

 sideration. It is the question which 

 has been propounded to the promoters 

 of all other industiies in their incipient 

 stages. When the bill was passed in 

 Congress to establisli the tirst line 

 of telegraph, requiring an appropri- 

 ation of $30,000, it was argued by 

 many, even allowing the thing would 

 work,so few would make use of it that 

 years would elapse before it would 

 pay for tlie appropriation. The thou- 

 sands of miles of telegraph and tele- 

 pliones all over the world, all paying 

 handsomely, attest the tolly of such 

 suppositious. VVlien the elevated rail- 

 roads of New York city were tirst 

 talked of, it was thought by many that 

 it would be so much capital sunk, for, 

 noliody, but a few "dare-devils" would 

 ever risk their lives by riding on them. 

 To-day they are over-crowded with 

 men, women and children gliding 

 along at lightning speed, as uncon- 

 cerned as if in their own parlors at 

 home, and these roads are paying insti- 

 tutions 



About twenty- five years ago, wlien 

 the grape question was up for dis- 

 cussion and vineyards were spring- 

 ing up in many parts of the country, 

 the " wise acres " propliecied an over- 

 stocked market and a general collapse 

 of the entire business. The "col- 

 lapse " never came, but the grape crop 

 of the country has increased since 

 that time a thousand fold, and is to- 

 day one of the recognized industries 

 of leading importance in a large part 

 of our country. 



So we might go on, until we had 

 outlined tlie history of nearly every 

 business depended on for a livelihood. 

 We should see them in their small be- 

 ginnings, gradually expanding, pass- 

 ing their experimental phases, and 

 finally attaining the rank of " neces- 

 sities." This gradual development 

 seems to be necessary in art, science, 

 mechanical inventions, or in new art- 



icles of food, in order to educate the 

 masses to receive them. 



Within the last (if teen years the pro- 

 duction of honey in the United States 

 has increased ten fold, or, in other 

 words, from ten millions to about 100 

 millions of pounds, and yet the aver- 

 age prices paid for it have not dimin- 

 islied, and why y simply because the 

 people have been educated to its use. 

 Through the influence of conventions, 

 honey exiiibitions at fairs, bee books, 

 bee journals, etc., the masses are be- 

 ginning to realize that honey is the 

 most healthful of all the sweets ; that 

 when properly used it surpasses all 

 others in preserving and adding to the 

 delicate flavor of all fruits ; that in 

 the preparation of medicines it has no 

 equal. The baker and brewer also are 

 beginning to use extracted honey, 

 where formerly they used sugar and 

 glucose, but the greatest and best use 

 to which it is put is on our tables, 

 where, in many instances, it is taking 

 the place of the different brands of 

 syrups. 



The subject has been so widely dis- 

 cussed that all the agricultural papers 

 of any value have found it necessary 

 to devote space to this subject. Many 

 bee-keepers who, a few years ago, had 

 no home demand, now And it neces- 

 sary to reserve several thousand 

 pounds for this purpose. 



With all these influences at work, 

 there is yet probably not one person 

 in ten, especially in our cities, in 

 which honey forms any part of his 

 diet, not because he does not or would 

 not like it, but simply from the fact, 

 that either the information of its 

 merits above other sweets has not yet 

 reached his ears, or he is yet ignorant 

 of the channels through which he may 

 procure a pure article at a reasonable 

 price. The great bulk of our honey 

 is sent to the cities, consigned to a 

 few houses, who do not retail or take 

 any pains to let the masses know that 

 they keep honey for sale; but, instead, 

 they sell it to grocers who retail it at 

 prices which make it cost the con- 

 sumer fully double the amount which 

 the producer receives for the same 

 honey. Honey, at such prices, must 

 be classed among the luxuries, to be 

 indulged in only occasionally, except 

 by the wealthy. 



Again, some large producers, by 

 the offer of cash down or small advance 

 above regular prices, will sell to those 

 who they have every reason to believe 

 will use it to give flavor to double 

 the quantity of glucose to be palmed 

 off as " choice new honey," thus vastly 

 increasing the volume, but corres- 

 pondingly reducing the price and de- 

 grading the merits of the pure article, 

 greatly to the disadvantage of the pro- 

 ducer and to the detriment of the in- 

 dustry. Of course, the unscrupulous 

 mixer can well afford to greatly under- 

 sell all honest dealers, as two-thirds 

 of his mixture costs him only about 

 three cents per pound. Were this 

 abominable practice to be permitted 

 to continue, the production of honey 

 would be indeed a precarious busi- 

 ness, but, thanks to the good sense of 

 our people, by the aid of our conven- 

 tions and numerous publications on 

 bees and honey, assisted by the press 



of the entire country, the alarm has 

 been sounded, and laws have been 

 and are being passed against the 

 crime of adulterating food products, 

 which are even now producing the 

 most salutary results. The great fac- 

 tories recently erected for the produc- 

 tion of grape sugar and glucose have 

 many of them shut down and all are in 

 a fair way of collapsing at no distant 

 day, through the influence of further 

 legislation on the subject. 



Now, I fully believe that with this 

 enemy disposed of, extracted honey, 

 averaging the grades, can be made to 

 net the producer ten cents per pound; 

 and comb honey about Htteen cents 

 per pound, and I as fully believe that, 

 with our present knowledge and appli- 

 ances, honey may be produced with 

 fair proflt at these prices. I speak 

 more confldently v/ith reference to 

 extracted honey which will, in all pro- 

 bability, be tlie main supply for the 

 future. Now this honey ought to 

 reach the real consumer, after all 

 freights and commissions are settled, 

 at an advance of not over five cents 

 per pound, or 1.5 cents for extracted 

 and 20 cents for comb lioney. 



If the consumer and producer can 

 be brought as nearly together as here 

 irdicated, and still more vigor be used 

 in acquainting the public with the 

 merits of honey, there will be prac- 

 tically no limit to the sales which may 

 be made. It is estimated that if the 

 amount of sugar and syrup annually 

 consumed in the United States could 

 be equally divided among all the in- 

 iiabitants, each would receive between 

 thirty and forty pounds. Now, sup- 

 pose that each individual should con- 

 sume but ten pounds of honey, and we 

 have the enormous amount ot .500,000,- 

 000 pounds at once disposed of, or 

 nearly live times the present popu- 

 lation. Add to this the increasing de- 

 mand tor extracted honey for manu- 

 facturing purposes, and "the continu- 

 ally widening and ever extending de- 

 mand for American honey in foreign 

 countries, and the outlook for bee- 

 keepers becomes pleasing to contem- 

 plate. 



Another use to which honey has 

 been recently put, bids fair to greatly 

 increase the demand for it. I refer 

 to the experiments of 'C. J. Quinby 

 Esq., of White Plains, N. Y. He has, 

 during the past three years, produced 

 a wine in considerable quantities, 

 rivaling in fine and delicate flavor the 

 best imported brands, and used no- 

 thing in its production but pure hon- 

 ey, of any variety. Very little of his 

 wine has been kept over eighteen 

 months, for the reason that the de- 

 mand is greatly in advance of the sup- 

 ply. He sells it for communion ser- 

 vices and medical use, as the best 

 pliysicians in his town recommend it. 

 We do not refer to this because we 

 favor the wine industry (for we aim 

 to be temperate in all things) but 

 only to show what will, in all proba- 

 bility, at no distant day, consume a 

 large quantity of our surplus extracted 

 honey, especially the darker varieties. 

 What would be the state of the grape 

 market to-day if tlie production of 

 wine should suddenly cease V Now, 

 assuming that wine made from honey 



