88 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



E. O. Tuttle, of Bristol, presented 

 the subject of " How to conduct con- 

 ventions," etc. 



A. E. Manum presented the claims 

 of the Chapman honey-plant. 



Prof. \V. W. Cooke, the State chem- 

 ist, presented a valuable essay on 

 " Honey-production by plants." 



After the adoption of some resolu- 

 tions, the convention adjourned to 

 meet at the call of the executive com- 

 mittee. 



Union CoDTentiou at Alliany, N, Y. 



The New York State, the Eastern 

 New York, and the New Jersey and 

 Eastern Bee-Keepers' Associations 

 convened at Albany, N. Y., on Jan. 

 11, 1887, with President Clark in the 

 chair. After the routine business, an 

 essay by C. M. Goodspeed was read on 



ALSIKE CLOVER AS A HONEY-PLANT. 



He said that Alsike comes in before 

 basswood, and is in its prime by July 

 10. It blossoms very freely, and yields 

 more honey than white clover, and as 

 much as basswood. He esteemed it 

 next to basswood. The amount of 

 Alsike honey in his whole crop was 

 variable; sometimes all the white 

 honey was tinged with Alsike ; at 

 other times only a portion of the 

 lower part would be. As feed for 

 stock there was no better. His hrst 

 crop was sowed late, and wet in cur- 

 ing, yet his cattle ate it in preference 

 to his best-cured hay. It should be 

 sowed with other grasses, and cut 

 late. It seeds rather poorly, and does 

 not do well on light soil, but on moist 

 land there is an immense yield of rich 

 fodder and fine honey. 



A. I. Koot had eight acres of Alsike 

 on rather dry soil near Columbus, and 

 from it obtained a rich crop of honey 

 when his neighbors had none. It 

 makes fine forage, especially for milch 

 cows, and a small amount goes a great 

 way. As pasture it is excellent, in- 

 creasing the flow of milk. 



John Aspinwall had seen it growing 

 in St. Lawrence county, and was told 

 by the farmers that it did better than 

 other grasses. 



T. F. Bingham said it was much 

 raised for sheep in his State, and to 

 some extent for cows. He had fed it 

 to three horses, and they did better 

 on Alsike and a little grain than on 

 the best timothy or herds-grass and 

 more grain. For bees he preferred it 

 to either white or red clover. 



H. N. Waters had raised it for 10 or 

 12 years, and found it succeeded best 

 on wet soil. 



L. C. Koot said that good farmers 

 like Alsike because it attracts the 

 bees, and so a more perfect seeding is 

 obtained. A farmer told him that his 

 cattle would eat weather-stained 

 Alsike in preference to his brightest 

 and best-cured hay. He had secured 

 honey from his clover by the ton, and 

 it cannot be surpassed ; the flavor is 

 of the finest— better than that from 

 basswood, though not as white. In 

 Herkimer county it grows by the 

 roadside as common as white clover. 

 On dry soils it will not last long, but 

 on moist it becomes permanent. In 



growing Alsike, the interests of 

 farmer and bee-keeper were identical. 



B. Bacon said that farmers near 

 Oneida Lake were growing Alsike to 

 a large extent. Their subsoil was clay. 

 His honey had been greatly improved 

 by Alsike. 



Secretary Knickerbocker said the 

 yield was from two to three tons per 

 acre. 



M. D. West sowed two acres to 

 Alsike, with one-third timothy. The 

 hay was as described, and had a re- 

 markably rich odor when put in the 

 barn. The Alsike remained in land 

 three years. The bees did not work 

 upon it. Afterward he saw bees on 

 roadside Alsike. 



A member said that Alsike secreted 

 more honey on light soils than on 

 heavy. Five years ago he persuaded 

 a number of farmers to try Alsike. 

 The store-keeper was then selling 15 

 bags of red clover seed. Last year he 

 sold 20 of Alsike and 4 bags of red 

 clover. 



President W. E. Clark sowed a 

 piece, 12 years ago, to Alsike and 

 timothy. Had cut good crops every 

 year, and that of last year was the 

 best of all. Last spring, when other 

 grasses were heaved, Alsike was not, 

 and after rolling, it was a perfect mat. 

 Cut it July 22, and the bees worked 

 on the aftermath until October. 



Hiram Chapman spoke at length on 

 the honey qualities of a perennial, 

 known as Echinops sphoerocepkahis, or 

 the " Hedge-hog-plant," which is fully 

 described on page 28 of the Bee 

 Journal. 



rendering old comb into wax. 



Ira Barber uses a large kettle, hold- 

 ing 2-5 pails of water, and melts up the 

 old comb from 20 to 25 hives at once, 

 putting in only a few combs at a time; 

 keeps a good fire, but not to boil ; 

 takes out with an 8x10 inch basket ; 

 strains as fast as dipped, and cools in 

 large dishes. 



A. I. Root said the solar wax ex- 

 tractor was for small bits of wax 

 thrown in from time to time and 

 melted by the heat of the sun. If 

 thrown in each day there would be no 

 accumulation of rubbish. Old, hard 

 combs were tried, the thermometer 

 run up to boiling point, and all the 

 wax taken out. It will work in Jan- 

 uary under cover. 



COSIMISSION MEN. 



An essay by C. F. Muth was read. 

 Mr. M. is one of the largest dealers in 

 honey at the West, and a practical 

 bee-keeper. He regarded the middle 

 man as a necessity, a benefactor to 

 the producer, and not a leech, work- 

 ing up a demand for bee-products 

 which the producer usually had not 

 time for, and often not the ability. 

 Their interests are sympathetic, and 

 they should be in full agreement. 



A. I. Root said that some men 

 could retail their honey profitably, 

 while others could not. The latter 

 need the middle men. He said that 

 Mr. Muth had had great success in 

 selling honey, and was honorable in 

 his dealings. 



R. Bacon said that the market was 

 injured by small growers, who trade 

 off their honey early in the season for 



what the store-keeper will pay, and 

 then this price is used to beat down 

 the larger growers. 



J. Aspinwall said that the market 

 quotations for honey were wrong, in 

 that the large dealers' figures govern 

 the small sales. 



H, Segelken said that the price of 

 honey was governed by the price of 

 other sweets. When the latter re- 

 cover from their depression, honey 

 will also improve. 



A. I. Root said we must educate the 

 young bee-keeper in marketing his 

 products. He often bought up the 

 small lots to prevent their depressing 

 the market, selling them afterwards 

 at a slight advance, or even at the 

 same figure, to a customer who 

 wanted a cheaper article, and holding 

 his price on his best goods. Had sold 

 some of these lots at 15 to 18 cents. 

 We need better acquaintance with 

 each other, and better education in 

 business methods. 



MARKETING HONEY. 



H. R. Wright, a wholesale dealer of 

 Albany, said that there was an over- 

 production of honey because it had 

 not yet become a staple article. There 

 was a great need of a uniform style of 

 comb and package. The pound comb 

 was too large for this market, a %- 

 pound comb being enough for an 

 average family at one time, and he 

 favored selling by the comb instead 

 of by the pound. A package that 

 could be sold at 10 cents wo\ild be in 

 steady demand. The several hundred 

 styles of boxes and cases interfere 

 with quick sales. He showed a sam- 

 ple of a box that he preferred— a plain 

 case 4x5i4 inches, holding 11 ounces. 

 The oblong is more salable than the a 

 square, and people do not wish to pay ■ 

 for extra wood or glass. As the sell- • 

 ing season is before "the holidays, 

 glass is not needed, unless the honey 

 is to be carried over. He urged the 

 convention to adopt a uniform pack- 

 age. The odd styles had to be sold 

 separately and slowly. He thought 

 extracted honey was improperly 

 named. Liquid honey was a better 

 term. The public associated the word 

 with other " extracts " of commerce, 

 in which there is often adulteration. 



L. C. Root said Mr. Wright's talk 

 was another evidence that when we 

 try to help others, we always help 

 ourselves. We were getting at facts 

 which would help both producer, 

 dealer and consumer. It was evident 

 that our markets were far apart. Mr. 

 Wright was the first man he had 

 heard advocate unglazed boxes. In 

 New York they require them glazed, 

 and prefer one and two-pound sizes. 



Thomas Pierce, of Gansevoort, and 

 several others, thought sales should 

 be by weight and not by piece. 

 Buyers were used to the pound 

 methodj and would expect a given 

 weight in the small packages. 



Mr. Wright explained that there 

 was no deception in selling by the 

 comb. People bought the small 

 combs as they did canned goods, and 

 understood it. The weight of honey 

 in combs was variable, and the so- 

 called one and two pound boxes would 

 not run evenly. 



