The Mineral argus., 1884-10-16
IN HONEY.
: Yankee VINO Got Queen Victoria TO
Taste American Nectar.

'@S OahAOHma u inc greatest Dee-ranch-
ing CT h~oney-making region in the world, owing
to the excellence Of its climate and the endless
variety Of its honey yielding flowers, the quail
ty Of its honey does not excel, even if it equals.
that Of the honey made in New York State. >
said a wholesale dealer
"One Of the most extensive bee culturists in
this or any other country" he continued, sis
Captain Hetherington, whose apiaries slong
The Cherry Valley Creek, in Schoharie county,
annually turn oLt over 100000 pounds of the
choicest honey. 1t takes nine men and two
steam saw-mills five weeks to prepare the lum-
Der for the boxes in which the honey is made by
his bees, Nearly $50, 600 p%anesof glass, about six
inches square, are used in these boxes Can
tain Hetherington has at work this season near
~ LOU sWarms Of bees. These are not all on
MS own premises, but are scattered among the
orchards and fields of farmers along the creek.
20 whom lac pays a rent for the privilege of his
bees working in the clover, buckwheat, or what
ever blossoms are in season on the farms. The
care of these bees does not fall to the owner of
the land. Captain Hetherington keeps men
and teams constantly employed looking out for
mem. he has received as much as S25, 900 for
one seasons crop"
Another large York State bee-keeper is c.
b.. Isham, of Peoria. Up to 1879 there was no
market in England for American honey. The
English dealers would not handle it, and the
periodicals. devoted to the interests Of bee
keepers in that country cried it down
IN every possible way. The reason for
this was that they knew the superiority of
American honey, both in flavor and appearance
over the British article, and were aware that if
it was once introduced in London, it would be
a great blow to the trade in the home supply.
There was a smart Yankee named Hoge work
ing Tor q grocery in this city, and he assured
his employers that, if they would give him the
commission ha uoulI rnapora 70 ,Io - 49,.
lean honey on the English market. A large lot
OF lsham's honey, which the firm was then
handling, was packed, just as it came from the
hlYes, and Hoge was sent to London with it.
He found he needed all his Yankee ingenuity
and acuteness, for no met with universal OBJ.
position among the dealers. He labored with
them for weeks to no purpose. In converse
ton one day with the proprietor of the hotel at
which he stopped, the latter told Hoge that if
he could manage to have his honey introduced
on the table of Queen Victoria it would solve
the problem at once, for if she was pleased
with 1t she would communicate TO Hoge through
the Lord Steward. This communication once
made public would make American honey the
the fashion in England.
"A former Lord Steward was a friend of the
hotel-keeper, and was at that time engaged
largely in the manufacture and sale of pickles.
This man the landlord introduced to Hoge.
They dined together. Hoge gave the pickle
man an immense order for his goods, to be
sent to the American grocer. More win fol-
lowed, and before the ex-Lord Steward went
away he promised to use his influence to have
the Americans honey introduced on the royal
table. He succeeded in inducing the then Lord
Steward, Sir John Cowell, to accept a box of
the honey for the Queen, and to serve it on her
table. The Queen was so delighted with the
honey that she directed the Lord Steward to
present her thanks to the doner, TO order a
of ten cases at once and to keep Ameri-
can honey constantly on the royal table.
"Hoge lost no time in making this communi-
cation public. The consequence was that the
opinion of American honey changed at once.
and Hoge came back to New York secretly
at the Britishers, but rejoicing over
an order for $500, 900 pounds of American
honey for the English market, which he carried
IN his pocket The demand for it has increased
aver since, and the trade that was started i'm
New York State honey is now largely shared in
by the California product"
In California there are no long winters. with
iearth of flowers, through which bees must be
ed by artificial means and in the mouth of al
most every canon there is a bee ranch or api-
.ry. The bee-keeper of the Pacific coast is not
leset by as many difficulties as confront his
eastern brother, andhe grows indOIentand rich
rom the labor of his e-ver-industrlOus brown
servants. These bee ranches are models
I neatness and comfort, and the busi-
Is so light, pleasant and profitable,
nd 1equlres so little capital at the start, that
Is fast becoming the leading industry in many
Ocalltles on the coast You see men. women
nd children who own extensive bee ranches.
mong them being many who are physically
lnabie to attend to business requiring active
There is a constant buzzing
I wings in these canyons, caused by the end
'ss goings and comings of the bees, and the
urden of honey they carry collectively is
D great that the air is perpetually filled with
le fragrance of the fields"
why do we never see red clover honey adj
ertised?" asked a reporter.
For the simple reason that there is never
ny made by honey bees. There is no blossom
, rich In stores of sweetness as the red clover
lesson, as every schoolboy whose privilege il
to pluck them and suck their nectar knows.
ut the honey bee never collects it, because it
IN not The corolla tube of the red
over Is so deep and small that the
Do can not reach the honey. The bee
lows this and if you will think a mo-
ent, you will remember that you never saw
hive bee on a red clover blossom. They do
Ut waste their time in efforts to obtain sweets
at are beyond their reach. But the humble
'e levies tribute on every red clover field i'm
s bailiwiek. AS smart as the hive bee is, it
V yet to learn a trick that is as old as the
lis of its gigantic and more stupid-seeming
'usln. When the humble bee lights on a head
red clover he punctures a hole in the base
the c@orolla, and, thrusting in mis- tongue,
cks out the nectar. Unfortunately this
g, clumsy bee is not much of a honey-mak-
You might rob a score of humble bee
SITS and not obtain a quarter of a pound of
ney; and besides, his nests are few and far
tween. Consequently we will have to wait
til the hive bee learns to drill into the
1ssom to get the nectar before we can have
clover honey for our waffies."