Bees in America: How the Honey Bee Shaped a Nation

Chapter 5: Early Twentieth Century: Industrialization, 1901–1949

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Early Twentieth Century
Chapter 5 EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY INDUSTRIALIZATION, 1901–1949 The only consistent thing about bees is their inconsistency. —Dr. C. C. Miller For much of the early twentieth century, America was balanced between a pastoral ideal of sustainable agriculture and an emerging commitment to a new form of agriculture that would characterize twentieth-century America. The two ancient symbols of sustenance—bees and cattle—were in forty-eight states as well as in the territories of Alaska and Hawaii. A third symbol—the train—made migratory beekeeping, a uniquely American twist to the agricultural industry, possible. The nomadic trade route patterns that were established continued to be in place and provided a framework for transforming America into an industrial countryside, to borrow Steven Stoll’s phrase. In Fruits of Natural Advantage: Making the Industrial Countryside in California (1998), Stoll suggests that five factors merged in the twentieth century to create a highly industrialized agricultural landscape: capital, science, innovative farmers and orchard growers, an independent yet inextricable relationship between farmers and government, and a solid hierarchy between owners and laborers 146
Bees in America
that generally divided along class and racial lines.1 All of these factors played into a general agricultural trend for farmers to specialize in certain crops. Yet at the bottom of this industrial countryside was the honey bee, whose ability to pollinate would not be fully appreciated until after World War II, but who nevertheless made the agricultural transformation possible in the nineteenth century and visibly successful in the early twentieth. Furthermore, advertisements promoted this concept of industrial agriculture: those who worked the American soil would be rewarded. Advertisements with honey bees promoted pastoral images and children, suggesting innocence. No one would starve in the modern Canaan; advertisements said so. Yet it was hardly an ideal country. Industrialization affected the bee industry just as it did other businesses. Commercial pollination , World Wars I and II, the queen rearing industry, a price support system, and imported bees improved American beekeeping. Making money in honey became the norm; beekeeping was no longer a sideline interest. However, beekeepers reeled in the wake of diseases, chemical pesticides, and zoning restrictions. As with many twentieth-century industries , science and technology could outpace an average beekeeper’s ability to apply new knowledge before changes were made again. Honey hunting did not disappear in modern America. Economic depressions, wars, and health reform movements encouraged people to find value in such activities as finding bee trees, making candles, and cooking with honey. The bee hunter, although marginalized, was still an admirable person in many poverty-stricken regions, and thus, a small literature of bee hunting tales still existed in these areas, promoting independence and sustainability. The honey bee remained an important image in the twentieth-century arts. In addition to reflecting more traditional values of industry and thrift, modern artists conveyed the complexities of racial and gender roles in American society. The honey bee—with its contradictory abilities to create honey but deliver a powerful sting—was a perfect metaphor by which to explore in movies, music, and literature the complexities of romantic relationships or traumatic experiences. In fact, artists embraced the honey bee for its cathartic potential. The honey bee was “the step child of agriculture” throughout the twentieth century, according to American Bee Journal editor G. H. Cale.2 147
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Nevertheless, in an increasingly technical and secular world, many Americans still harbored respect for bees, although bees and their keepers were decreasing in numbers. Progressive Beekeeping Progressivism marched through America with a vengeance, and beekeeping did not escape its influence. Although there had been health reform movements in the United States, the first law to protect consumers was passed in 1906, and much credit should go to honey producers such as Charles Dadant. Until this bill was passed, unscrupulous producers could sell honey that had been adulterated with sugar without fear of legal recrimination. Honey adulteration occurred often enough that the market suffered in the States and abroad. The problem was aggravated by the plethora of honey varieties produced in such a vast country. Hawaiian producers, for example, often provided two types of products: mesquite and honeydew. Mesquite honey, considered a delicacy, brought (and still brings) high prices. But honeydew is an inferior product, often made from sap or other sugary substances that foraging bees happen to collect. Pre–World War II bakeries liked to...