342 ANXiAL i;i;i'(»UTs of hkj'aim'mknt ok A(iiti('n/n'HK. 



inurked since the cessation of hostilities, and beekeejjing is still in- 

 creasin*;: in extent and importance at a rapid rate. The dealers in 

 beekeeping supplies, the breeders oi" (lueen bees, and those who deal 

 in full colonies of bees have during the present season faced the 

 largest demand for their goods in tlie history of the business as a 

 commercial enterj)rise. The subscriptions to the journals devoted 

 to beekeeping are rapidly increasing and the demand for beekeeping 

 literature, both that from the department and that published pri- 

 vately, is the largest in history. A factor which contributed largely 

 to this contimuHl increase in the impoi'tance of beekeeping was the 

 fact that sugar was scarce, but this does not by any means fully 

 explain the great present demand for hone}' or the fact that so many 

 beekeepers are engaging still further in the industry. Honey is now 

 being used in the manufacture of ice cream and in confectionery, but 

 the greatest demand is. of course, for home consumption, and this 

 demand is greater at present tlian ever before. The demand for 

 honey for export, which was so important a factor during the war, 

 has virtuall}- ceased, because of the rates of foreign exchange, but in 

 spite of the fact that American beekeepers looked for a continuation 

 of this demand as an important factor in the future of the industry, 

 the loss has been fullv made up bv th.e increased demand for honev 

 at home. 



There has been a tendency for the last 20 years toward the develop- 

 ment of beekeeping as a specialty, and this has been considered as a de- 

 sirable condition, rather than that bees should be kept on every farm. 

 The heavy winter losses of 1917-18 and again in 1919-20 resulted 

 in the loss of most of the colonies in the hands of careless beekeepers. 

 Furthermore the beekeepers who kept only a few colonies failed to 

 realize the demand for more honey, while those engaged in the work 

 as a major occupation were able and anxious to take full advantage 

 of the opportunities presented. This combination of circumstances 

 has greatly hastened the placing of beekeeping on the basis of a 

 specialty in agriculture, and to-day the inclustry is further ahead 

 by 20 years than it would have been without the stimulus of the war 

 and the severe losses of winter. 



