July, 1921 



honey outside of the state in which it is 

 produced. As a consequence, the bulk of 

 the comb honey sold in the United States 

 is that produced and sold locally in various 

 Eastern states. In 1916 and 1917, 38 per 

 cent of all the honey produced in the 

 United States was produced in the form of 

 comb honey. In 1918 the percentage was 

 31 per cent and in 1919 and 1920, 30.5 

 per cent. 



Approximately 1 per cent of the honey 

 produced in the United States is sold as 

 chuni< honey. In California only from one 

 to two per cent of all honey produced is 

 sold in this form. 



The principal markets for honey moving 

 through the regular channels of trade are 

 reported as Medina, Ohio; Cincinnati, New 

 York City, Chicago, Kans.as City, Philadel- 

 phia and Boston. It is estimated, however, 

 that approximately 90 per cent of the honey 

 produced in the country, with the excep- 

 tion of the California production, does not 

 get 25 miles from the home of the honey 

 producer. 



In the past the markets for commer- 

 cially produced honey have been, to a great 

 extent, foreign markets. In 1919 there 

 were 9,105,362 pounds of honey exported 

 from the United States. The principal im- 

 porting countries were the United King- 

 dom, which imported 2,882,951 pounds; 

 France, which imported 1,129,704 pounds; 

 Sweden, which imported 1,128,1 52 pounds; 

 Belgium, which imported 922,008 pounds; 

 The Netherlands, which imported 690,595 

 pounds; Denmark, which imported 417,- 

 492 pounds; and Canada, which imported 

 297,414 pounds. While these exportations 

 to foreign countries during 1919 were 

 slightly larger than normal exportations, 

 because of the sugar shortage, they may 

 nevertheless be taken as indicative of the 

 proportion of American produced honey 

 formerly absorbed by foreign markets. 



AT present, these markets are being defi- 

 nitely closed to United States honey 

 producers. In 1920 there were only 1,5 39,- 

 725 pounds of honey exported from the 

 United States of America, almost 5 per 

 cent less than total exportations to Great 

 Britain during 1919 and approximately 83 

 per cent less than total exportations during 

 1919. 



Several factors are closing these foreign 

 markets to American honey producers. The 

 first of these is the depreciation in foreign 

 exchanges, which is making it exceptionally 

 difficult for foreign countries to purchase 

 American produced goods. This situation 

 may be only temporary and the organization 

 of the new $100,000,000 Foreign Trade 

 Financing Corporation may materially assist 

 in stabilizing exchanges. 



The other factor which is closing foreign 

 markets to American productions is probably 

 permanent. Throughout the world, com- 

 panies are being formed to further honey 

 production. Cheap labor costs, and inferior 



BETTER FRUIT 



methods in handling honey will probably 

 assure these corporations a comparative mo- 

 nopoly on foreign honey markets. 



The situation is made doubly serious by 

 the fact that many of these companies are 

 formed with the express purpose of ex- 

 ploiting United States markets. They are 

 shipping quantities of extracted honey into 

 the New York market. This honey, it is 

 alleged, is sometimes shipped into the 

 United States in containers, consisting of 

 previously used casks, barrels, and even five 

 gallon oil cans. This imported honey is not 

 always produced under sanitary conditions 

 and may even contain bacilli larvae, which 

 are germs of a very contagious disease, sim- 

 ilar in seriousness to the boll weevil in the 

 cotton industry. Consequently, efforts are 

 being made to secure an emergency protec- 

 tive tariff of not less than 5 cents per 

 pound upon every pound of honey imported 

 into the United States from foreign mar- 

 kets. The purpose of this tariff is not only 



NOTICE NURSERYMEN 

 Nursery licenses expire June 30th. The 

 law requires renewals each year, July 1st, 

 by payment of the annual license fee of 

 $5.00 and filing a bond in the sum of 

 $1,000.00. Only surety company bonds will 

 be accepted by the Director of Agriculture. 

 Nursery agents' licenses must also be re- 

 newed July 1st. The fee for each agent's 

 license is $1.00. 



to protect United States honey from com- 

 petition with foreign honey, but is also to 

 protect the honey industry from possible in- 

 roads which .these larvae might make upon 

 the bee of the United States, if importation 

 is permitted to continue. A movement to 

 require rigid inspection of imported honey 

 and rejection of any honey containing in- 

 jurious larvae could do much to correct this 

 evil, but present attempts by producers seem 

 to be directed toward efforts to secure tariff 

 protection. 



The United States honey industry is to- 

 day definitely faced with the fact that it 

 must rely almost entirely upon domestic 

 markets in the future. In the past it has 

 been the custom to market domestically pro- 

 duced honey in five-gallon cans, containing 

 sixty pounds of extracted honey. As a gen- 

 eral rule two of these cans form a case. A 

 considerable proportion of this honey was 

 retailed direct from the can into containers 

 belonging to the consumers. 



The baking trade in the United States has 

 used large proportions of the United States 

 produced honey in preference to sugar, be- 

 cause it permits the holding of a certain 

 proportion of moisture In baked goods. As 

 commercial baked goods tend to dry and 

 chip easily if sugar is used, honey is con- 

 sidered superior for sweetening purposes. 



IN ORDER to better exploit local markets 

 a new means of marketing honey is fast 

 gaining in favor In the United States and is 

 being pushed by co-operative honey assocla- 



Page 9 



tlons in California. Honey is being put up 

 for the retail trade in one pound, two and 

 a half pounds, five-pound and ten-pound 

 friction-top cans, and in eight-ounce and 

 sixteen-ounce glasses. These containers carry 

 a label showing the name of the canning 

 company and the source of the honey, so 

 that its cleanliness can be vouched for. Ac- 

 tive steps are being taken to develop larger 

 home markets for this new form of honey. 

 The food value of honey is unquestioned, 

 as it contains 1485 heat calories per pound. 

 High railroad freight rates are interfer- 

 ing with the marketing of California pro- 

 duced honey, and active steps are being 

 taken to secure a reduction in these rates so 

 that California honey can enter the Eastern 

 markets of the United States. With the de- 

 velopment of water transportation, through 

 the Panama Canal, It is anticipated that in- 

 creasing amounts of California honey can 

 enter Eastern markets at cheaper transpor- 

 tation costs. It is being found that co- 

 operative marketing of honey, as at present 

 carried on In California, Is reducing the cost 

 of marketing honey by several cents per 

 pound, thereby assisting in profitable mar- 

 keting. The California Honey Producers' 

 Co-operative Exchange, with head offices 

 in Los Angeles, markets the honey of ap- 

 proximately 85 per cent of the California 

 commercial producers. 



The problems which the honey industry 

 of the United States, and particularly of 

 California, are faced today are, therefore, 

 three-fold. The first Is the securing of an 

 effective means of excluding any infected 

 foreign honey, the second Is a reduction in 

 freight rates to Eastern markets, the third 

 Is the preparation of honey in more mar- 

 ketable forms and the development of 

 larger consumption in the United States. 

 The first of these problems will require 

 Congressional action. The solution of the 

 second will be made easier through the de- 

 velopment of water transportation through 

 the Panama Canal and the ready response 

 which is being made in retail markets to the 

 new forms of marketing honey will go a 

 long way in solving the third problem. 



Honey prices have dropped materially in 

 the past year, because of general readjust- 

 ment and because of the closing of foreign 

 markets. While in 1918 and 1919 and the 

 earlier part of 1920 the prices for the bet- 

 ter grades of California honey in Los An- 

 geles markets ranged between 1 8 cents and 

 23 cents. These prices have now dropped to 

 as low as 12 cents and 13 cents. Predic- 

 tions as to future honey prices can not be 

 made with any accuracy today, but indica- 

 tions are that with the development of new 

 domestic markets the excess honey for- 

 merly shipped to foreign countries will tend 

 to be absorbed in the United States. 



A poor spraying equipment makes con- 

 trol difficult. No more spray rods or guns 

 should be used than the outfit will sup- 

 port and still maintain a good reserve with- 

 out overtaxing the engine or pump. 



