253 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 1. 



consideration and action ; and to further this 

 project we would outline the following: 



First, the selection of two delegates by each 

 State association or assembly of bee-keepers 

 where no State organization exists. After due 

 time for selection of delegates, the persons se- 

 lected organize, and proceed to formulate plans 

 for a national bee-keepers' association. The 

 work of this preliminary organization can all be 

 conducted by correspondence, and then sub- 

 mitted to the various State associations for rat- 

 ification and the selection of delegates to the 

 first assembly, the place of meeting being cen- 

 tral and permanent. 



We trust now that every bee-keeper who re- 

 sides in the United States will in some way 

 give expression to his views on the subject pre- 

 sented. We feel assured that, if we thus show 

 a willingness to present our cause, it will result 

 in a double assurance to our usually wide- 

 awake bee-editors that they are working for 

 " the greatest good to the greatest number." 



Los Angeles, Cal. 



[If I understand you correctly, you and the 

 other California bee-keepers would not object 

 to the amalgamation of the two societies pro- 

 viding that the North American were distinct- 

 ly national; that you think the present Na- 

 tional Bee-keepers' Union should not be en- 

 larged in its scope so as to cover Canada. There 

 may be something in this. When the North 

 American was incorporated, you may remember 

 that some of our Canadian brethren raised a 

 vigorous protest. If the North American Bee- 

 keepers' Union, as is proposed, should become a 

 fact, it of course would have to be incorporat- 

 ed, either in the United States or in Canada, in 

 order to carry on the work of defense, to prose- 

 cute and be prosecuted — in fact, to act as a re- 

 sponsible person or firm. Obviously the Union, 

 when amalgamated with the other association, 

 should be incorporated in the United States. 



I do not know that this point has ever been 

 raised before; but possibly our Canadian bee- 

 friends who objected the first time would ob- 

 ject again. But whatever is done, I am most 

 emphatically in favor of having the Union so 

 modified that it shall have annual meetings or 

 conventions, to discuss the all-absorbing prob- 

 lems that come before us, no matter whether 

 they relate to defense agaJnst unjust legisla- 

 tion, prosecution of glucose-mixers, or whether 

 they concern some of the problems as to how to 

 manage bees. In other words, I am most heart- 

 ily in favor of having the social annual- meet- 

 ing feature hitched on to the Union in some 

 way; and if it is not wise to have it interna- 

 tional, let it be distinctly national. 



In the event that the Bee-keepers' Union 

 should be changed as I have suggested, those 

 Canadians who have welcomed the proposed 

 change in the North Amercan could hitch on a 

 union to their Ontario Bee-keepers' Associa- 

 tion. In that case the old North American 

 could be disbanded, and the two national asso- 

 ciations could have joint meetings at stated or 

 occasional intervals to discuss common inter- 

 ests, as was done so well in the old North Amer- 

 ican, and thus Canadian and American bee- 

 keepers would be united in one common broth- 

 erhood as before. Then the work of defense, 

 and prosecuting adulterators, could be carried 

 on by each distinct national association in its 

 own country. Now, please understand that 



what I have said is meant in the way of sug- 

 gesUon and not as a recoinmeiulntion. I s^houid 

 like to hear from others. — Ed.] 



THE LOW PRICES OF HONEY. 



CAUSE AND cure; THE CALIFORNIA EX- 

 CHANGE; A CAREFULLY CONSIDERED 

 ARTICLE. 



By C. H. Clayton. 



It is often said that the prices of commodi- 

 ties are fixed by the cost of production. If this 

 be correct, the costof producing honey has been 

 reduced fully 40 per cent within the last few 

 years. But is this assertion true? I think not. 

 The cost of production is but one of the factors 

 governing prices, and certainly not the sole 

 governing power. Cost enters into the value of 

 all products, and must not be ignored; yet, at 

 times, some other element may absolutely con- 

 trol for a time the price at which an article 

 may be sold. The law of supply and demand 

 often works an increase or decrease in prices 

 without regard to the cost of production of the 

 article at the exact period. A shortage in any 

 crop brings increase of prices if the demand 

 remains the same. A large increase in the crop, 

 if the demand be the same, will cause the prices 

 to fall. If the price of honey gets below the 

 actual cost of its production, and remains so for 

 any length of time, the production will of neces- 

 sity be decreased. 



Bee-keepers will not long continue the pro- 

 duction of honey when compelled to pay out 

 more money than they get in return for their 

 product. The fact will curtail the production 

 until the price obtained covers the cost. In 

 like manner any substance that can be pro- 

 duced at a large profit will naturally be produc- 

 ed in larger amounts. 



The question then arises, To what shall we 

 attribute the low price of honey? Is it over- 

 production brought about by large profits? 

 Let us see what those profits are — if any. 



The capital invested in the production of 

 honey varies much from year to year, even in 

 the same apiary, on account of losses from 

 various causes. The cost price of the empty 

 hives, drawn combs, and tools used, are about 

 the only items that can be declared to have a 

 fixed value from year to year. 



Suppose we rate the two-story hive (empty) 

 at 7.5 cents; the drawn combs are. for purposes 

 of income, well worth 7.5 cents each; 19 combs 

 to hive is $U.25; bees, say 4 pounds, which 

 would be a fair colony at the beginning of the 

 season, at 50 cents per pound— $2.00. Total val- 

 ue of hive ready for business, $14.00. 



We will figure nothing for cost of range, 

 honey-house, and tools. We have as yet no 

 reliable statistics to show the average yield 

 which may be expected from each colony. 

 Some yields have been published, but they 



