E 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



3 



EDITORIAL 



THE BEEKEEPERS of the United States 

 are going to be allowed all tlie sugar neces- 

 sary to feed their 



Beekeepers 



Will Be 



Allowed the 



Sugar Needed. 



bees — if the sugar 

 is in any way ob- 

 tainable. This is 

 the ilefinite and 

 emphatic state- 

 ment the Sugar Division of the U. S. Food 

 Administration made as late as July 20. 



^lany of our readers, after seeing our edi- 

 torial on page o94, July issue, entitled 

 ' ' Don 't Extract too Closely, ' ' referring to 

 the probable sugar shortage, were very 

 greatly alarmed. The further statement, 

 that Dr. Phillips would probably advise 

 the Sugar Division to put restrictions 

 upon sugar for beekeepers, caused quite 

 general alarm — even panic — among honey- 

 producers. Beekeepers were confuse<l as to 

 the whole sugar situation. Accordingly the 

 Editor of Gleanings decided he could not do 

 anything better for the beekeeping industry 

 than to go to Washington, see Dr. Phillips 

 and the Sugar Division of the United States 

 Food Administration, and try to get a def- 

 inite decision in favor of the beekeeper. 

 So we did this. 



As a result, we are very happy to inform 

 our readers that the situation is not nearly 

 so bad as it looked at the time of our last 

 issue. 



Our readers may not geiu'rally know that 

 in the Government 'sOfficialBulletin for June 

 24, the Food Administration gave notice 

 that "honey manufacture'' would be placed 

 in "the less essential class" of production, 

 and so would be allowed only 5U per cent 

 of its normal sugar requirements. Some 

 high authorities held that "honey manufac- 

 ture" meant honey production by the bee- 

 keeper. But this view of the ruling is not 

 correct, as the Editor of Gleanings learned 

 definitely while in Washington. 



The term "honey manufacture'' did not 

 refer to feeding sugar to bee^. It meant 

 only sugar for adulterating (mixing or 

 compounding with) honey; and hence the 

 term ' ' honey manufacture ' ' was used. Mr. 

 Wilson of the Sugar Division in charge of 

 the distribution of food stated to us posi- 

 tively that there never had been any desire 

 on the part of the Government to shut off 

 needed sugar for feeding bees, and no such 

 action whatever is now intended. Fort- 

 unately, Mr. Wilson's brother is an entluisi- 



astic beekeeper, and he himself fully real- 

 izes that sugar under some conditions is of 

 vital necessity for the beekeeping industry. 

 "But," said he, "the available amount in 

 sight is not only less than it was at this 

 time last year, but we may have to go fur- 

 ther if the shortage becomes more acute, and 

 allow only half the amount to individuals 

 and to industries. ' ' 



How are the beekeepers to get sugar? 

 All that is necessary, said Mr. Wilson, for 

 every beekeeper who really needs sugar and 

 must have it, is to write a letter to the 

 United States Food Administration, Sugar 

 Division, at the capital of his own State. 

 This letter must be plain, concise, and, as a 

 matter of fact, should state actual needs, 

 the number of colonies, and the amount re- 

 quired per colony. The State Administra- 

 tion issues a permit which allows the bee- 

 keepers to go to any dealer or wholesaler 

 who has a suj)ply of sugar, and get from 

 that dealer the amount of sugar called for. 



Right here let us say that the beekeeper 

 must not get the idea that the permit alone 

 wull solve the sugar problem. H solves it 

 only so far as the Government can solve it 

 for him. If the dealer does not have the 

 sugar lie can not supply it, of course, and 

 there is great danger that the dealer may 

 not always have it. The beekeeper must 

 be alert in seeking it from whatever source 

 is within his reach. 



Perhaps it is not necessary to remind the 

 reader that the statement setting forth the 

 need of sugar must be based on actual facts. 

 Any other kind of statement, whether made 

 in the form of an affidavit or not, may make 

 the beekeeper grave trouble; for it must 

 be remembered that the United States Food 

 Aduiinistration has almost unlimited au- 

 thority for punishing misrepresentation or 

 a violation of its rulings. 



A word in regard to the attitude of Dr. 

 Phillips in suggesting a reasonable restric- 

 tion on sugar for beekeepers. He has been 

 a most faithful and untiring worker in the 

 Bureau of Entomology. He has done a great 

 many things for bee culture that will have 

 a far-reaching influence on the business. He 

 is not only loyal to the interests of bee- 

 keepers, but he is intensely loyal to the 

 cause of our allies. He says that our dear 

 Uncle Sam has granted everything that the 

 beekeepers have asked of him, and that 

 beekeepers now should be very careful not 

 (Coiithnii'd oil /inf/e 461.) 



