October, 1916. 



335 



American ^ac Jonrnalj^^^^S^aLJ 



protects the bees against them. The 

 best argument in its fiiver is our suc- 

 cess In wintering. 



The Sweet Tooth 



A statement of tlie candy business 

 in Iowa, whicli recentl.v appeared in 

 the newspapers p'aces the tonsump- 

 tion of candy in that state at $2.75 

 per capita and ice cream at $1.50 per 

 capita. Honey is often said to be a 

 luxury even by the beekeefers, but 

 surely it is no more a lu.xury than can- 

 dy and ice cream . The population of 

 Iowa is approximately two and a 

 quarter millions. According to the 

 above estimate they consume moie 

 than ten million dollars worth of 

 candy and ice cream annually. Prom 

 the above showing it is very ev'dent 

 that with proper attention to marktt- 

 ing, Iowa people would buy at least 

 ten times the amount of honey now 

 sold in that state. Iowa is prolably 

 fairly representative of the couniry at 

 large in the consumption of candies 

 and other sweets, and the amount of 

 such products sold indicates some- 

 thing of the possibilities of the de- 

 velopment of the honey markets. 



The fellow who waits for a demand 

 for his product, no matter what it is, 

 never gets the best prices. It is the 

 fellow who creates the demand who 

 sets the prices. Eastman with an 

 idea and business push has built up a 

 business in Kodaks which nets mil- 

 lions annually. There never would 

 have been a demand for Kodaks 

 rather than any other particular kind 

 of camera if Eastman had not forced 

 it before the public and compelled at- 

 tention. When the honey producers 

 use the same business methods it will 

 not be possible to keep up with the de- 

 mand for good honey. The old scrip- 

 ture proverb about hiding a light un- 

 der a bushel still applies. 



A Good Idea 



Members of the fruit grower's as- 

 sociations of Iowa and Nebraska held 

 most interesting joint summer meet- 

 ings. Instead of following the usual 

 plan, a long automobile trip was ar- 

 ranged to visit representative or- 

 chards in both states. At Council 

 Bluffs they were guests of the grape 

 growers at a picnic dinner. 



N.jw that so many beekeepers have 

 automobiles why should not the Na- 

 tional be able to arrange for several 

 such trips in different parts of the 

 country. In many places a circle of 

 three to five hundred miles would 

 make it possible to visit several large 



apiaries and to learn something of 

 new conditions and mcthcds. The bee- 

 keepers of Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota 

 and Illinois already have a joint or- 

 ganization for the purpose of a sum- 

 mer field meeting. They u.sual y 

 meet somewhere along the Mississip- 

 pi river. There is room for a dozen 

 or more such organizations where the 

 beekeepers of two or more states 

 could get together to their mutual ad- 

 vantage. 



A Couveuieut Frame Support 



What beekeeper has not found it 

 trying to the patience to find a con- 

 venient place to support frames when 

 making the spring examination of the 

 apiary? It often happens that the 

 first frame removed will be left out 



Doctor Leonard's Frame Holder 



The Frame Holder with Frame in 

 Place 



during the examination of the remain- 

 ing frames in order to leave room for 

 easy movement. If the queen hap- 

 pens to be on this first frame she is 

 in danger of being brushed off when 

 it is set down in the grass. Combs 

 are often damaged from falling, or 

 they are in the way of the operator. 

 L. D. Leonard, of Minnesota has a 

 very convenient little frame for this 

 purpose. It is light and inexpensive 



as will be seen by the pictures. It is 

 made of light strap iron with staple- 

 shaped ends which fit nicely on the 

 side of the hive. There is Just enough 

 slope to give the frame support with- 

 out danger of falling, thus keeping it 

 very nearly in a natural position. 

 There is an upright point on each 

 iron which supports the frame but yet 

 makes it impossible to crush a single 

 bee when the frame is put in place. 

 When one sits down to open the hive 

 this support can easily be attached to 

 the opposite side where it :s entirely 

 out of the way yet within easy reach. 

 This should be especially convenient 

 for queen breeders and experimen'al 

 apiaries where frequent exemination 

 is necessary and where there are sel- 

 dom heavy supers to be removed. 

 Almost any beekeeper will find it 

 useful in the spring of the year when 

 the early examinations are made. 



Houey Market Conditions 



Indications were, early in the season, 

 that honey prices would be low, as low 

 as last year at least, owing to the 

 fact that a large amount of honey had 

 been carried over. This combined 

 with the fact that white clover regions 

 were favored with an excellent flow 

 tended to influence beekeepers in the 

 white clover section at least, to sell 

 their crop as early as possible, even 

 at a low figure. 



The governing feature of the honey 

 market is supply and demand, and 

 most of the larger honey markets get 

 the bulk of their supply from the 

 more important honey producing 

 states of the west. A shortage, there- 

 fore, in western crops tends to make 

 a shortage in the larger markets with 

 the result that honey prices instead 

 of being lower would range better. 

 The sale of a considerable portion of 

 the California crop at a figure in 

 advance of that secured last season 

 shows which way the price tendency 

 is. 



Then too, there is a shortage of fruit 

 this year. Fruit crops for the country 

 are far below normal. This will 

 cause, if it has not already, a 

 better price for fruits, and as a con- 

 sequence, a slightly better demand 

 for honey. 



Comb honey producers seem to be 

 possibly a little too numerou.s for the 

 most economical supplying of the de- 

 mand for this article. Being higher 

 in price, comb honey is just that 

 much nearer a luxury, while the 

 cheaper extracted honey approaches 

 a staple necessity as prices of other 

 foods advance. 



