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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



The Honey Market. 



The American Grocer says: 



We are in possession of reliable in- 

 formation from San Diego, California, 

 confirming the previons reports of the 

 almost total failure of the iioney crop 

 in that and the counties lying contigu- 

 ous thereto. Our readers will remem- 

 ber that last year was a wonderfully 

 propitious one for tlie secretion of 

 honey in that section — the rains were 

 ample and the dews regular; the crop 

 was unprecedentedly large. San Diego 

 county alone shipped 1,1^77,1-55 lbs., and 

 it is estimated that the yield in the 

 entire State reached 2,-500,000 fts. This, 

 or most of it, was forced upon our 

 Eastern markets and prices became 

 depressed; quotations for choice comb 

 honey fell rapidly from 28c. to 18c. per 

 ft)., the most of it went into consump- 

 tion at the latter price. This year tlie 

 immense tloral variety and plienomi- 

 nally splendid climate of that section 

 seem to have availed nothing; a drouth 

 set in, and worse yet, they have had no 

 dews, and the whole face of the earth 

 is parched into unproductiveness and 

 death. What a metamorphosis ! Mr. 

 Harbison writes: " I have visited my 

 apiaries the past week, and have heard 

 from all the principal points. The in- 

 evitable result will be that a. large por- 

 tion of the bees will die of starvation 

 unless fed enough to carry them 

 through the period of six months. 

 They are only gathering a living now, 

 and can only depend on this lasting 

 for, say 5 or 6 weeks. It follows that 

 feeding will have to be resorted to 

 from that time till flowers bloom, which 

 will, at best be, till Feb., 1878." 



The question now arises what effect 

 the loss of California's crop will have 

 upon the market y The opinion has 

 been hazarded by an eminent apiarian 

 that prices will be forced back to tlie 

 old standard. This is a delusion that 

 producers will, no doubt, delight to 

 hug, but we question whether a calm 

 investigation of the situation will justi- 

 fy such a hope. 



The immense consumption of honey 

 last fall and winter has satisfied 

 capitalists that money can be profit- 

 ably employed to develop our honey 

 resources, even at the low prices that 

 ruled them. Consumption always ren- 

 ders an article cheap and abundant; it 

 renders possible the investment of vast 

 capital in the establishment of large 

 apiaries throughout the country, the 

 reduction of transportation thereby 

 making remote crops accessible and 

 enabling bee men to work their apiar- 

 ies at the minimiuu cost. It establishes 

 the business upon a firmer basis and 

 promotes this product to the dignity of 

 a staple. All this could never be done 



imless the vast consumption of honey 

 rendered it wise and practicable to do 

 so. Here we see the advantage of the 

 merchant; he induces consumption by 

 pressing its sale, and it is the consump- 

 tion of honey that increases its cheap- 

 ness. It is only by extravagance, so to 

 speak, by free and extensive use of 

 honey, that the machinery by which it 

 is made cheap is put into operation. 

 If honey is consumed largely the re- 

 sources will be co-extensively develop- 

 ed, and our immense wealth in this 

 direction will startle us still further. 

 If but little is used little will be pro- 

 duced; and that little dear. ''Consump- 

 tion and the possibilities of extended 

 consumption," says that celebrated 

 political economist, Mr. Bunce, " stim- 

 ulate invention and industry." 



Mr. Heddon, an apiarian of no incon- 

 siderable practical experience, has for 

 a long time attempted to dissuade men 

 from embarking in the bee biisiness, 

 fearing tlie increased production would 

 glut the market. He will find, how- 

 ever, that capital is not fixed in its 

 activity nor human energies limited, 

 and as Nature's resources are fairly 

 boundless, honey will be exti-acted 

 from the fields to an extent immensely 

 determined by the demands of con- 

 sumers. We all remember the old 

 fable of Fortunatus, in whose pvu'se a 

 gold piece appeared as rapidly as the 

 contents were withdrawn. In the new 

 purse of Fortunatus, called production, 

 two or more pieces appear as rapidly as 

 one is withdrawn, and thus it is that in 

 Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, 

 and the South generally, which is now 

 rapidly passing out of what may be 

 called a ''transition state," and ac- 

 tivity taking the place of indolence, 

 the modern purse of Fortunatus is 

 found. Capital has found investment 

 there, and this tier of States lying in 

 the same latitude with California 

 promises to send to market almost 

 enough honey, produced in excess of 

 last year, to offset the loss sustained by 

 the failure of the crop in the latter 

 State. More than this, the prospect in 

 jSTew York State for a large crop is 

 very encouraging. One gentleman, in 

 the central part of the State, recently 

 informed us that he thought his yield 

 would aggregate 100,000 to 150,000 ftis., 

 against 70,000 ft)S. last year. Favorable 

 reports also reach us from Michigan, 

 Wisconsin, and Ohio. Thus it will be 

 seen that, notwithstanding the dis- 

 astrous news from the Golden State, 

 last year's consumption encouraged 

 production in other quarters to such an 

 extent that the increased supply thus 

 secured will keep honey within reach 

 of the poor, and we i)redict that prices 

 will hardly be restored to the old stan- 

 dard, though California honey will, no 

 doubt, be higher than last year. 



