March 30, 190S. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



245 



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©pinions •:♦ of 

 Some (Experts 



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spring and Fall Price of a Colony of Bees 



Qnes. 2-t — What do you consider a fair price for an average colony 

 of bees in a good, 8-frame Langstroth hive, (or a hive of about the samf 

 capacity) — (a) In the spring? {b)Inthefallf 



C. H. DiBBEBN (111.)— a. J5. b. $4. 

 R. L. Tatlok (Mich.)— a. $5. b. U. 

 Rev. M. Mahin (Ind.)— a. §10. b. %o. 

 Adbian Getaz (Tenn.)— a. $4. b. $3. 

 L. Stachelhausen (Tex.)— a. $3. b. $3. 

 EnoENE Secor (Iowa)— a. $5. b. $2.50. 

 Wm. McEvot (Ont.)— a. $3.50. b. $2.50. 

 Morgan Bros. (8. Dak.)— a. $5. b. $3.50. 



E. E. Hasty (Ohio) — This can only be an approximation, a. $5. 

 b. $4. 



Jas. a. Stone (111.)— a. Italians, $7; blacks, $5. b. Italians, $6; 

 blacks, $4. 



S. T. Pettit (Ont.)— a and b. Whatever it will bring when placed 

 upon the market. 



N. E. France (Wis.)— a. $3.50 to $4.50. b. $3to $3. In Wiscon- 

 sin this is what they sell for. 



G. M. Doohttle (N. Y.)— a. $3 to $6, according to the strain or 

 " breed " of the bees. b. $2 to $5. 



Dr. J. P. H. Brown (Ga.)— a and b. From $5 to $8, depending 

 upon locality and upon supply and demand. 



Arthur C. Miller (R. I.)— a. $7. b. $3 to $5, depending upon 

 condition. Fall condition is more vital than that of spring. 



Prof. A. J. Cook (Calif.) — a. In the spring, $5. b. In the autumn 

 little if any less, as bees always winter here, if they are healthy and 

 have food. 



J. H. Hambaugh (Calif.) — This is a hard question to answer. 

 There are so many varied conditions. All the way from $5 per colony 

 down to $3. 



R. C. AiKiN (Colo.)— a. $4. b. $3. These prices are based on 

 common financial ideas and practices. On a true moral basis they 

 should be twice that. 



Mrs. J. M. Ncll (Mo.) — a. $5. b. $3. I infer for the purpose 

 of stocking is what the value is based upon. These figures might be 

 reversed if value of honey is to be considered. 



E. D. TowNSEND (Mich.) — Supposing the hive that contains the 

 colony to be worth $1 — a. $4. b. $3. This is about what they can be 

 bought for. I do not know what they are worth. 



Dr. C. C. Miller (111.)— I don't know. It's like other things, a 

 variable quantity, depending upon supply and demand, varying in 

 different years and places from (a) $3 to $10. b. to $6. 



C. P. Dadant (111.) — a and b. I would not answer in dollars and 

 cents because so much depends upon circumstances, but if I were to 

 buy, I would pay 25 percent more in the spring than in the fall. 



O. O. POPPLETON (Fla.) — From $3 to S5, but this depends much 

 upon locality, etc. They would usually be worth at least a dollar 

 more in the spring thin in the fall, but it is difficult to fix any standard 

 price. 



C. Davenport (Minn.) — a. and b. My prices vary according to 

 how bees winter and come through the spring. But, as a rule, I con- 

 sider an average colony worth a third more in late spring than the 

 previous fall. 



J. A. Green (Colo.)'— It will depend largely upon circumstances. 

 a. S3 to .<i5. b. About 50 cents less. In a locality where wintering 

 losses are apt to be heavy, the spring value might easily be a half more 

 than the fall value. 



P. H. Elwoou (N. Y.)— Bees in box-hives, $3 in fall ; $3 in spring. 

 Add price or value to you of hive with super and foundation, if any. 

 If you are using or selling to a man who uses Langstroth hives, S5 

 would be a fair price or value from cost standpoint. However, bees 

 are usually sold below cost, as is much of the honey also. 



G. W. Dbmaree (Ky.) — a and b. This is a question hard to an- 

 swer satisfactorily. The price of honey-bees is governed by the laws 

 of supply and demand as much so and more than most salable prod- 

 ucts. Bees sell in my locality at farm sales (10-frame hives) in spring- 

 time at from S3 to $3 per hive; and at least 25 percent less in the fall. 



E. S. LovESY (Utah)— a. That depends largely upon existing con- 

 ditions, and as the indications for a good honey crop, owing to the 



heavy snow fall, are above the average in the greater portion of this 

 State, I would consider $4 a reasonable price for a single-story 

 colony, or $6 for a 3-story one. b. The value would be at least one- 

 third less. 



E. Whitcomb (Nebr.)— a. and b. That depends entirely upon how 

 many l»es there are in the hive, how much honey they have on 

 hand, kind and breeding of the queen, and her age, etc. It is as im- 

 possible to fix the price of a colony of bees for different localities of 

 the United States as it would be to fix the price of a pound of fresh 

 flsh or a dozen clams. 



-V (Eontributcb -f 

 Special drticles 



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Making a Honey Market— Retailing Honey 



BY C. P. DADANT. 



WHEN so many apiarists are asking themselves what 

 to do to dispose of their honey, it may not be amiss 

 to examine what is done in other countries. The fol- 

 lowing statement taken from the S wiss Bulletin de la Societe 

 Romande d'Apiculture for December, 1904, will probably be 

 read with interest : 



To produce hundreds upon hundreds of pounds of honey is very 

 nice and very good. But we must dispose of it in some way. To-day 

 our members are relieved of the anxiety ; in fact, for a few years past 

 our section of the Neuchatel Association busies itself actively with the 

 disposal of our crop. 



When fall comes we keep a " honey market " in the city of Neu- 

 chatel ; some years, if the fruit crop has failed, the " market " is held 

 in September, and if the abundance of honey permits of it the " mar- 

 ket " is renewed in December. This year the stone-fruits having been 

 plentiful, we have preferred to hold the " market " in October. 



A few insertions in the local papers, announcing the coming mar- 

 ket, are published as early as September, to advise the housekeepers 

 that they will be able to secure a supply of good honey for winter. 



It is a pleasure to see the housewives come at the appointed date 

 to have their pails and pots filled. 



Allow me to give you a few details upon the organization of our 

 market ; the experience of some ten years has taught us how to man- 

 age its workings, and we are now well pleased with it. 



We need first to secure a building sufficiently large to accommo- 

 date the handling of the stock on hand, and another in which the sale 

 may be carried on, so as not to be obstructed by the clients. The Asso- 

 ciation in this matter is very much favored by a friend of our bee- 

 keepers, who rents to us obligingly some very good rooms in a central 

 part of the city, and in close proximity to the vegetable market. 



The day preceding the sale we receive the honey of the members. 

 The members of the honey-market committee weigh the pails brought 

 and verify the contents, which must be liquid and free from impuri- 

 ties. Then they proceed to the putting up in tins containing 1, 3, 4, 5 

 and 10 pounds, and on each tin is gummed the label of the Associa- 

 tion. During the two days of the honey-market we also make an 

 ooen sale— that is, we fill any and all receptacles brought by pur- 

 chasers for that object. A large tank containing 450 pounds, put up 

 on a stand and supplied with a faucet of large size, gives excellent 

 service. The handling of the honey is much facilitated by this tank, 

 which we did not have at the outset. The unsold honey is afterwards 

 put up in tins of different sizes, and with guarantee labels over the 

 cover and deposited in our three agencies in the city, these taking 

 charge of the sale thereafter for a commission of 10 percent. The 

 empty pails are weighed and returned to their several owners. The 

 cashier balances up the accounts and makes a first distribution of cash 

 during December ; the balance is paid after the agents have concluded 



The organizing of such a " market " as we keep requires a mutual 

 understanding and some good-will on the part of the producers and 

 of the salesmen. The task of the cashier or treasurer is often difficult, 

 and yet, in spite of the imperfections of our methods, we are usually 

 rewarded for our trouble by a large sale of honey. The prices, of 

 course, have quite an influence on the amount which may be sold dur- 

 ing the two days of the "market." During the years when honey is 

 cheap we see among our customers many working people who desire 

 to become acquainted with the taste of honey, while, on the other 

 hand, this year, for instance, as the honey had to be sold at 30 cents 

 per pound, we have not been able to take advantage of the custom of 

 the small purses who consider honey at this price as a luxury, which 

 must not be consumed unless sickness demands it. It is to be re- 

 gretted that we must raise the prices at times, for the production is 

 ever on the increase, and we must increase the demand also. Yet I 

 would not wish to be understood as being in favor of lowering prices 

 too much— that is, I do not wish to see the Associations sell at a price 

 below 16 cents— it would be a mistake, because the expense incurred 

 in organizing the market causes a reduction of 3 to 3 cents per pound 

 on the returns to the producer. 



Let us. however, not forget the useful side of this market, which 

 is causing good honey to be more and more known and appreciated in 

 all classes of society. The beginning is often difficult ; the public 



