796 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 15 



So far as I can learn at this time, the crops of honey 

 around here are about the same as last year. Some 

 bee-keepers claim, though, that this yea:'s crop sur- 

 passes last year's by a good deal. The offers so far 

 have been fully as large as the year before. 



C. H. W. Weber, 



Aug. 5. Cincinnati, O. 



I returned home to-day from a ten-days' trip in 

 Michigan. It is too early to know very much about 

 the new crop. I think the crop will be a pretty good 

 average one. I get some reports of short crops, but 

 think there will be plenty of honey, and do not ex- 

 pect prices will be high. I am afraid prices will not 

 be high enough to cause a free movement of the crop 

 early, and late io the season prices are almost always 

 loiver. W. C. Town SEND, 



Aug. 8. Buffalo, N. Y. 



I here give a brief summary of the honey crop in 

 this State, so far as we have reports : 



Northern Colorado, a fair crop if conditions remain 

 favorable from now until close of season. 



Arkansas Valley, above I,as Animas, same as North- 

 ern Colorado. 



Arkansas Valley, below Las Animas poor crop. 



Delta and Montrose Counties, very light crop. 



Mesa County, good in some places, below average 

 in others. 



Southwestern Colorado will have a fair crop. 



It is too early for this locality to give a reasonably 

 accurate estimate of our honey. There is not much 

 honey taken off yet, and second crop of alfalfa i- just 

 commencing to bloom. Whether we shall get any 

 honey from it remains to be seen. 



The Colorado Honey Producers' Ass'n. 

 F. Rauchfuss, Mgr., 



Aug. 5. Denver, Col. 



While we have not all of our reports in as yet, we 

 think we can form a pretty good idea as to the out- 

 come in different localities. Southern California 

 claims a total failure ; but we understand that about 

 100 to 125 cars were carried over from last season. 

 Central California, or the San Joaquin Valley, expects 

 to have a usual crop, the same as Arizona. Texas re- 

 ports a light crop, as well as Louisiana. In Georgia 

 the crop seems to be good ; in Florida we think they 

 had the largest crop they have had for years, especial- 

 ly in the western part, as we have received more 

 honey from there this season, and have had more of- 

 ferings than ever before. We have no reports as yet 

 from Colorado, Utah, and those points, but have re- 

 ports from the middle West which would indicate a 

 rather short crop, mostly on account of the loss of 

 bees. Vermont reports a fair crop, so does Pennsyl- 

 vania ; and so far as New York is concerned, the re- 

 ports vary from a failure to a large crop. In some 

 sections they have very little honey, while in others 

 they have more than last year, and better quality in 

 spite of the loss of bees. As a whole, while the crop is 

 not as large as that of last year we think that a fair 

 average crop has been produced east of the Rocky 

 Mountains. Hildreth & Segelken, 



Aug. 3. New York. 



Replying to your request for informationrregarding 

 the honey crop, we find it somewhat difBcult to get 

 the information, several bee-keepers, refusing to 

 answer questions of that nature on account of sharp 

 dealers who have used such information to the injury 

 of the bee-keeper. From reports received so far, we 

 have no doubt there will be considerably less honey 

 this season than last. Several report very good yields 

 from what bees they have left; but in most cases about 

 half died during the winter. In our localitj' bees have 

 done well, and are still at it. The season opened late, 

 but it is also holding out later than usual. Our own 

 bees are in fine shape. Our loss was lo out of S5 dur- 

 ing winter; 5 afterward, owing to bad spring, queen- 

 lessness, etc. We have several colonies four stories 

 high, ten-frame hives full to the top. Our bees all 

 wintered outside. From down east we have received 

 several good reports, although the loss in bees will 

 make the honey crop short of last year in almost every 

 case. We are with you every time for honest reports. 



Toronto, Aug. 6. F. Grainger & Co. 



In regard to the honey crop of 1904, we wish to state 

 that, from the information we have received, and con- 

 sidering the great loss of bees, the honey crop through- 

 out the lake region will be about half what the crop 

 was for 1903. There has not been a season, according 

 to our reports, where bees have built up and increa.sed 

 as they have this season; and while the crop will not 



be nearly as large accordingly through this section of 

 the country, yet it is of excellent quality. However, 

 as in the case of last season, a great many bee-keepers 

 (anticipating a shortage of the crop through the loss of 

 bees last winter) are holding their crop, expecting a 

 large price later in the fall; and we desire to state 

 that the market here at the present time remains the 

 same as last season, and the receipts of fancy comb 

 and extracted honey are equal to the demand. We 

 have had very little trouble as yet in securing what 

 fancy and No. i grades we can use; and it has been 

 our experience tliat honey brings a much better price 

 early in the'fall than it does later in the winter, and 

 we think the majority of beekeepers are making a 

 great mistake when thej' hold their honej' for an un- 

 reasonable price. Griggs Brothers. 

 Toledo, O., Aug. 5. 



Replying to your inquiry in regard to the amount of 

 honey produced up to the present time in our section 

 of New York, we would say that we believe from in- 

 formation received from producers, bee-inspectors, 

 and others, that the crop is at least one quarter larger 

 than last year, and of fine quality. One producer 

 alone, near us, is reported to have eighteen tons of 

 white extracted already, with buckwheat yet to hear 

 from. Of course it is too early to form any estimate 

 on the latter crop, as so much depends on weather 

 conditions. Last year the yield from buckwheat was 

 unusually small— this year it may be large. We hope 

 it will, for the sake of our friends the bee-keepers. 



Schenectady, N. Y.,Aug. 2. Chas. McCulloch. 



Northern New York, 25 per cent more, and better 

 quality. 



Southern New York, poor quality, the same as last 

 year. 



Hastern Pennsylvania. 25 per cent over last year. 



Delaware and Maryland, about the same. 



Michigan, same as last year. 



Wisconsin, uncertain but present reports show 

 about the same. 



Illinois, somewhat less than last year. 



Philadelphia, Penn.,Aug. 3. W. A. Selser. 



While, possibly, some of the writers may 

 be a little biased in their statements, yet I 

 think that, in the main, what they have to 

 say is inspired with the desire to give the 

 actual facts so far as they know them. 



COMB-HONEY CANARD WITH A HANDSOME 

 RETRACTION. 



On pag-e 745 of our last issue we referred 

 to a sensational article published "by the 

 Pittsburgh Gazette for July 24, to the effect 

 that artificial combs were made of petrole- 

 um, and that artificial comb honey looked 

 so much like that produced by the bees that 

 the two could not be told apart, even by ex- 

 perts. We immediately sent in our protest, 

 as will be remembered, and urged our read- 

 ers to do likewise. 



I am pleased to announce that, in the is- 

 sue of the aforesaid journal for Aug. 7, ap- 

 pears a hadsome retraction, closing with a 

 strong letter of denial from Mr. Frank Ben- 

 ton, of the Department of Agriculture, 

 Washington. 



That our readers may see it pays to fol- 

 low up these things closely we publish it, 

 headlines and all. 



It is evident that the force of numbers 

 backing up a letter from a government of- 

 ficial had its effect. We asked one of our 

 subscribers, Mr. E. R. Munn, who expect- 

 ed to be in Pittsburgh, to call and see the 

 editor of the Pittsburgh Gazette. In the 

 course of conversation that individual re- 

 marked, "Bj' the way the letters are com- 



