AUGUST 1, 1914 



CROP CONDITIONS FROM A COMMISSION 



599 



'S STANDPOINT 



liY S. T. FISH & CO. 



Western New York reports clover comb 

 and extracted in most sections a total failure. 

 In some places basswood is showing up well. 



Some Michigan points report weather 

 conditions quite favorable, and a fair crop 

 expected. Most producers run for extracted 

 honey. 



Sections around Richland Center, Wis., 

 report the crop very short, very little white 

 clover, and about half to three-quarters of a 

 crop of basswood. Season is entirely too 

 wet and cloudy. 



Some Ohio points report about half a 

 crop, while others report a quarter to half 

 a crop. 



Sections around Medina, Wis., report that 

 the month of June was too cold and wet. 

 Basswood, very short duration. Some of 

 the beekeepers may harvest half a crop. 



Sections around Greenwood, Wis., report 

 weather entirely too wet. Very little honey 

 to be marketed. 



Nevada reports a short crop. 



Sections around Marshfield, Wis., report 

 prospects very unfavorable on account of 

 too much rain, also heavy loss of bees, and 

 weak condition of bees at the present time. 



Montana points will have about half to 

 three-quarters of a crop. At the present 

 time there is a good honey-flow in that sec- 

 tion. 



In points around Appleton, Wis., Fond 

 du Lac, and Oshkosh, honey crop is short 

 compared with last season. Weather is too 

 wet, cold, and cloudy. 



Points around Chippewa Falls, Wis., re- 

 port about half a crop on account of weather 

 being too cold and wet. Unfavorable weath- 

 er prevented the bees from doing any work 

 during two of the best weeks during clover. 



Si. Anne, 111., reports a total failure on 

 account of dry weather. 



Sections around Boyd, Wis., Stanley, 

 Wis., report honey crop almost a failure. 

 Bees have not stored any honey up to July 



Augusta, Wis., reports a fair outlook for 

 honey ; however, rains have delayed the sea- 

 son, but colonies are in good condition to 

 gather honey. 



Points around Osseo, Wis., report pros- 

 pects up to July 6 not very good— too much 

 wet weather. 



Points around Woodford, Wis., up to 

 July 10 report prospects very unfavorable 



weather too cold and too wet. About half 



a crop or less expected. 



DeKalb, 111., reports favorable conditions, 

 and that a good strong honey-flow is on now. 



Points around Idaho Falls, Idaho, report 

 a good crop of both comb and extracted 

 honey. 



Points around Baraboo, Wis., report a 

 very poor crop of white clover, but a fair 

 crop of basswood (mostly an extracted-hon- 

 ey section). 



Coon Valley, Wis., reports a fair crop 

 (mostly an extracted-honey section). 



Chicago, 111., July 18. 



A CROP OF 



BY GEO. H. KIRKPATRICK 



In summing up the honey crop to date I 

 find the number of colonies in the fall of 

 1913, included in the area which I am re- 

 porting, was 1463. Winter losses were very 

 light ; and as the spring was unusually fair 

 for the bees, the winter and spring loss was 

 only about 10 per cent. Thus there were in 

 this section of the State, at the beginning 

 of the honey harvest, about 1330 colonies. 



At this date only about half of the crop 

 has been extracted, but it is safe to put the 

 net average at 70 pounds per colony, spring 

 count, or a total of 93,100 pounds, only 

 about 2 per cent of which is comb honey. 

 I should estimate this to be about 70 per 

 cent of an average crop. Last season this 

 same section had only about 40 per cent of 

 an average crop. 



Very nearly all of the honey included' in 

 the above figures was gathered from the 

 wild red raspberry, and, as usual, is of ex- 

 cellent quality, it being light in color, good 

 body, and good flavor. 



In many parts of this section of the 

 country the bees are gathering honey from 

 the milkweed plant at the rate of from 6 to 

 12 lbs. per day per colony. Should there be 

 just a few more days of good honey weath- 

 er the flow from the milkweed will bring the 

 average per colony up to 100 lbs. 



The basswood in the forest is mostly cut; 

 but in some sections there is plenty of sec- 

 ond growth ; and as it will bloom this season 

 there is a chance for some honey from that. 



Rapid City, Mich. 



