DECEMBER 15, 1914 



967 



may of many beekeepers south and west. 

 Some of it has been sold in New York as 

 low as 42 cents a gallon after paying- 10 

 cents duty, freight, and package. But for- 

 tunately such a low price could not main- 

 tain long. But the low prices for the im- 

 ported article are affecting the market in 

 many parts of the South. It is hoped the 

 check will not be as great as was feared. 



As a partial offset the war has increased 

 the i^rice of sugar ; and this naturally has a 

 tendency to increase the price of all honey, 

 provided, of course, honey can compete for 

 manufacturing and canning purposes, as it 

 has done in many cases. This has created 

 an outlet for some of the cheap honey that 

 would othenvise*have been a glut on the 

 mai'ket. The war has also eliminated the 

 competition of invert sugar that the bakers 

 have formerly used in place of honey. It 

 cannot now be manufactured, owing to the 

 increased i^rice of granulated sugar. Tak- 

 ing every thing into consideration, it is to 

 be hoped the market on cheap honey has 

 not been liit as haid as it might have been. 



During 1914 the Government demon- 

 strated that its chemists could detect the 

 adulteration of honey with invert sugar. 

 Now, invert sugar comes the nearest to be- 

 ing artificial honey of any thing that was 

 ever put out. Chemists everywhere up to 

 this time knew that it reacted about the 

 same as pure honey, and were fearful they 

 would not be able to detect its presence 

 when mixed with honey ; and aj^parently the 

 old adulterator's, who formerly used glucose, 

 were of the same opinion. But the Govern- 

 ment chemists got busy, and worked out 

 methods for detecting the presence of invert 

 sugar. So successful were they that one 

 party was found guilty, and paid his fine. 



The avei'age beekeepers of the country 

 may not realize the importance of this 

 achievement in chemistry; but had, not the 

 Government scored a victory in this case, 

 large quantities of bottled honey would have 

 been adulterated with invert sugar. Mr. 

 W. A. Selser, our chemist and manager at 

 our Philadelphia office, regards this as one 

 of the most important victories the Govern- 

 ment has ever won for beekeepers, for it 

 nipped in the bud, before it had hardly got 

 under way, a form of adulteration that 

 would have been serious. 



The year 1914 will go down in apicultural 

 history as the greatest year for the manu- 

 facture of bee-supplies in all the factories 

 that was probably ever known. The record- 

 breaking honey year of 1913 cleaned up 

 all supplies on hand, and the prospects of 

 1914 were extraordinarily good at the be- 

 ginning of the season, because bees had 



wintered well everywhere. But the bright 

 l)rospect did not materialize in a big honey 

 crop. Throughout the clover districts in 

 the northern part of the counti-y, the season 

 came very near being a failure. The West 

 and some parts of the South, however, fur- 

 nished nearly their usual quota of honey. 



In the line of special legislation affecting 

 the bee business, the national net-weight law 

 stands out prominently as the product of 

 1914. It has already caused some hardships 

 and inconvenience to the producers of comb 

 honey, and many of them say they will 

 quit the business and run for extracted. 

 The elimination of the section or wood 

 surounding the comb is the source of com- 

 plaint. It is contended that the wood is 

 part and parcel of the package, always has 

 been weighed in, and that on account of its 

 varying weight it is impossible to get at 

 the exact weight of the comb and honey 

 inside. It is further contended that the 

 ruling of the Bureau of Chemistry is unfair 

 because it permits the wrapping around 

 hams to be weighed in with the whole ham, 

 but excludes the wood around a section of 

 honey. 



It has been our opinion right along that 

 it was useless to buck against the inevitable, 

 and that the operation of the net-weight law 

 will in the end be beneficial. Under its 

 provisions only comb honey properly graded 

 can be marketed. 



In the line of State legislation there have 

 been no foul-brood laws passed so far as we 

 know. Notwithstanding that, during 1913 

 ten States have passed such laws. 



The year 1914 witnessed the installation 

 of at least one new school of apiculture in 

 the United States. We refer to the one 

 established in Minnesota. This school has 

 an annual appropriation of $5000. Of this 

 amount $2000 goes to the enforcement of 

 the foul-bi'ood law, and $3000 to establish 

 and maintain a division of apiculture. 

 Minnesota is the only State in the Union 

 that has such a division in beekeeping not 

 connected with some other department for 

 instruction. Rev. Francis Jaegar was ap- 

 pointed by the Board of Regents of Minne- 

 sota to take charge of the work; and, so 

 far as we can ascertain, he has done good 

 work. 



Another school has been established at the 

 Agiicultural College at Ames, Iowa. While 

 this is on a much more modest scale than 

 the one in Minnesota or Massachusetts, yet 

 a beginning has been made. 



Instruction is also given in apiculture at 

 Stillwater, Oklahoma, under Prof. Sanborn, 

 and at College Station, Texas, under Prof. 

 Wilmon Newell. 



