OCTOBER 1, 1916 



903 



the successful producers in Ontario. It was 

 ■with no little interest that we read his en- 

 dorsement of our editorial on page 775 — 

 especiallj^ where he says that that method of 

 diag'nosing has been a common practice 

 with him during the past season. We feel 

 sure that many beekeepers are wasting time 

 in digging down into the brood-nest and 

 lifting heav3' supers in the busy part of the 

 3'ear. and when it is practically impossible 

 to hire skilled help. A good many, if they 

 only think so, can determine the condition 

 of their colonies, so far as mere room is 

 concerned, in a verj^ short time, and without 

 taking out a single frame. 



Tf one is running for the production of 

 comb honey, he may have to pull out some 

 fiames to find queen-cells; but in the pro- 

 duction of extracted honey he can often 

 keep ahead of the bees, as Mr. Byer ex- 

 plains in this issue, without doing any heavy 

 lifting or pulling out the frames. Of course, 

 a beginner or an ordinary beekeeper could 

 not do this kind of diagnosins'. 



Honey-crop Conditions and Prices ; 

 Market Recovering 



At this time we are in possession of 

 definite information showing that the honey 

 crop in the great West is somewhat lighter 

 than usual — so much so that the large crop 

 in the East may not be able to take care of 

 the market demand. At all events, it is ap- 

 parent that the general market on honey has 

 stiil^ened. Whether it will go higher than 

 present quotations, as shown by our Honey 

 Column, we are not able to say. Apparent- 

 ly all of last year's comb honey has been 

 cleaned up, and the demand for both comb 

 and extracted at this writing is brisk. 



The rising prices on other food commod- 

 ities and the fact that the total amount of 

 honey produced in the United States, in- 

 cluding the East as well as the West, is 

 possibly no larger than usual, will have a 

 decided effect in making the market firm, 

 altho it is very doubtful if it will reach the 

 quotations of last year. About the time bee- 

 keepers begin to dump their comb and ex- 

 tracted honey in the big marketing centers 

 (and that will be from the first to the middle 

 of November), prices will probably ease u]). 

 This is strictly in accordance with all past 

 experience. If possible, producers should 

 get their crops on the market earlier before 

 the usual congestion. 



A careful survey of the government 

 weather maps (which we are getting daily) 

 shows that the drouth of late summer has 

 probably been broken in most clover local- 



ities. Some reports already in show that 

 clover is recovering nicely. On the other 

 hand, our Canadian correspondent, Mi\ 

 Byer, refers to the drouth in Ontario as 

 being so severe that buckwheat is practical- 

 ly a failure. 



Later. — Since the above was written, later 

 quotations printed on page 893 would in- 

 dicate a more conservative trend in the 

 market than what we have indicated. 



Still later. — The following report from 

 Idaho Falls, Ida., dated Sept. 25, has just 

 been received from the Idaho Honey-pro- 

 ducers' Association, and gives the honey- 

 supply condition in a section that last year 

 produced an immense amount of comb 

 honey. " Our crop has been practically a 

 total failure this season. What little there 

 was is all sold, and we have nothing to offer 

 for market. There will be no honey in this 

 section until another crop_ is raised next 

 vear." 



European Foul Brood being Brought 

 under Control in Colorado 



Tn^ this issue our correspondent, Mr. Wes- 

 ley Foster, tells us that European foul 

 brood is being brought under control in 

 Colorado; and he hopes that in the near 

 future it will be stamped out. 



Nearly all beekeepers in Colorado pro- 

 duce comb honey on a commercial scale. 

 Most of them are good beekeepers — men 

 who ai'e posted in regard to the latest devel- 

 opments concerning this disease. Italian 

 queens of resistant strains are being intro- 

 duced. The dequeening and requeening 

 treatment is being employed without tlie 

 destruction of combs with good results. 



The Colorado beekeei3ers are right in line 

 with the very best practices now in vogue 

 Avith respect to the European disease. It is 

 probable that this disease will never make 

 very much headway in Colorado or among 

 up-to-date beekeepers — those who are ]H)st- 

 ed; but it will eliminate the careless and the 

 ignorant. One who does not take a bee- 

 l)aper of any kind, and has only a few 

 colonies on the farm, is l;eing forced out of 

 business. 



Glassed vs. Cartoned Comb Honey 



Since the net-weight provisions of the 

 national pure-food law went into effect, 

 sections of comb honey with glass panels 

 have almost entirely disappeared from the 

 market. Formerly the glass was sold at the 

 price of the comb honey; and under this 

 order of things the producer could well af- 

 ford to gla.ss his sections, for hr could sell 

 the glass at the price of the honey and make 



