NOVEMBER 15, 1916 



The meeting in Towa will be held in Des 

 Moines, Hamlin R. Miller secretary. 



Tlie convention in Ontario will be held in 

 Toronto, Morley Pettit secretary. 



The Mieliigan beekeepers are maldns: 

 great plans for a big convention — probably 

 the largest bee convention held in this coun- 

 try this year. 



The Wisconsin meeting will be held at 

 Madison, Gus Ditmer secretary. 



Idaho-Oregon will be held at Ontario, 

 Oregon, P. S. Farrell secretary. 



Announcement in regard to the place of 

 the Ohio convention has not yet reached us. 



Dr. E. F. Phillips and E. R. Root expect 

 to attend some of these conventions. Un- 

 fortunately the dates conflict in some cases, 

 as will be seen. The Editor will not be able 

 to attend the conventions of Kansas and 

 Idahb-Oregon and perhaps those where the 

 dates conflict. 



For other convention notices see Conven- 

 tion Notices. 



The Dark Side of Beekeeping 



Years ago, in the early days of this publi- 

 cation, we used to carry departments known 

 as the Growlery and another as Blasted 

 Hopes, to represent certain gentlemen of 

 the cantankerous or those who suffered from 

 a bad winter, a poor season, or a poor local- 

 ity. The Blasted Hopes fellows did not see 

 anything vei-y attractive in beekeeping. 

 They were going out of the business, and 

 were anxious to pay their departing re- 

 spects to their brethren of the craft. The 

 cantankerous didn't like the publicity, and 

 so we discontinued those departments. 



Our correspondent, Mr. Closson Scott, 

 page 1074, apparently is not afraid of tell- 

 ing his failures, and he does it with severe 

 frankness. Altho some of our subscribers 

 have done remarkably well during the past 

 season, and have secured big crops, and 

 while a few of our baeklot friends have 

 cleaned up $5.00 and $10.00 per colony, it 

 may be well for us to consider that there 

 are some others who have not cleaned up 

 anything — in fact, they are out of pocket. 



Mr. Scott has correctly diagnosed the 

 cause of his failure or failures — namely, the 

 poor locality. By looking up the map we 

 find that his portion of Ohio is not a good 

 bee country ; indeed, one of the best beemen 

 . in the state, twenty miles east of him, after 

 secunng for a series of years some very low 

 averages, decided to move to a better local- 

 ity. He moved on a straiglit line west into 

 the northwest part of the state, and now he 

 is getting good averages. He is well pleas- 

 ed. We might suggest to our correspond- 



1059 



ent that he move also; for evidently he does 

 not lack in experience; but, no matter how 

 much he may know about the production of 

 honey, he cannot get it if it is not in the 

 fields. 



Honey Crop Conditions and Prices 



It is apparent that the general market 

 shows that extracted honey is improving 

 everywhere. It is equally apparent that 

 there has been a very large crop of comb 

 honey; and as a consequence the market on 

 this commodity is easing up. It has, in 

 fact, been low all this season. See Honey 

 Market. 



Our readers will remember that last win- 

 ter and last spring we cautioned producei's 

 not to run so much to comb honey, as there 

 was such a large supply left over. We 

 were severely criticised at the time for doing 

 so ; but the logic of events, and low prices 

 on comb honey during the past summer and 

 fall, with i^rospects that they may go lower, 

 show that if producers had heeded our ad- 

 vice, and iiin more for extracted, the mar- 

 ket on comb honey, at least, would have been 

 better, without any injury to the price of 

 extracted. 



We hardly know what advice to give for 

 next year. It is our opinion that the lower 

 prices on comb honey will induce beekeepers 

 to run largely for extracted next season. 

 This will be a mistake. There will be 

 enough producers dropping comb - honey 

 production without every one making a 

 grand rush for the extractor. Here is a 

 case in point. Last year potatoes were 

 compai'atively low — so low, indeed, that 

 farmers this year decided to put their land 

 into wheat and corn. Wihat has been the 

 result? A light crop of potatoes, with 

 prices ranging from $1.80 to $2.00 a bushel, 

 with every indication that they will go higli- 

 er before next year's crop will be available. 



THE BOTTLE TRADE OK THE INCREASE. 



Fairly reliable information goes to show 

 that there will be a larger consumption of 

 honey this year than was ever known before 

 in the history of the United States. Honey 

 in bottles is coming more and more into de- 

 mand. It will soon be time t%. develop the 

 trade, if it has not already aiTived, of honey 

 in tins in 3, 5, and 10 lb. sizes. The bottling 

 trade is stimulating the demand for liquid 

 honey; and the good housewife will see that 

 it will be cheaper to buy in tins than in 

 glass. It will not be many years be lore the 

 average family will begin to lay in ils sup- 

 l)ly of extracted honey in 60-lb. cans. Many 

 of them are doing it nov/. 



