GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



January, 1917 



way. As a matter of fact, however, every 

 large producer has a certain amount of 

 dark honey not quite up to grade. In 

 cases of comb honey there are always some 

 sections in which the combs are not firmly 

 attached all around to the wood; others 

 wherein the combs are slightly cracked ; 

 still others which are too light to slup or 

 to dispose of in regular channels. It is 

 far better to sell such honey locally than 

 to ship it away. In most instances the 

 honey itself is exactly as good, but can not 

 grade up and be shipped to advantage. 

 Owing to this fact, no producer, large or 

 small, of comb honey or of extracted, can 

 afford to disregard the opportunity for sell- 

 ing honey directly from the bouse, advertis- 

 ing it by means of an inexpensive sign on a 

 tree or post by the roadside. 



CONTRARY TO WHAT we had reason to 

 hope, comb honey has not gone up in price. 



In fact, we are 



HONEY 



MABKET 



AND PRICES 



surprised at the 

 number of offers 

 and prices that 

 are being made. 

 It is becoming more and more apijarent 

 that there must have been a large overpi'o- 

 duction of comb honey, in spite of our 

 urgent and repeated appeal to beekeepers 

 last spring to run move to extracted. 



On the other hand, liquid honey, both for 

 the table and for manufacturing purposes, 

 continues firm. The large buyers are hunt- 

 ing for it in earlots. Exporters at New 

 York are now trying to buy back the 

 cheaper grades of extracted, because, as 

 they say, they cannot find any anywhere 

 of any quantity. Two of the large bottlers 

 appear to be fairly well supplied. Two 

 more are short. It is reasonably certain 

 lliat extracted wilf remain firm; but whether 

 the ]irice will go still higher, however, is at 

 jiresent a little doubtful. The most we 

 can hope for is that they will continue 

 till next spring. 



In the mean time the market on comb 

 lioney is easy, or, rather, it has a tendency 

 to sag. 



It is becoming more and more apparent 

 that the conditions of last year were par- 

 ticularly favorable for the production of 

 comb honey. As a result, a larger supply 

 of it was produced than was ever known 

 befoie in the history of the business. 



The dealei's and some of tlie lai'ge buyers 

 ai-e becoming disgusted with the comb- 

 honey business. There are two reasons 

 for this. One is the careless packing on 

 the part of the producer and the miserable 



shipping-cases often used, both of which 

 result in breakdowns and dripping honey. 

 Of all thing's, broken comb honey is woi'se 

 than a white elephant on the hands of 

 the dealer. He does not know what to 

 do with the mess, and he vows he will 

 not buy comb honey again. The second 

 reason is that comb honey granulates. The 

 average dealer does not know how to take 

 care of it, even if he does receive it in 

 good shape. He leaves it in a room of 

 variable temperature, with the result that 

 half of it is granulated before New Year's 

 day. Finally he attempts to sell it, but it 

 comes back on his hands because it has 

 " turned to sugar." Then in desperation 

 he puts the product out on the sidewalk, 

 marks it down to ten cents per box, re- 

 tail, when perhaps he paid thirteen or 

 fourteen. 



Careful packing, using roomy sliipping- 

 cases with corrugated paper, and a letter 

 of instructions to the dealer, will save a lot 

 of this trouble. When comb honey is 

 shipped in less than earlots it should al- 

 ways be ]iut in carriere. The new Western 

 classification will probably bar out all 

 other comb honey. 



THERE ARE THREE factors responsible 

 for high prices — the heavy and continuous 



advertising o f 

 WHY THE Airline Honey 



DEMAND FOR by The A. I. 

 EXTRACTED? Root Company; 

 the general 

 ui)ward trend of all food products, and the 

 enormous quantities of the cheaper extract- 

 ed hone^ys shipped to the nations now at war 

 to take the place of sugar that is higher in 

 price. There is one other factor, and that 

 is, lioncy is coming to be recognized as a 

 food, not as a luxury — a necessary food 

 that helps to make up a balanced ration. 

 The nations at war have discovered that 

 tlieir soldier boys must have something 

 that will make energy, life, and strength; 

 and there is nothing that will do it better 

 than honey. Beefsteak — in fact, none of 

 the proteins — will supply energy. Honey 

 supplies this demand in its purest and 

 most easily assimilable form. 



The careful and discriminating house- 

 wife is already discovering the same fact. 

 Wlien extracted is cheaper than comb 

 lioiu'v, pound for pound, she will take it 

 in preference to tlie more exj^ensive article 

 which she buys in very small quantities for 

 the fable Avhen she has company. 



The numerous articles tliat liave been 

 published in our largest magazines on honey 



