Ski'tk.mukk, 1917 



GLEANINGS IN BEE C U L T U K E 



the East Coast, lias a daily i^ajier, and in 

 a recent issue we read with keen deliiilit t! c 

 followiiiij' title: "The Bee and tlic Or- 

 chard. " The article eontinuod, "The h ^' 

 is the I'riiitniairs best friend." A Inii:.' 

 fertilizer tirni in the state also issiieil ail ides 



on tiie same subject. Thus liie (hita ai'e h?- 

 wg spread, and fruitmen being better and 

 better informed. Wliat, a few years ago, 

 was i^rejudice tigainst is now prejudice in 

 favor of the apiculturist. The beemen and 

 the fruitmen can not join hands to) closely. 



AMONG THE ROCKIES 



Wesley Foster, Boulder, Colorado 



THE honey 

 m a r k e t is 

 still pretty 

 strong, and will 

 doubtless become stronger. The honey crop 

 of the Inter-mountain region is not uni- 

 formly satisfactory. The season was late, 

 and has closed early in Idaho and parts of 

 Colorado. The honey for shipment will not 

 be as plentiful as last year. The produc- 

 tion of extracted honey has been largely 

 increased, however, and this will help some- 

 wliat in making up the total amount of 

 honey produced. 



One beekeeper reports an offer from one 

 carlot buyer of 15 cents for alfalfa honey. 

 Some sales have been made at 13 to 14 

 cents. 



Comb honey is bringing $3.50 to $3.75 

 per ease, f. o. b. shipping point. The comb- 

 honey crop will be much less than last year, 

 as the season has been shorter and the flow 

 was not fast at any time. Comb-honey 

 colonies in no case made the showing that 

 extracted colonies did. Probably not more 

 than half the amount of comb honey will b-:* 

 shipped from the Inter-mountain region 

 that was sliipped last year. 



AND THE PRICE. 



It has been a puzzle to me for some time 

 why honey sells at such high prices in 

 Europe. It did even before the war. Bui 

 the turn events are now taking here w'U 

 help to explain the puzzle, if puzzle it is 

 at all. 



Honey is used much more in cooking in 

 Europe than has been the ease in this 

 country. Honey has been a more expensive 

 article to produce there than here, and the 

 consumers have had to pay a high price or 

 go without. As a consequence tliey have 

 l^aid the price. 



Take the case of peanut-butter light in.w, 

 which is a product comparable with honev 

 to a certain extent. Peanut-butter of 

 various brands is being largely advertised 

 and sold. In our own family we are using 

 some peanut-butter, and are jniying as high 



as 40 cents a 

 p o u n d f,,r it. 

 We used to uet 

 it for 15 to '20 

 cents. People who have an appetite for honey 

 will pay for it the same price in proportion, 

 Eifteen cents a pound for extracted 

 honey is not beyond the possible for pro- 

 ducers to receive; and if we can only have 

 brands enough of honey and all of them 

 extensively advertised we can boost the 

 consumption and price of honey at the 

 same time. 



THE INTEH-MOUNTAIN HONEY-PRODUCERS' 

 EXCHANGE. 



Aug. 1 and 2 the beekeepers' conference 

 on organization was held in Denver. Dr. E. 

 F. Phillips, Mr. C. E. Bassett, and his as- 

 sistant, Mr. 0. B. Jessness, from Washing- 

 ton, were present to submit the plan of 

 the Bureau of Markets for a central sales 

 agency. Dr. Phillips spoke to the bee- 

 keepers on the evening of Aug. 1 upon the 

 subject of wintering. This wts one of the 

 most valuable addresses to which beekeep- 

 ers in this region had ever listened, and it 

 was given at a time to convince. Mr. Bas- 

 sett presented the plan he and his bureau 

 had worked out. An oi\gan;ization AVas 

 formed, and a committee of three upon draft 

 of the plan was appointed. This committee 

 of three is empowered to make any cliange 

 in the plan deemed necessary to make it 

 workable and suitable for the beekeepers in 

 this region. The plan will then be sub- 

 mitted to the executive committee for ap- 

 proval. There is a great deal of work 

 ahead, but the obstacles can be overcome. 

 We will liave the assistance in presenting 

 the plan of a number of organization men 

 from the Bureau of Markets. The commit- 

 tee on final draft is W. H. Kerr, Herman 

 Rauchfuss, Wesley Foster. The executive 

 committee is composed of two Colorado 

 men and one each from Utah, Idaho. Ore- 

 gon, Washington, Montana. Wyoming, and 

 Kansas. The names will be given later 

 when the full list is available. 



