GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



NovKMfiHR, ]9'21) 



;i natural invert sugar. Of course it is uii- 

 (leistdiitl that bakers always use granulated 

 sugar, and that in large quantities. But they 

 also require an invert sugar — either granu- 

 lated sugar inverted by acid, or honey that 

 necils no doctoring. Just at present honey is 

 more than Jiulding its own for , their pur- 

 pose. 



But perhajjs the beekeeper is alarmed by 

 what he sees in the government honey re- 

 ports. It should be remembered, however, 

 that government quotations are based on 

 what buyers, jobbers, and commission men 

 tell the government reporters, wlio, in turn, 

 transmit what they are told to the Bureau 

 of Markets at Washington. Naturally these 

 reporters get their information from some- 

 what i^rejudiced sources. The city buyers 

 are inclined to talk "no market," "no de- 

 mand," etc., because that kind of talk 

 would mean a lower price to them. It is 

 plain that it is no fault of the Bureau of 

 Markets that the situation is not painted 

 brighter than it is, because the government 

 is not supposed to give futures or prospective 

 prices, but to report exacth" what it fi.nds 

 on investigation of actual sales and crop 

 movements. 



This should not be construed as in any 

 manner criticising or discrediting the work 

 of the Bureau of Markets. The government 

 lioney reports have done good, and we could 

 ill afford to have them stop now, and there 

 is no good reason to suppose that they will. 

 The situation now is "a condition and not 

 a theory." 



The general jiublic should understand this 

 economic fact — that, when prices are ad- 

 vancing on general commodities, the market 

 on those commodities is active, and both 

 buyers and consumers are interested in buy- 

 ing and buying heavily before the price goes 

 any higher. But when the general market is 

 declining all along the line, both buyers 

 and consumers are inclined to buy in small 

 lots and then wait to see what is going to 

 hajipen. This is precisely the situation with 

 regard to honey today. The large buyer is 

 not going to lay in a big stock until he 

 knows that the market has stabilized, and 

 he will be mighty sure that it has stabilized 

 before he runs a chance of losing on a big 

 puichase. In like manner the housewife is 

 not going to lay in a big stock of foods 

 when prices seem to be going down. She 

 will buy from hand to mouth just as the 

 jobber does, getting only enough for her 

 immediate needs. 



We do not believe there is ;iny diic in this 

 country who can tell whether prices on ex 

 tracted honey are going to be lower or 

 higher; but there is one thing of which we 

 may be sure: The time is coming wlien 

 there will be an active demand foi' hdiiey. 

 That does not neeessaiily mean that the 

 price will be higher. While there is no dis 

 guising the fact that there is lui great move- 

 ment of honey at the present time, it is 

 mighty encouraging that the large honey 

 warehouses thruont the couiitrx- are not 



lilled with honey. It seems as if the time 

 would come when those warehouses will 

 have to have a supply. There is no economy 

 in working from hand to mouth — in buying 

 in small lots and paying freights on small 

 shipments, and then, worse than all, wait- 

 ing almost indefinitely before deliveries are 

 made. 



What advice have we to give? Absolutely 

 none. The question whether the producer 

 shall sell or hold will have to be determined 

 locally and individually. We certainly do 

 not advise congesting the big markets just 

 now. At retail, honey is bringing good 

 prices; and our advice to beekeepers is to 

 sell locally and where possible, sell at retail. 

 But when you do, put up your honey in at- 

 tractive form, and be sure that it is good 

 honey. 



We have never seen the time, and we do 

 not expect to see it now, when a really 

 fine article of extracted table honey will 

 not bring a fair price as compared with 

 otiier articles of its class. Even at the 

 present price, whatever that niay be, we 

 should not forget that a pound of honey 

 will buy more of other foods than it did at 

 the highest prices that prevailed during war 

 times. Don't forget that. 



It would be good business for local bee- 

 keepers to advertise. The owners of this 

 journal will do their share in that line, and 

 even more than their fair share. Watch the 

 popular magazines, especially those going to 

 women. 



So far we have not said one word in re- 

 gard to comb honey. In spite of the decline 

 in all lines of food, it is encouraging to 

 know comb honey has more than held its 

 own. Indeed, it is selling now for more than 

 it ever did before in its history, and there 

 is a great demand for it. But there is only 

 very little of it in the United States today, 

 and the markets are practically bare. Bot- 

 tlers are putting out some very attractive 

 l)aekages of exti-acted honey; but no liquid 

 honey in the bottle can begin to compare 

 with beautiful white comb honey in clean 

 sections. Somehow a pretty white comb of 

 honey gets a hold on the liousewife — she 

 "must have it," and she will have it wlien 

 she sees a fine article, irrespective of tlic 

 price. After the great war broke out, comb 

 honey did not bring any higher price than 

 extracted. The export demand called for 

 something that would ship. In fact, the 

 li(|uid article seemed to have a better de- 

 mand. We urged housekeepers at the time 

 to rim for extracted honey. Times and con- 

 ditions have utterly changed since then. The 

 tables have turned. Comb honey brings more 

 than double what it did before the war. All 

 of the old comb-honey producers should go 

 ba( k to the production of comb honey, and 

 also many new ones. This will have a ten- 

 dency to tone up the price of extracted, and 

 ;it the same time supply a demand for comb 

 honey that never can be satisfied. 



Taking it all in all, we believ(> that l)ee- 

 kcciMMs \ii\\v irincli to be tliankful for. 



