GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



March, 1921 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



little time and leaves mighty little evidence 

 upon which to form a clue. We hope that 

 our package men, who buy bees from various 

 beekeepers in order to supply their demand, 

 will endeavor to make their purchases only 

 from reliable beekeepers. 



For two winters now we have not re- 

 ported such bright prospects, owing to lack 

 of rain in our section. This winter we had 

 three or four times the amount of rainfall 

 that we had last winter, and our rainfall to 

 date is well above normal. Not since 191(i 

 have we had a good crop. Of course, in the 

 irrigated districts alfalfa has yielded but 

 not to the extent that it should, for the 

 reservoirs held an insufficient amount of 

 water, due to the lack of snowfall in the 

 mountains. Alfalfa, however, represents but 

 a portion of our crop, and ordinarily August, 

 September, and October give us fine yields 

 from the various fall-blooming plants, in- 

 cluding the willows, which are responsible 

 for the aphid honey. The rainfall during 

 the past few years has not soaked the soil 

 sufficiently to insure the best conditions for 

 our fall honey plants. From present indica- 

 tions it would appear that our valleys are 

 getting their much-needed drenching and 

 that we may again enjoy a fall honey har- 

 vest. 



If it isn't one thing it is another. For 

 several years now the crops have been light 

 but prices good. We are now confronted by 

 good crop prospects but also by a falling and 

 a weak honey market. The situation is far 

 more serious than is generally supposed, as 

 you will be told by all beekeepers that have 

 kept a proper set of books and know their 

 cost of production covering the calendar 

 year for 1920. If our cost of production for 

 the coming year should be as high as it was 

 for 1920 and the price of honey remains at 

 what it is quoted today, then the busi- 

 ness of beekeeping is going to be operated 

 at a loss. It is the opinion of the writer 

 that even under such conditions n normal 

 crop of honey would not be a sufficient pro- 

 duction to insure a profit to the business. It 

 surely would not be if the production con- 

 sisted of low-grade honeys. The remedy, on 

 the one hand, is to cut the cost of produc- 

 tion. Labor, which is the principal item, no 

 doubt will receive a reduction this year, and 

 containers are another item which has al- 

 ways been too high. In the future, we hope 

 that an exchange will make it possible for 

 practically all of its members either to pack 

 directly in 5 and 10 pound pails or to fur- 

 nish them with steel drums, which can be 

 used over and over again, as a means of 

 transporting honey to the bottling plants. 

 On the other hand, the remedy lies in re- 

 ceiving a better price for our product. In 

 order to accomplish this the Exchange pro- 

 poses to advertise its brands. 



The remedies heretofore mentioned are 



directed chiefly to the bottled products. Our 

 low-grade honeys are in dire need of a higher 

 l)rotective tariff, if their production is to be 

 made worth while. Central and South Ameri- 

 can beekeeping appears to be on the in- 

 crease, and the United States is not by any 

 means a heavy exporter of honey. It would 

 appear that a tariff of 20c per gallon should 

 be restored on honey imported into the coun- 

 try. Let us trust that the Exchange will 

 become a member of the Agricultural Legis- 

 lative committee and present before this 

 body its desires along the lines of a protect- 

 ive tariff. The Exchange could gather the ex- 

 port and import statistics and such price data 

 as are necessary, but it would have to receive 

 from its members their figures on cost of 

 production. It is exceedingly strange that 

 a matter so vitally imj^ortant to our busi- 

 ness as the cost of production, has received 

 so little attention in the jjast not only by 

 the beekeepers themselves but also by the 

 beekeeping press. M. C. Eichtcr. 



Big Sur, Calif. 



* » * 



Tj^ T'exaS _T1i6 weather throut January 

 has been very mild, even for 

 Texas. Two short periods of cold occurred, 

 there being frost on two mornings. A large 

 portion of the month was warm and bright 

 so that many plants bloomed. Peaches, 

 pears, huisache, rock brush, agarita, and 

 numerous annual plants are in bloom all 

 over southwest Texas. Mistletoe, elm, el- 

 bow brushy willow and swamp maple are in 

 bloom in central and north Texas. Bees 

 have been active thruout the commercial 

 section and have consujned large amounts 

 of honey. Perhaps 10 per cent of the colo- 

 nies need feeding. 



The beekeepers of Texas were much in- 

 terested in the various references in the 

 bee journals of the past months relative to 

 the soil and honey plants. We believe that 

 nowhere else is soil relationship so plainly 

 shown as in Texas. Unique among these 

 plants are huajillo, como, cotton, and the 

 two kinds Of horsemint. These divisions are 

 so marked that within a half mile the flora 

 changes entirely. 



The Texas Honey Producers ' Association 

 held its annual meeting at San Antonio, Jan. 

 18 and 19. A large number of members were 

 present. The report of the business showed 

 a very prosperous year. During the year the 

 capital stock was increased from $15,000 to 

 $65,000 and all stock sold. $64,180.25 repre- 

 sents the amount of bee fixtures sold, and 

 $181,529.70 the value of honey placed. Be- 

 cause of the increased capital stock two 

 additional directors were elected. The board 

 for 1921 consists of the following: E. C. 

 Collier, Hillsboro (formerly Goliad), presi- 

 dent; W. O. Victor, Uvalde, vice-president: 

 Alma M. Hasslbauer, San Antonio, secre- 

 tary; Louis H. Seholl, New Braunfels; Louis 



