August, 1921 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



503 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



for the flow when it did come. After all 

 thoughts of a white honey crop were about 

 dismissed for this season at this place, all 

 at once the browning alsike clover and the 

 sweet clover, just in its prime, began to 

 yield, and, if the bees had been up to their 

 usual strength, we would have been able 

 after 10 days of a flow to report a fair crop. 

 As it is, strong colonies are reaching the 

 skyscraper stage and if the flow keeps up 

 for two weeks longer we may yet get a nice 

 crop here. 



Buyers and sellers of honey are both in a 

 quandary at the present time as to how prices 

 will rule for the season. A few days ago a 

 representative of one of the big firms talked 

 with me over the phone, and after some of 

 the usual preliminaries he said, ' ' What are 

 you asking me for the crop this year?" I 

 replied, "You fellows usually bid instead 

 of asking for a quotation, what are you 

 offering?" His reply was something like 

 this, ' ' I haven 't the slightest idea what I 

 should offer," and I had to confess that I 

 had no idea what I should ask. Naturally 

 no business was transacted, but there was a 

 mutual understanding that as soon as we 

 knew where we were, we would talk the 

 matter over again, and possibly something 

 more substantial would be accomplished. It 

 is a very peculiar situation, to say the least, 

 and there are likely to be wide differences 

 of opinions between beekeepers as to what 

 prices should be, not to mention the matter 

 of the different viewpoints of producers and 

 buyers of our product. J. L. Byer. 



Markham, Ont. 



« « « 



In Southern California.^? e ports 



from the 

 various sections of southern California for 

 the past month change the forecast of our 

 last report but very little. There was a 

 period of several weeks just following the 

 orange flow during which very few apiaries 

 were able to hold their own, and many lost 

 from 10 to 15 pounds per colony. Then the 

 white sage, deerweed or wild alfalfa, and 

 some other plants began to yield enough so 

 that the bees could make a living. Now 

 (July 3) the wild buckwheat, sumac, etc., 

 are yielding very well, and it may be that 

 some beekeepers will be able to get a little 

 surplus honey from these. Reports from 

 the purple sage country — northern Los An- 

 geles and Ventura counties — are much more 

 encouraging and some surplus is expected 

 from that source. That section got fror.i 

 four to five inches of late rainfall, which 

 accounts for their promising condition. The 

 mesquite and alfalfa ranges will make about 

 one-half of a crop. Beans will be late, as 

 many of the farmers had to plant a second 

 time to secure a stand. 



Bees do not sell as readily as they did a 

 year ago, and good apiaries have been sold 



lately for about half what they would have 

 brought at that time. 



With the crop one of the smallest in the 

 last 12 or 15 years, prices are not at all en- 

 couraging, and buyers are not anxious to 

 buy. The carry-over of last year's honey 

 is quite heavy, and this combined with a 

 lower price is not the most encouraging 

 condition for the average beekeeper. Prices 

 of supplies are declining, so that things will 

 in time get down to a proper level again. 

 All lines of produce are in the same condi- 

 tion out this way, and only time will even 

 things up again. 



Different opinions exist as to the results 

 from our three years of the Exchange meth- 

 od of handling the honey crop. Perhaps no 

 more trying three years could have been 

 chosen in all of the history of California 

 beekeeping to try out this method of mar- 

 keting the honey crop. Outside buyers have 

 paid all the way from 20% cents down to 

 10 cents for last year's honey. 



Some members can see only the very few 

 who sold at the high figures and cannot 

 see the great majority, many of whom have 

 since sold at the lower figure. It is easy 

 to sell on a rising market, but oh, the vision 

 of "What I might have done!" It was 

 very little honey that sold around 20 cents, 

 which fact is easily proved by the weak 

 market at that time, as the Exchange was 

 ready at all times to fill all orders at the 

 high prices. Some members are sure to be 

 dissatisfied, but the majority seem to feel 

 that they have received as much for their 

 honey or more tlian they would if they had 

 not been in the Exchange. Many are ready 

 to sign up for a new period of several years. 

 Some of the California exchanges have 

 made new contracts for as long a period as 

 seven years. 



With markets established, brands of hon- 

 ey recorded, headquarters, offices, repacking 

 equipment, etc., belonging to the Exchange, 

 our future is certainly bright. Our short 

 crop this year is very discouraging, as it is 

 always more satisfactory to produce a big 

 crop even if the price is not so good. As in- 

 timated in our last report, most beekeepers 

 can look back and see where some of the 

 money for last year 's crop could have been 

 saved and used to very good advantage in 

 getting thru this short crop. 



Corona, Calif. L. L. Andrews. 



* « « 



Tj, Texas ^^ ^'^ often said that Texas 

 is the too State! it is too 

 wet or too dry or too hot or too something. 

 It was too cold and dry all spring and a 

 honey crop was despaired of; but June came 

 hot and dry and then a big rain and more 

 heat and sun, and now we have too much 

 honey. The horsemint was almost gone 

 when the rains came, and now it is in fine 

 shape and yielding heavily. The mesquite 



