December, 1921 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



759 



MM. 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



ness of Pennsylvania to the pioneer life of 

 California, and probably lie did not make 

 as much money from his bees as did his 

 more daring brother. He did not have the 

 opportunity in the East to establish so great 

 a reputation as did John, by founding bee- 

 keeping in the State which has for years 

 lead in honey-production in the United 

 States. 



The W. C. Harbison book is entitled 

 "Bees and Beekeeping: A plain practical 

 work; resulting from years of experience 

 and close observation in extensive apiaries, 

 both in Pennsylvania and California, with 

 directions how to make beekeeping a desir- 

 able and lucrative business." The book 

 was published by C. M. Saxton, Barker & 

 Company of New York City. It contains 

 287 pages and, like his brother's book, tells 

 how to obtain a right for the use of the Har- 

 bison hive. E. F. Phillips. 



Washington, D. C. 



THE MARKETING PROBLEM 



Lack of Uniformity in Prices. Folly of Peddling 

 Honey at Wholesale Prices 



I am just wondering if all who report the 

 local markets for honey on page 609 really 

 understand the questions. Keferriug to the 

 last column, which seems to mean the retail 

 price of a five-pound package of extracted 

 honey, I note that there is a variation from 

 60c in two or three States to $1.75 in south- 

 ern Idaho. I doubt if anyone anywhere is 

 getting $1.75 for five pounds of extracted 

 honey, and especially in southern Idaho 

 where they are offering extracted honey at 

 9c to 10c a pound in single five-gallon cans. 

 If anyone is charging $1.75 retail for five 

 pounds it would seem to be a little like prof- 

 iteering. I notice several quote five pounds 

 of extracted honey at $1.50, which is not 

 quite so bad, but surely not much honey will 

 be used at that price these days, at least 

 that is my thought. 



Here in Spokane just now honey (extract- 

 ed) is retailed at all kinds of prices — from 

 15c a pound where they bring their own 

 containers to hold the honey, to 45c for 1^/4 

 pounds net, or 34c a pound. Yes, and one 

 store was asking 50e for one pound two 

 ounces. 



I know there are altogether too many 

 middlemen, but there are not too many re- 

 tailing honey who really "know honey." 

 If I had thought otherwise I certainly would 

 not have gone back into the game again. 

 But I felt that possibly I might be of real 

 service to lioney-producers in the Pacific 

 Northwest country, provided I can have 

 their co-o[)cration. Of course, if they are 

 not willing to co-operate, either among 



themselves or with dealers who desire to 

 help, then the producers deserve to lose out. 

 My sympathies for years have been entirely 

 with the producers, but when they expect 

 conscientious dealers or retailers to help 

 them dispose of their products, and ' ' do it 

 for nothing and board themselves," then I 

 say such producers should be ignored, and 

 left to flounder along as best they can. 



But we have some queer beekeepers here 

 in the Pacific Northwest, too. For instance, 

 they will sell retail at the same price they 

 expect dealers to pay them. There was a 

 Yakima beekeeper here in Spokane for a 

 few days recently, selling and delivering 

 honey to consumers at $1.40 for a 10-pound 

 pail. That beekeeper expected me, a dealer, 

 to pay him $1.40 f. o. b. Yakima for the 

 same honey. Of course I would have to pay 

 the freight to get it to Spokane. There was 

 really no good excuse for retailing the fine 

 Yakima honey anywhere at 14c a pound with 

 cost of pail thrown in. Every pound of it 

 should go at not less than 20c or 25e a pound 

 to the consumer, and would bring that price 

 in small quantities if beekeepers or pro- 

 ducers were properly organized. But they 

 must be willing that a dealer who adver- 

 tises, rents a store, and puts in his time, 

 should receive fair returns for his invest- 

 ment and efforts. Until honey producers 

 are willing to grant this to dealers, they de- 

 serve to lose on their honey. "Live and let 

 live " is a pretty good policy to pursue. 



By the way, is honey "the oldest. food?" 

 I supposed that meat as food is older. I 

 notice an advertisement in the September 

 "Good Housekeeping" that says honey is 

 the "oldest food." If I am wrong I will 

 be glad to be shown. If I am right, then-I 

 doubt if it will pay to spend good money to 

 advertise or tell the world what isn 't so. 



Spokane, Wash. George W. York. 



POLLEN IN BEES' DIET 



Why Pollen is Necessary. Composition of Larval 

 Food and Royal Jelly 



If you have ever eaten a piece of comb 

 honey containing pollen, you know that the 

 latter is pretty apt to spoil the pleasure of 

 the treat. For the bee, however, pollen is 

 a life-element, just as important as nectar, 

 and it may well be called bee-bread. Altho 

 honey is an ideal food in many respects, it 

 is almost entirely lacking in albuminous 

 matter — the muscle-forming substance. But 

 pollen is very rich in nitrogenous matter, 

 containing also some other elements not 

 found in nectar, altho the amount of all 

 these substances varies with the different 

 kinds of pollen. A single blossom usually 



