.Taxtarv. 1922 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



31 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



of fine qualify and is moving well, tlio local 

 market being exceptionally good. 



With plentiful rainfall thruout the last 

 part of the season, the clovers apparently 

 are in excellent condition. The next sea- 

 son's crop, however, will be determined 

 chiefly by the winter and spring precipita- 

 tion, and by the weather during the clover 

 flow. It's a wise prophet who really can 

 forecast a honey crop. 



The local and shipping demand for honey 

 this year is very much greater than usual. 

 In fact, more honey is being sold to the con- 

 sumer than ever before both thru the retail 

 grocers and direct from the producer. There 

 are probably a number of reasons. One is 

 the unusual shortage of fresh and canned 

 fruits. A recent report in the Chicago Jour- 

 nal of Commerce declares the market almost 

 bare of canned fruits of all kinds. Another 

 cause for increased sales of honey is the in- 

 creased amount of advertising, both local 

 and in journals of nation-wide circulation. 

 There is no doubt but that the efforts of the 

 American Honey Producers' League, as well 

 as the advertising of some of the large deal- 

 ers, has contributed very materially in cre- 

 ating a demand for honey in every part of 

 the United States. Furthermore, many car- 

 loads of honey put up in five and ten pound 

 pails are being shipped from the West to 

 our large cities and distributed by canvas- 

 sers directly to the consuming public in a- 

 house to house campaign. Where reason- 

 able prices are demanded it helps the mar- 

 ket rather than depressing it, as would be 

 the case if it were left in the hands of brok- 

 ers and commission men in the large cen- 

 ters. 



We still have in our midst the fool bee- 

 keeper who persists in selling his product 

 at a price below the market and then brags 

 how much he can sell. The bees, you know, 

 work for nothing and board themselves, and, 

 as his time isn't worth anything, he can af- 

 ford to undersell the grocer and everybody 

 else. As a rule, he doesn 't take a bee jour- 

 nal nor attend any meetings of beekeepers; 

 consequently he knows all about bees and 

 selling honey. If one were to attempt to 

 buy his crop, he would demand about twice 

 the price he asks in retailing it. To make 

 things more interesting he often will adver- 

 tise in the local papers to deliver honey at 

 about the price quoted by commission men 

 in the large city. This practice of under- 

 selling the grocer, probably more than any- 

 thing else, prevents the marketing of honey 

 at a profit. If one were to count all the 

 costs in the production of honey, deprecia- 

 tion, interest, labor, etc., it will be found 

 that, in most localities, these costs are above 

 the present wholesale prices quoted by city 

 dealers. E. S, Miller, 



Valparaiso, In4. 



In Michigan.— r'^* this time of the year 

 & the real strenuous days 



of the season, so far as northern Michi.i^an 

 beekeepers are concerned, are over. The 

 honey harvest is completed, the bees packed 

 for winter, and the honey nearly all sold; 

 and yet there are at least a few things to 

 which it might be well to call attention, 

 which are of vital importance to the success 

 of the coming season. First, we should con- 

 tinue to talk honey and sell honey until it is 

 all sold, for we all know the effect a bare 

 market has in stimulating a fair and just 

 price. The buyers cannot say, "You know 

 that there is a great deal of last season's 

 honey left over." And then I just believe 

 it sharpens the appetite to be without it a 

 little while previous to the new offerings. 

 Second, there is nothing more important or 

 vital to the success of out-of-door wintering 

 than a good windbreak. Do not build a solid 

 fence, it is nearly valueless. I have had one 

 for years and believe I speak the truth. 

 Wind has a tendency to cling to the surface 

 and will sweep over the fence and down 

 again in a very short space. Build the 

 windbreak to break the wind. Place the 

 boards several inches apart and note the 

 effect. It is a real windbreak. However, 

 nothing is better than a natural brush-break 

 of short bushy shrubbery or scrub trees. I 

 wintered perfectly the past year with the 

 proper windbreak, where for many years I 

 failed for lack of it. 



I am experimenting this winter with 45 

 colonies, placed in a thick second-growth 

 wood. They have no packing overhead ex- 

 cept a canvas cloth, a bag and several thick- 

 nesses of newspapers. I am also placing 16 

 colonies in the shelter of a wood, orchard 

 and other brush, along with a neighbor who 

 has wintered successfully year after year 

 regardless of the severity of the weather. 

 The secret of his success is the windbreak, 

 which protects his colonies, spring and fall, 

 and causes the snow to pile up over them 

 in the winter, giving them the necessary 

 protection in our latitude from zero weather. 

 It was not until I had written the above 

 that I read E. E. Root's timely article on 

 ' ' The Value of Windbreaks. ' ' However, I 

 feel that a good protection from the pre- 

 vailing cold winds is so necessary for good 

 wintering that I am going to leave it as a 

 second warning to those who have neglected 

 the matter. 



Remember also that bees packed in winter 

 cases should have protection against the 

 severe winds, and it will pay big returns for 

 the labor and expense. Northern Michigan 

 very often has a heavy short white honey 

 flow and all supplies should be purchased 

 and assembled during the winter and spring 

 months to be in readiness for it. Every j'ear 

 J have many neighbors who leave their farm 



