E 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



1 



AUGUST, 1922 



EDITORIAL 



THE American Honey Producers' League 

 lias elected new officers as follows: Presi- 

 dent, Prof. H. 



New Officers of 



American Honey 



Producers' League. 



F. Wilson, Mad- 

 ison, Wis.; vice- 

 president, Hon. 

 Colin P. Camp- 

 bell, Grand Rapids, Mich.; and member of 

 the Executive Committee, Prof. F. B. Pad- 

 dock, Ames, Iowa. The League is to be 

 congratulated on the choice of men to direct 

 it. Mav success crown their efforts. 



WHILE in many localities the honey crop is 

 far short of what Avas expected earlier in 

 the season, the 



What Has the 



Harvest Been? 



United States, as 

 a whole, has har- 

 vested a better 

 crop than last year. 



On page 533 we are publishing a part of 

 the Government figures, which show for the 

 United States an average yield of 30 pounds 

 per colony as against 23 . 7 pounds last year, 

 and 22.5 pounds average for the years 1916 

 to 1921. The reports of producers reporting 

 for our market page indicate an average 

 yield for these reporters of 79.8 pounds this 

 year against an average of 44.1 pounds last 

 year. The Government figures, of course, 

 are tabulated from a much larger list of re- 

 porters more widely scattered than the list 

 reporting for Gleanings. Beekeepers who 

 have secured a good crop should not become 

 panicky in selling, but should put forth 

 every effort to sell to the best possible ad- 

 vantage. It should be remembered that last 

 year there were large quantities of honey 

 held over from the previous year, making the 

 problem of marketing a discouraging one a 

 year ago. Today the old stocks of honey are 

 nearly cleaned up; so, even with a larger 

 crop this year, the total amount of honey in 

 the country is probably less than a year ago. 



On the other hand, honey is moving slow- 

 ly just now, probably on account of the 

 abundance of fruit and berries in the mar- 

 ket at the present time. However, honey 

 will keep until the fruit and berry season 

 has passed. 



The splendid showing made in disposing 

 of last year's honey crop, together with the 

 hold-over from the previous year at a time 

 when but little honey was being exported, 



was largely the result of the intensive local 

 selling efforts of beekeepers. Honey was 

 advertised and sold in every conceivable 

 way locally, thus opening up innumerable 

 channels. This year the effort should even 

 be greater than that of last year, in order to 

 hold the ground gained and, if possible, 

 make additional gains. The sum total of the 

 individual efforts of thousands of beekeep- 

 ers in pushing the sale of honey locally 

 should result in holding prices at nearly 

 last year's levels. 



Last year many producers sold their en- 

 tire crop locally by advertising in their local 

 newspapers. Others sold their crop largely 

 through mail orders, which were obtained 

 by carrying small advertisements in farm 

 papers. Others sold to peddlers who dis- 

 posed of large quantities by canvassing from 

 house to house. Roadside selling on auto- 

 mobile roads was never before practiced to 

 the extent it was last season. Selling at 

 picnics, fairs and public sales not only helps 

 to dispose of honey but also makes new con- 

 sumers. Honey should be sold to the Amer- 

 ican people in every possible way until they 

 form the honey habit. 



IT should be remembered that the federal 

 authorities interpret the net weight law as 



applying to sec- 

 Stamping the Net 

 Weight on Sections 

 of Comb Honey. 



tions of comb 

 honey as well as 

 to -extracted 

 honey put up in 

 containers for the retail market. Comb 

 honey which enters interstate commerce 

 must therefore have the net weight stamp- 

 ed on every section. One ounce must be de- 

 ducted from the total weight for the box, 

 in order to determine the net weight. 



Comb honey which is sold in the state in 

 Avhich it was produced, does not come under 

 this law but under the net Aveight law of 

 that particular state. Some states do not 

 require that the net weight be marked on 

 each section, but permit them to be sold by 

 the section instead of by weight, just as eggs 

 are usually sold. Beekeepers who offer comb 

 honey for sale should find out just what is 

 required by the state in regard to marking 

 the weight on the sections, in order to 

 avoid violating the law. In our "Who's 

 Who in Apiculture," published in the May 

 (1922") issue, page 321, will be found a col- 



