39th year; 



CHICAGO, ILL,, MAY 11, 1899, 



No, 19, 



Report of Wisconsin Bee-Keepers' Convention. 



[Coatiuued from paire 27S.] 

 The three followingf papers were read by those whose 

 names are signed thereto : 



Future Prospects of Wisconsin Bee-Keeplng. 



We can only judge the future by the past. For the past 

 20 years the price of honey has steadilj- declined. It is true, 

 prices were higher in 1898 than in 1897, so also in every sea- 

 son of very short crops. Still, the general tendency is 

 •downward, as will be seen if we look at quotations for a 

 few years past, taken in December of each year : 



Comb honev. Extracted houev. 



1881 14 to 22 cents 8 to 10 cents'. 



1883 14 to 20 cents 8 to 10 cents. 



188S 13 to 16 cents 6to 8 cents. 



1886. 10 to 13 cents 6 to 7 cents. 



1889 10 to IS cents 6to 7 cents. 



1890 12 to 15 cents 7to8 cents. 



From 1890 to 1896 a little decline each year. 



1897 8 to 12 cents 4 to6 cents. 



1898 10 to 13 cents Sto6;^ cents. 



The lowest prices we have ever seen were in 1897, when 

 there was a good crop over a large portion of the country'. 

 The crop of 1898 was very short, and the advance of prices 

 was from one to two cents per pound. 



The improvements in methods and appliances may have 

 had some influence in increasing the quantity, and conse- 

 quently cheapening the cost of honey. The diminisht 

 profits of other pursuits has induced many to engage in 

 bee-keeping who would not otherwise do so, and thereby 

 helpt to fill the markets and drag down prices. 



I have noticed that whenever a good crop brings down 

 the price in any of our small villages or cities the decline 

 becomes permanent. A poor crop the following season will 

 not restore prices. Whenever two or more apiarists bid 

 down the prices for their own town, they cannot easily ad- 

 vance prices in that town again. An advance of one cent 

 a pound induces many to dispense with it who would will- 

 ingly pay a fair price if they did not know it had once 

 been sold cheaper. This being true, according to my ob- 

 servations, bee-keepers should be slow to undersell their 

 neighbors in the home market. 



There is also noted a tendency toward higher prices for 

 supplies, which affects profits, but I hope this will be of 

 short duration. 



Against these discouraging thoughts we may find some 

 encouragement in the thought that more honey is being 



consumed by the working people ; this increast consump- 

 tion I think is likely to continue. We are hopeful of legis- 

 lation that will tend to suppress the adulteration of honey, 

 and this will increase the consumption of honey b3- giving 

 people confidence in the purity of what they are buying. 



Any improvements either in packing or transportation 

 that will enable us to ship comb honey without smashing it 

 will help to increase consumption and strengthen prices. I 

 am confident the majority of producers don't know how 

 badly their comb honey looks after it has been shipt even 

 a short distance by railroad, especially in cold weather. 



All things considered, I look for lower prices for two or 

 three years to come, but not much below the prices of 1897. 



Juneau County. F. Wilcox. 



Handling and Shipping Extracted Honey. 



Some seasons extracted honey should be handled dif- 

 ferently from what is necessary in other seasons. For in- 

 stance, last season, in ray locality, almost any way of Iiand- 

 ling it would have been successful, because the honej- as 

 soon as stored in the combs was very thick, so that it would 



""M' "\ 



Pics. F. M'ilco.v. 



strain very slow thru cheese-cloth while yet warm. Pre- 

 sumably, the cause of it being so thick when gathered was 

 on account of the very dry weather during the honey-flow, 

 which is nearly all from basswood bloom. 



My mode of handling honey when in the above condi- 



