1918 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



175 



FOR SALE— Having sold my fruit farm. I 



offer for sale my entire apiary, consisting of 

 45 colonies in 8 and 10-frame hives. I exam- 

 ined these colonies this spring and find them 

 free of disease, all in good condition, and 

 each has a laying queen. 



Fifty S and 10-frame hives; frames are full 

 of comb, built mostly on wired foundation; all 

 straight. 



One hundred and seventy-five supers with 

 section-holders; all hives and supers are 

 painted. 



One 2-frame Cowan extractor. 



The following is new stu " for the present 

 season's use: 



Ten S-frame hives in flat. 



Twenty pounds extra thin foundation. 



Ten pounds medium brood foundation. 



Thirty-five hundred Xo. 1 sections, size 4' 4 x 

 »'jxl- s . 



Evervthing in first-class shape. In order to 

 close out will accept $400 here for it. No of- 

 fer for part of it considered. 



A W. Gray, Eldora, Iowa. 



FOR SALE— 54 stands of bees, all in fine c 

 dition. Reason for selling, blindness. 



A. Gibson, Coleridge, Nebr 



FOR SALE— Four-frai 



tractors and Superior wax presses. Full de- 

 scription on application. Address, 



Geo. Stinebring, Shreve, Ohio. 



FOR SALE— 10-frame beehives and combs; 

 2 8-frame beehives and combs; with supers, 

 sections and appliances. Applv 



(has. Nye, Mill Valley. Calif. 



BEAUTIFUL FARM HOME — Improved, rich 

 soil, well located, good buildings, 100 colo- 

 nies of bees, up to date, best honey-producing 

 location in State; not crowded; average for 

 past seven years 105 lbs; 5 acres of ginseng 

 golden seal, all ages, in fine shape. One-half 

 artificial shade, one-half natural. Will sell a 

 part or all. A wonderful opportunity; a bar- 

 gain. Poor health reason for selling. 



W. M. Penrod, Ronneby, Minn. 



LAST FALL Mr. Smith asked us our advice on 

 when best to sell his crop of 15,000 lbs. of 

 clover extracted honey. We answered him by 

 advising that he hold until May, unless he got 

 a good round price for it before. He could 

 at that time have taken something like 12c 

 per pound for it. He held it. At our Michi- 

 gan State Convention last December, he again 

 asked what we thought about the future price 

 of honey. He could then get 17c per pound 

 for it. We advised him to hold. He sold ne 

 entire crop the other day on board the cars 

 for ISV2C per pound. Mr. Smith's case is 

 only one in hundreds of cases where pro- 

 ducers have done well by following the ad- 

 vice of the Domestic Beekeeper. We want 

 every beekeeper who has honey to sell to send 

 in his dollar for the Domestic Beekeeper dur- 

 ing 1918. We have the back numbers, so can 

 begin your subscription with the January 

 number, thus making your volume complete. 

 Do it today, and at the end of the year get 

 your dollar back if you think you have not re- 

 ceived its worth. 



Crop Report and Market Conditions 



For our May number we asked the following ques- 

 tions of our reporters : 



1. What per cent of loss has there been? 



2. In what condition are the bees? 



3. Condition of honey plants and prospects? 



4. Any offers by buyers on the 1918 crop? 



5. What, in your opinion, should extracted honey be 

 worth when the crop begins to be harvested, based on 

 conditions now? Price of comb? 



PER CENT OF LOSS 



The average loss this year has probably been as high 

 as a year ago, mostly owing to the fact that many colo- 

 nies went into winter with a short amount of stores, 

 which might have been sufficient for an ordinary winter, 

 but not enough for a protracted cold such as we had. 

 Losses for different sections average about as follows : 

 Maine 20 per cent, Vermont 10 per cent, New York 20 to 

 50 per cent, Kentucky 30 per cent. Balance of the south- 

 east 5 to 12 per cent, Ohio and Indiana 20 to 30 per cent, 

 Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota 12 to 20 per cent, 

 Illinois 15 per cent, Iowa 10 to 30 per cent, Kansas and 

 west Central States 10 per cent; Texas from 25 to 40 per 

 cent, New Mexico and Arizona 3 to 8 per cent, Colorado 

 and Idaho 3 to 8 per cent, Wyoming and Montana 15 per 

 cent, Washington and Oregon 2 to 6 per cent, California 

 8 to 15 per cent. 



CONDITION OF BEES 



Bees are probably in a normal condition or above, the 

 country over. Many colonies came out of winter in very 

 poor shape, but have been building up fast, so that they 

 are now in normal condition. Idaho and Washington are 

 very much encouraged, the whole Southwest reports ex- 

 cellent condition of bees. In most other locations reports 

 are that bees are from fair to very strong, with very few 

 reports of bees in poor condtion. 



HONEY PLANT PROSPECTS 



There is much difference in plant conditions compared 

 with a year ago. A few spotted localities report a short 

 crop in prospect, but most localities are looking for a 

 much better flow than a year ago if the weather is favor- 

 able from now on. 



Georgia and the balance of the South report excellent 

 prospects, except that in Louisiana the spring crop has 

 failed. Michigan and the northern States are possibly 

 a little less than normal, while Illinois, Indiana and other 

 central States are possibly a little above normal. In Iowa 

 the clover is spotted, being completely burned out in 

 some localities, prospects being fair in others. 



Some prospects in Texas are poor, but most are good, 

 and so much better than a year ago that everyone is en- 

 couraged. More rain is needed, however. 



Idaho and Washington report extra fine prospects, 

 while the whole of the Rocky Mountain region is up to 

 normal. California is generally good, with poor reports 

 from restricted areas. Some report extra fine prospects. 



In practically all sections the early reports indicate that 

 there are more chances of a crop than a year ago. 



OFFERS ON HONEY 



Most reporters state that there are many inquiries for 

 honey with but few definite offers. A Georgia producer 

 has been offered 15 cents for his extracted honey in large 

 lots; one in Florida has been offered 16 cents. In Texas 

 the offers have ranged from 13 to 18 cents for extracted 

 honey, depending on the grade. Here there have been 

 inquiries from the British and French governments. 



In Colorado and Xew Mexico buyers have offered to 

 contract, but at no definite price. 



One party in California has contracted his whole crop 

 in advance at 15 cents per pound. Many offers are being 

 circulated at 10 and 12 cents, depending on the grade, but 

 the well-informed beekeeper is paying no attention to 

 these. There seems to be no definite price fixed by any 

 one buyer, many offering what they think the beekeeper 

 will take. We have reports of at least a dozen offers 

 made at prices ranging as low as 15 cents up to as high 

 as \7 l / 2 cents f. o. b. shipping station for white extracted. 



PRICES ASKED 



No reporter desired to sell his honey at less than 15 

 cents for extracted, no matter what the grade, while the 

 lowest desired for comb was $4 per case for No. 1. 



In the east and central States beekeepers nearer the 

 market, 20 cents is the average price wanted for white 

 extracted, though very few ventured an idea on prices 

 of comb. 



One reporter in Wyoming says he is going to get 20 

 cents for extracted and 25 cents for comb f. o. b. his sta- 

 tion, and one in California is going to hold for 25 cents, 

 owing, he says, to a short crop there. 



A bulk of reporters judge that there should be little 

 decline in prices over what buyers were paying for the 

 tail end of the 1917 crop, which would be in the neighbor- 

 hood of 17, 18 and 19 cents f. o. b. shipping point for 

 white extracted honey. 



CONCLUSIONS 



The crop should be larger than a year ago. 



On the other hand, the demand should be better. 



There is one factor which may enter into a determina- 

 tion of the price and that is the facilities for exporting 

 honey. Being a highly concentrated food product and 

 being desired by the governments of our allies as well as 

 by individual firms within these countries, we believe 

 that honey will be given space if at all procurable. Then, 

 too, by fall, the shipping problem will very likely be con- 

 siderably relieved. 



We see no reason for pessimism among beekeepers 

 in disposing of their 1918 crop, and if we were to change 

 our minimum price suggested last month, 15 cents, we 

 would be inclined to increase it rather than lower it, 

 with a minimum on No. 1 comb honey of $4.50 per case. 



There will be need of all the honey we can produce — 

 no one should spare effort to make the crop as large as 

 possible. 



