May. 1917 



Extension Bulletin 16 



Cornell Extension Bulletin 



Published by the New York State College of Agriculture 

 at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 



A. R. Mann, Acting Director of Extension Service 



Published and distributed in furtherance of the purposes provided for in the 

 Act of Congress of May 8, 1914 



HOW TO INCREASE THE HONEY SUPPLY 



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E. R. King 



'EW YORK STATE is in the front rank in 

 honey production, and there are excellent 

 prospects for a good crop during the sum- 

 mer of 1917. With a favorable season the 

 beekeepers of the State not only can in- 

 crease their profits considerably but can do 

 patriotic service by materially adding to the food 

 supply of the nation. Beekeeping is one method of 

 conserving what is produced ; by right attention to 

 the bees much nectar can be saved that would 

 otherwise be wasted. 



Honey ranks very high in food value; and considering 

 the reasonable price at which extracted honey sells, it is 

 one of the cheapest foods that can be bought. It is no luxury. It is a 

 concentrated form of food that can be transported readily and kept for 

 a long time. 



With no honey to speak of now, with the present high prices of various 

 kinds of sweets, especially sugars, with the United States producing only 

 twenty per cent of the sugar it consumes, with a possibility that some 

 sugar imports may be cut off, and with no material increase of domestic 

 sugar production being possible during the present year, it is very likely 

 that there will be an increased shortage of sugar, and that the present high 

 prices will be maintained or augmented. With these existing conditions 

 there is no reason to believe that there can be an overproduction of honey 

 this season, for in many cases honey can be substituted for sugar. 



According to the 1910 census, there were 156,360 colonies of bees in 

 New York State, and there was produced in 1909 a total of 3,191,733 

 bounds of comb and extracted honey and 43,198 pounds of wax. These 

 figures are probably far too low. The actual number of colonies could be 



