Makkkt l'};iri:s (ii lloxKV. 



Xn atteiiipt was made, tii ,net ijuiitiainiis of the market, )irieea of honey, Itut one 

 may safely pi'esmiie that those ruling- in \'ietoi'ia and Vancoinci' aie at least in(licati\-e 

 of the i-est of the I'l'oxini'e. Mere, as (•Isewheve, the stoi'es prefer a package of sueh 

 bulk that the price charged will be representi^d liy a coin such as -Joe, $1, cjr e\en two 

 coins in the higher values. Such prices as 2i)r., (io,;., and $\.\'> arc not i)opnlar, either 



with the trade or the eustnnuas. Out) ther hanil, one nnist of necessity piacU the 



honey in some vessel that is a staple conunoility on the market ; so it calls for ijuite a 

 little consideration on the part of the producer to harmonize as far as ]iossible the con- 

 ditions. In Victoria «-e lind the containers in common irsc arc halt-pint, i|uart, and 

 two-quart fruit-jars, Uniteil States ujcasurcs. When filled witli water, the contents 

 weigh respectively !. tt). , 1 Ih. , and 2 Ihs. But li.Huy is nearly (jne-half heavier than an 

 equal (piautity of water ; therefore, the jars will hold almost ,' tfi. , li ths., and 3 IT.s. of 

 the product of the hive. Larger ipiantities are sold in tins, the usual sizes being 5 ths. 

 and 10 IT.s. 



The retail ]irices for the thi'ce smaller sizes are '2~>c., S.^ic, and .SI. .111. The grocer 

 usually pays for thein ^llc, liTc, and Sl."22 ; that is to say, he gets a discount of 211 per 

 cent, on the retiil price. Probably two-thirds of the sales will be of the 2.")c. size. 



The halt-pint jars in gross Icits cost .").2c. each ; the quarts in dozen lots cost 12. ."ic. ; 

 the two-(juart jars in dozen lots cost 17c. A little figuring will show that when the 

 bee-keeper sells to the grocer he will get at the rate of 19.7c. a pound for the honey in 

 the smallest jar, lS.."ic. ii>r that in the quart jar, and 17c. in the two-(piart jar. When 

 the apiarist is located neai' a city he will generally ha\e no ditticulty in selling all his 

 product direct to the consumer at the full retail price, thus getting .5e. a pound more. 



Comb honey usually retails at 2.")C. a section ; price to the grocer, 20c. The 

 average section contains 14 ounces of honey, so the liee-kee|jer is getting at the rate 

 of almost 23c. a pound. This looks better returns than is got from extr'a"ted hone}', 

 tjut we must deduct cost of section and foundation starter, and then the twi:) ^A'ill come 

 rather (dose together. Then \\'hen we consider that it is generally estimated that a 

 colony of bees will produce in comb honey only two-thirds what it will yield in 

 extracted, we see at once that in British (.'olumbia extracted honey is the more profit- 

 able form of honey production. We ha\e already learned that on account of the 

 cool nights the bees make a rather pooi- showing when working for comb hone}'. 



From Donii)iion statistics we learn that during the j'ear 1909 there was imported 

 through the ports of Vancouver and Victoria a grand total of 81,431 lbs. of honey. 

 These figures indicate a demand in the Province it will take a long time for the bee- 

 keepers to supply. When we remember that there is a protecti\'e tariff of 3c, a pound 

 on honey from foreign coiuitries, and that freight rates friun most points of large 

 production are almost 2c. a pound, we readily see that there is little likelihood of a sag 

 in prices of this most delectable (it ranch products. 



Bees and FRUi'r-u.visiNc;. 



Not so very many years ago it was no unconnnon thing for a farmer to believe that 

 the hoTiej'-bee stole a valuable essence from ths clover and fruit blossoms, but now he 

 knows that without bees his crop of seed and fruit would probably be scant. Cross- 

 pollination of most fruits is the -H'ork of insects, it being estimated that sixty-eight 

 different kinds \isit apple-blossoms alone. But the problem is to get a sutticient 

 number when there are hundreds of thousands of blossoms all open at one time as in a 

 bearing orchard or strawberry- held. The honey bee is the onl}' insect under human 

 control, so by keeping a sufficient number of hives we can generally have enough bees 

 on hand when they arc most needed. Further, experience shows it is essential to 



