HON"EYBEES AKD HOOTY PRODUCTION. 
59 
CONDITIONS AND PROSPECTS FOR 1918. 
The increase in number of colonies during the season over 
and above losses is 11.5 per cent, which will allow for an 
average winter loss without a material reduction of numbers 
below that of 1917. The condition of colonies at the begin- 
ning of winter was reported as 93.2 of normal, only slightly 
below the high condition of 95.5 in 1916, and in only four 
States did it fall below 90, although one of these is the impor- 
tant honey-producing State of Texas, where extreme and 
long-continued conditions of drought reduced the condition 
to 81. 
The supply of honey in the hives on November 1 was 
generally ample for ordinary winter requirements, but the 
severe winter in the central and eastern States threatens 
heavy losses and weak condition of a large proportion of the 
siu'viving colonies in the spring of 1918. 
The character of the season controls the yield in a broad 
sense, but a material increase in production of honey over 
what may otherwise be expected might be reahzed if bee- 
keepers generally could be aroused to the importance of the 
subject and would make special effort by giving attention 
to the bees in the fall and early spring to see that their 
stores are ample, by feeding if any shortage exists, by pro- 
tecting them so far as possible from the inclement winds and 
freezing temperatures of winter and early spring, by supply- 
ing ample room in the brood chamber for the expanding brood 
(not so early, however, as to lead to harm from undue expos- 
ure), by giving plenty of space at the proper time for storing 
siu-plus, and by the production of extracted honey. This 
last expedient, besides permitting a marked increase in 
production by most beekeepers and in most seasons over 
that of comb honey, by lessening the amount of comb build- 
ing and avoiding heavy swarming during the season of sur- 
plus production, also involves much less labor in caring for 
the bees. 
The May 1, 1918, report, received just as this bulletin goes 
to press, shows that the losses of colonies of bees during the 
past winter have been, for the United States as a whole, 18.7 
per cent of the total number; in other words, almost one out 
of every five colonies has perished. As the reports to the 
