8 BULLETIN 489, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
VALUE OF HONEY AND WAX. 
The prices received by the beekeeper for honey and wax in North 
Carolina have a wide range. In some localities and for some honeys 
the prices are good, as compared with prices in other parts of the 
United States ; in other places they are entirely too low. The type of 
honey and care used in xuroduction are important factors in regulat- 
ing the price, but in some cases no good reason for the low prices can 
be given, except lack of organization and distribution. Failure to 
learn the market value is probably the cause of the low prices ob- 
tained for beeswax in the western part of the State and for comb 
honey in the eastern part. 
Bulk comb honey and chunk honey, which are the common types 
in the western and central parts of the State, have been sold in 
recent years by the beekeepers at 12J, 15, and 20 cents a pound, de- 
pending on the quality ; 20 cents has been the common price for sour- 
wood or other light-colored and mild-flavored honeys, such as bass- 
wood. Section comb honey in the western and central parts has 
brought the producer 15 to 20 cents a section, while in the eastern 
part only 10 cents a section is secured, although the product is good 
in color and finish. Extracted honey in 50-gallon barrels frequently 
sold for 7-J- to 8 cents a pound, while strained or squeezed honey, the 
production of which is principally in the east, commanded the low- 
est price — around 40 cents wholesale and about $1 a gallon retail. 
The price of beeswax also has a wide range, and, singularly 
enough, it is just the reverse of honey prices ; the lowest, 20 cents a 
pound, is paid the producer in the western part of the State and 28 
to 32 cents in the eastern part. 
MARKETING HIVE PRODUCTS. 
No more encouraging features can be mentioned than the eager- 
ness of the market for honey, particularly through the central and 
western parts of the State, and that bulk comb honey has a ready 
sale at good prices. The markets in these localities prefer honey in 
this form. While producers in the eastern part received last fall 
only 10 cents a section for their product, comb honey by the car- 
load came into the central part of the State from the west, and 
also some from Tennessee and Georgia. With proper distribution, 
the eastern producer could secure at least 15 cents a section for his 
product, which is the price received for the honey from outside 
sources. 
Little honey is shipped from North Carolina. From the east some 
comb honey goes to Norfolk and some extracted and strained honey is 
shipped to New York, but the consumption of honey in the State 
is far above the local production, and the demand is therefore not 
supplied. 
