It is imperative that the sugar crop of the United States be increased,
and every supply of supplemental sweet should be augmented to the
greatest possible extent. Honey is one of the best of these and its
production may be increased without great effort. The supply of nectar
from which the bees make honey is bountiful and the only limitation
to honey production is whether the price obtainable for the honey
justifies the labor of the beekeeper. There is no question of this in
wartimes.
The recent demand for honey for export has been greater than ever
before and the home demand has also greatly increased. Because of the
shortage of sugar, all forms of supplemental sweets are being utilized
and none of these appeals to the tastes of the consuming public more
strongly than does honey. This increased demand has raised the price
of honey and it is therefore a paying business to produce it to meet
this need, in addition to the fact that the beekeeper may feel that he
is materially assisting in the food crisis of the Nation. It is to be
expected that even after the war is over this demand for honey will not
cease, for many people are eating honey now who were not familiar with
its delicious qualities, and they will not forget how good it is.
In the production of honey, it is of the first importance that the
colonies of bees be kept strong, especially that they be strong
before the beginning of the main honey-flows of the early summer. To
bring about this essential condition, the most important step is the
proper wintering of the bees, and this bulletin has been prepared that
beekeepers throughout the country may be able to get their bees through
the winter without the great loss of colonies and reduction in strength
of those which still live which have been so common in the past. The
proper preparation of the bees for winter now becomes not only a
patriotic duty, but it is good business.