96 



TWELFTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



pect to pay his bills with collateral 

 worth less than par, at par value. 



But this is not the worst: Another 

 thing which often happens with the 

 bee-keeper, and is common with ship- 

 ments from commission houses, is 

 actual dirt and rubbish all through and 

 mixed up with the whole mess. Some- 

 body has a loss in this case, but in the 

 case of buying it from the comimission 

 merchant, the buyer must stand it, and 

 must even pay for it, before it is 

 shipped, dirt and all, including over- 

 weight. 



AYe have more than once received 

 boxes of wax and dirt that contained 

 live mice, who were able to skip out 

 and remain in the building. 



Another thing is from wax cappings: 

 It is a very common thing to ship the 

 wax all daubed up with honey. This 

 is not only a nasty mess, but a loss. 

 It would be just as easy to have the 

 wax in nice clean shape, and certainly 

 very much more satisfactory. 



Another thing, less common, is to 

 run the hot melted- wax into sixty 

 pound cans, tubs, and even honey bar- 

 rels, and ship in that shape. Of course 

 it is impossible to get it out, except 

 by cutting it out — something I wish 

 the shipper would do. 



The most foolish thing is to ship a 

 lot of old comb, witth orders to work 

 it into foundation. This seems incred- 

 ible but it happens so often that men- 

 tion of the fact is justifiable. 



When you have wax to ship, either 

 to the dealer, or the manufacturer, see 

 to it, that your wax is in acceptable 

 shape, and creditable to yourself, so 

 that there will be no dockage. Advise 

 them fully as to net weight; prepay 

 freight or express charges, unless 

 otherwise arranged, and in any case 

 send the bill of lading or express re- 

 ceipt. 



Never fail to put your name and 

 address on the package. You are not 

 the only one shipping wax; the party 

 to whom you are shipping may receive 

 hundreds of shipments in a month, and 

 many every day during the busy sea- 

 son. One or two little shipments with- 

 out any name, every day received, 

 causes lots of- trouble to spot them. 



Never use hay, straw, shavings, ex- 

 celsior or any such article in filling up 

 the box or barrel or packing the wax. 

 Paper will do, if not used for the pur- 

 pose of wrapping the cakes separately 

 in paper. 



In warm weather the above articles 

 will stick to the 'wax. In cold weather 

 the wax will be brittle and little pieces 

 will break off and be lost in the mess. 



To wrap each cake in paper is a 

 common practice, but a very foolish 

 one. It does no good at all and the 

 wax is no better for it. It makes a 

 lot of extra work, both in packing 

 and in unpacking. In hot weather the 

 paper sticks to the wax in patches and 

 will not pull off. It is liable to be a 

 job that is very trying to a nervous 

 or quick tempered person. 



As to the package to be used, either 

 box, barrel or gunny sack are the best, 

 using double sacks, or one within the 

 other, tying them securely. This makes 

 a safe and secure package for ship- 

 ment, easy to handle and nothing to 

 break. It practically saves freight 

 charges for tare. But in using gunny 

 sacks, use nothing 'but -the best manila 

 tags as common pasteboard will break 

 or tear off. 



In closing allow me just a few more 

 words about the preparation of wax, 

 and that is in regard to the use of 

 sulphuric acid. 



My advice is that the use of this 

 acid had better be left to the manu- 

 facturer, who knows what he wants 

 and how to use it. 



You may be familiar with certain in- 

 structions for using it, but for all that 

 your knowledge is very crude and your 

 facilities the same. I am of the opinion 

 that the use of sulphuric acid by any 

 one excepting those who have had 

 years of experience with it, is detri- 

 mental : to the quality of the wax and 

 even to the color. 



The natural yellow of wax is bright 

 and shining, while the acid yellow is 

 dull. 



Now I do not believe that any of the 

 objections mentioned are done pur- 

 posely, but simply have become a mat- 

 ter of habit, and consequent careless- 

 ness and thoughtlessness, for which 

 there can fee no excuse whatsoever for 

 any bee-keeper after these facts hg^ve 

 been brought to his notice. 



Gus Dittmer. 



Pres. Huffman — You have all listened 

 to the paper, and it is now open for 

 discussion. I think there are some 

 very good things in that paper; of course 

 most of us that produce it usually 

 ship it in and have it made into w^ax, 

 and this gives us an idea of how to 



