Feb. 11, 1904. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



103 



[ Convention Proceedings J 



THE COLORADO CONVENTION. 



Report of the Proceeding's of the Colorado State 

 Bee-Keepers' Convention, Held in Den- 

 ver, Nov. 23, 24, and 25, 1903. 



BY H. C. MOREHOUSE, SBC. 



(Continued from pa^e 89.) 

 Next on the program was the following' paper by Mr. 

 W. h. Porter, on 

 RECEIVING AND PACKING HONEY FOR CAR-LOAD 

 SHIPMENT. 



Most of the honey in Colorado is produced by bee-keep- 

 ers that are making' a business of it, and through the long 

 summer months, as he is toiling at his work, he is con- 

 stantly turning over in his mind, How much cash will it be 

 possible for me to realize for my season's crop of honey ? 

 Then the question arises with him. How can I convert my 

 honey into the most dollars and cents in the shortest time 

 with the least labor and expense ? 



The honey-business has reached such a large proportion 

 in Colorado that it is possible to market but a small portion 

 of the honey in our own State. Then, the second question 

 presents itself, which is a very important one. How can we 

 lay our honey down in the markets of the Eastern States 

 with the least expense, and get the largest possible price ? 

 This, I answer, can be done best by cooperation. We find 

 by observation for a number of years, that the first honey 

 ready for the market brings the highest price. My knowl- 

 edge on the subject has come mostly through my official 

 connection with the Colorado Honey-Producers' Association, 

 and those working outside of the Association will probably 

 coincide with what I have to say. 



The inquiries for honey in car-lots for August and Sep- 

 tember are numerous, and the demand is greater than we 

 can fill, as the supply is not as great as it might be on 

 account of the slowness with which bee-keepers get there 

 honey in. As the season advances, the calls for Colorado 

 honey are less, and the price weakens. If any of us are 

 fortunate enough to produce a car of honey, we can not 

 have it ready for shipment in August, as it is impossible 

 to have it all from the hives before Sept. 1st, and then it 

 takes time to handle it and case it ready for the market. 



Then, if we wish to avail ourselves of the best market, 

 we can only do it by co-operation — each bee-keeper bringing 

 his honey as fast as he can get it ready to a common point, 

 and by so doing we can bring together a car at the earliest 

 possible time. In this way a car may be shipped in the last 

 part of 'July, a number of cars in August, and so on 

 through September and October, until the larger portion of 

 the crop has been sold. The bee-keeper that gets the most 

 of his honey early is the one that will realize the most for 

 his crop ; the one that gets it fairly distributed through 

 the entire season, is the one that will get the average price ; 

 and the one that gets his crop all in late will get the mini- 

 mum price. I base these assertions on facts gleaned from 

 an experience of from six to eight years, and the conditions 

 are such that it is bound to be the same in the future. 



The bee-keeper that sells part of his honey early gets 

 part of his cash early, which enables him to meet his out- 

 standing bills that have accumulated. 



Then assuming that all wise and up-to-date bee-keepers 

 will adopt the co-operative plan of marketing honey, I wish 

 to lay before you some plans for successfully gathering to- 

 gether and loading cars in a manner that will be success- 

 full, and will give satisfaction to ourselves and also to the 

 buyer and receiver of the goods. I loaded the first car of 

 honey shipped from Colorado, which was in January, 1891 ; 

 since that time a great many cars have been shipped, and a 

 good many of them I have had the supervision of, receiving 

 and loading the cars, and I find generally it is pleasant and 

 agreeable. But sometimes it is not so easy, and there are 

 difiHculties that do not need to exist. If we all knew how 

 to get things in shape, and would act accordingly, many of 

 the difficulties of car-loading would disappear. 



The first step, then, is to get the honey ready for the 

 market as early as possible. The bees in this part of the 

 State commence to finish up supers about July 10, and the 

 sooner the super is taken off the whiter will be the honey, 

 and the higher will it grade. The bees should always have 

 plenty of room, but not too much room. Many bee-keepers 

 seem to get excited when the honey-flow comes, and rush on 

 too many supers, and on this account I often find whole 

 crops of honey running light. So it is not satisfactory, 

 even in second or No. 2, when the producer thinks it ought 

 to be No. 1. This, I would say, is a common trouble, and I 

 want to caution you all not to tier up too fast. Give the 

 bees room enough, but not too much. 



Another common trouble is bad grading. White and 

 amber honey are mixed ; this makes a contrast, and is sure 

 to throw the whole lot into No. 2, when a large portion 

 would grade No. 1, if kept separate. Put the white honey 

 in one case, the next shade in another, and so on up to the 

 darkest. In this way you will get more No. 1 than if you 

 mix it. 



Have all clean, new cases. The double-tier 24-pound 

 case is becoming more and more in favor, not only in this 

 market, but in the East. Some of our Eastern customers, 

 this season, have requested that the honey be shipped in 

 the double-tier case. The manager of our Colorado Honey- 

 Producers' Association has cited a number of instances 

 where the flat and single-tier case has had the greater 

 amount of damaged honey. The cases are light and thin, 

 with a large surface on the top on which objects may be 

 thrown. They are of thin lumber, and give cornerwise, and 

 the honey is wrenched in the comb. 



It would be far more satisfactory in loading if each 

 community would use a case made by the same factory, so 

 that they would be uniform in size. Or, it would still be 

 more sensible if all factories would make a uniform, stan- 

 dard case. As it is, each factory has a number of varia- 

 tions, some short and some tall, so that there is from one- 

 half to one inch in variation, and when you have put in 22 

 or 24 tiers, these variations make considerable, and you find 

 your load getting out of skew, and work is not so satis- 

 factory. 



When you take your honey to the car or warehouse, take 

 a full load of No. 1 or No. 2, if possible. This is quite 

 necessary if you have to drive on a wagon-scales to get 

 weights. If you must take No. 1 and No. 2, place it in the 

 load so that No. 1 will be at one end and No. 2 at the other, 

 with paper or cloth between so as to make it easy to sep- 

 arate. 



It is very important to have your honey in the ware- 

 house as soon as possible, and if you are so situated that 

 you must deliver at the car, then have it ready and classi- 

 fied at home so the car can be loaded on very short notice. 

 Don't wait until the car is on the track, then commence to 

 scrape and case, expecting to get it all ready before the car 

 is billed out. When parties do the work in that way it is 

 apt to be done hurriedly, and poorly done, and not satis- 

 factorily. 



I wish to say in conclusion, that I see great improve- 

 ment all along the line each year, and no matter how much 

 honey we produce, if the work is done rightly, and we pro- 

 duce a good article, there will be a demand for all. As each 

 good lot of honey goes on to the market it is a glowing 

 advertisement for more. Thus, the demand grows, as well 

 as tlie supply. W. E. Porter. 



Mr. Gill — The honey-producer doesn't stop to think that 

 the honey loses its identity in loading on the car, and that 

 the shipper is held responsible. There are duties of the 

 producer as well of the shipper. Eastern buyers say Colo- 

 rado honey ships the best. 



F. Rauchfuss — Have you no way of finding out and 

 identifying the different lots in a car, so as to trace them ? 



Mr. Gill — No. I can notice a great improvement of late 

 in the honey brought for shipment. 



H. Rauchfuss — First, produce a first-class article, then 

 use a nice, clean shipping-case, then grade very closely. 

 There's the difficulty. Many do not know what the first 

 grade is. Some produce all dark honey, and think it is first 

 grade. Some have nice honey mixed in with inferior, and 

 think it is all first grade. The man in charge can't afford 

 to take out every section and examine it, but in some cases 

 he has to regrade, and charge the producer for his trouble. 



A Member — I put my own name on every case of honey. 



F. Rauchfuss— The marking of every case is objected 

 to by buyers. There is not so much objection to the Asso- 

 ciation mark, but they object to having the producer's name 

 on, because of the custom of many retailers of writing 



