468 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



July 25, 1901. 



Contributed Articles. I 



fur^'^K 



Grading Honey— Its lniportance,*Rules, Etc. 



BY D. W. WOKKIXG. 

 Secretary of the Colorado State Bee-Keepers' Association. 



THE bee-keeper is a partner in a co-operative business ; 

 he furnishes the hive and its accessories and markets 

 the honey and wax which the bees produce But he 

 does more. Between the work of preparing- the hive for 

 the bees, and marketing- the product of their labor, the bee- 

 master has other work to do. He is more than a partner in 

 a co-operative establishment — he is both manager and joint 

 worker, and on the wisdom and skill with which he works 

 and manag-es depend in a large measure the success of the 

 business venture. 



The bee produces the honey. But will it make straight 

 combs, even, white, and well-capped, if hive and sections 

 are not properly prepared for its use, and if they are not 

 properly cared for during that use ? And if all the pre- 

 liminary work is well done, will the product be ready for an 

 exacting market without additional work and care ? The 

 fruit-grower picks his berries and his apples when they are 

 in the best conditioti for the trade ; he sorts them carefully 

 and puts them up in attractive packages in order to com- 

 mand the best prices the market affords. Skill in raising, 

 experience in handling, wisdom and foresight in catering 

 to a varying demand — these are the secret of his success. 



The bee-keeper must do more than to induce his bees to 

 put their product into clean sections ; he must keep the sec- 

 tions clean and unbroken ; he must meet the demands of 

 the trade. To do this he must take the honey from the hive 

 at the right time, must make each section as clean and 

 inviting as possible, and then assemble the sections prop- 

 erly in attractive packages. People like what is good, and 

 like it better if it looks good. What is clean suits them 

 better if it looks clean. A stain on the outside of a sec- 

 tion does not make the honey less sweet or less wholesome, 

 but does make it less attractive to the buyer. The stain, 

 therefore, must be removed before the section is offered for 

 sale. 



Uniformity counts ; therefore the bee-keeper must make 

 his packages uniform — in size, in shape, in color, in 

 arrangement. A few leaking sections are too many ; a 

 single badly graded case may spoil the sale of a ton of 

 honey. So the individual must be careful in grading, in 

 handling, in packing, and in selling his products. But 

 this is not enough. The market is too big for one man to 

 supply. Honey is bought and sold by the car-load — even by 

 the train-load — and the buyer is wise enough to insist on 

 uniformity of grading in the whole lot. The packages 

 must be uniform or he will complain ; the packing must be 

 uniform or he will find fault ; the honey itself must be uni- 

 form or he will not pay the highest price for 

 it. He is a kicker — the buyer is — and he ought 

 to be ! So the uniformity of grading and pack- 

 ing which is necessary to the individual is nec- 

 essary to all who help supply the market. 



The Colorado State Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion has undertaken to provide a system of 

 grading rules that will make Colorado honey as 

 famous for evenness and honesty of classifi- 

 cation as it is for quality. It is hoped and in- 

 tended that '■ No. 1 Colorado Honey " shall have 

 a meaning as definite and precise as any other 

 trade name may boast. To this end, every 

 member of the Association is furnished a copy 

 of the rules and recommendations, and urged 

 to follow them as faithfully as if he were to be 

 paid liberally for doing so in addition to win- 

 ning an honorable name for himself and his 

 State. Indeed, the man who follows the rules 

 carefully and wisely will be paid for his faith- 

 fulness in the higher price he is sure to get for 

 his products. 



The rules are not supposed to be perfect ; 

 but they are believed to be better than those 

 of last year. I may venture, myself, to add a 

 uggestion : In case of doubt in classifying, 

 ivi the low er grade the benefit. 



The rules and recommendations of the Colorado State 

 Bee-Keepers' Association are as follows : 



COMB-HOXET RULES. 



No. 1. — Sections to be -n-ell filled and capped, honey white or 

 slightly amber, comb white and not prujeeting lieyond the wood, 

 wood to be well cleaned; cases o( separatored honey to .iverage "21 

 pounds net per case of 24 sections, with a minimum weight ot not 

 less than 20 pounds for any single case ; oases of half-separatored 

 honey to AVEiiAOE not less than 3IJ-4 pounds net per case of 24 sec- 

 tions, with a minimum weight of 20% pounds for any single case; 

 cases of unseparatored honey to average not less than 22V^ pounds 

 net per case of 24 sections, with a minimum weight of iV., pounds 

 for any single case. 



No. 2. — Includes all amber honey of a pronounced tinge, and all 

 white and amber honey not included in No. 1 ; to be fairly well sealed, 

 uncapped cells not to exceed fifty in number exclusive of the outside 

 row. wood to be well cleaned ; eases of separatored honey to aver- 

 age not less than IS pounds net per case of 24 sections. 



extracted-honet rules. 



Extracted honey shall be classified as white and amljer. shall 

 weigh 12 pounds per gallon, shall be perfectly free from particles of 

 wax. and shall always be marketed in new cans. .\11 rendered honey, 

 whether obtained by solar heat or otherwise, shall be classed as 

 ■' strained " honey and not as ■•extracted." 



RECOMMENDATION'S. 



It is recommended to sell all cull honey around home as much as 

 possible ; to grade only in daylight, near a window : to use the stand- 

 ard 414x414x1^;^ inch'section and the 24-pound double-tier shipping- 

 case, in order to have unifornuty in loading cars; to stamp all cases of 

 No. 1 honey with the owner's name above the handholes ; to mark all 

 eases of No. 2 honey with two dashes in the handholes at each end ot 

 the case, and with no other marks whatsoever; to use no .second-hand 

 eases for No. 1 and No. 2 honey ; to pack all sections with paper below 

 and above, and in double-tier cases to put a sheet of paper between 

 the tiers; to store comb honey in a warm, dry place, protected from 

 flies and dust; and to hatil carefully, well protected from dust and 

 rain. 



Do Bees Spread Pear-Blight ?-Tlie California 

 Bee and Fruit Case. 



BY E. R. I-eOOT. 



T ROUBLE has been brewing for some months between 

 the fruit-men on one side and the bee-men on the other 

 at Hanford, in the San Joaquin Valley, Calif. On the 

 part of the first-named, the contention was that the bees, 

 the property of the other parties, were the principal means 

 of spreading the pear-blight, which had been working such 

 awful havoc among the pear orchards in the vicinity men- 

 tioned. The bee-men, on the other hand, took the ground 

 that their stock were not carrying the pear-blight ; and, 

 even assuming that they might do so, averred that other 

 insects, and birds, as well as the wind, might and could do 

 all the mischief laid to the door of the bees, and that, 

 therefore, the removal of the insects under the direct con- 

 trol of man would not afford the relief sought. The con- 

 tention waxed warm. Each side called special meetings to 

 discuss the matter. Bitter words as well as threats were 

 used. Some of the more rabid of the fruit-men proposed 



1-3.-. -: ■l-l^.H 



No. 1 HOSEY 



