84 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



'Go Slow" Before Embarking in the 

 "Chunk Honey" Business. 



W. S. PANGBURN. 



Thave been 

 i thinking- for 

 some time of 

 writing an arti- 

 cle for the Re- 

 view, but, after 

 reading M. P. 

 Cady's article 

 in the January 

 issue, I about 

 gave it up; for 

 the reason that 

 he said a good many things that I had in 

 mind. However, I would like to sound a 

 note of warning to those who are becom- 

 ing, perhaps, a little too enthusiastic over 

 the bulk comb honey business. I refer 

 to those who are intending to give it a 

 trial the coming season. I am not going 

 to say whether it is "the thing," or vice 

 versa, only, as 1 said, to caution those 

 who, perhaps, are a little too sanguine in 

 their undertakings. I have been a little 

 too hasty, at times, myself, the same as 

 that grand old man, Dr. Miller, who owns 

 up to being a little too sanguine at 

 times (Page 135, r'orty Years Among 

 the Bees.) Let me quote his words: 

 "Go slow." 



If you are producing bulk comb honey, 

 and it is a success with you. finding a 

 market for all you produce, and are in a 

 locality with a succession of short flows, 

 stay right by it. On the other hand, if 

 you are in a good, white, comb honey 

 locality with a good flow, people always 

 using comb honey, or perhaps, more 

 properly speaking, "section honey," better 

 "go slow;" or, perhaps, "if you don't 

 watch out," you may find, like M. P. 

 Cady, that it's no go. 



In my immediate vicinity, or, I may 

 say, in the State of Iowa, I never expect 

 to see it make much headway; and I will 

 make this assertion that it will never 

 become popular with the city trade. 



I would like to say, also, in passing, 

 that there is the biggest chance for 

 deception in bulk comb honey of any 

 honey produced; and, for that very reason, 

 if for no other, it will never become popu- 

 lar with commission firms, wholesalers, 

 or any one buying in large quantities. 

 What a multitude of sins a tin pail and a 

 little extracted honey will cover up! 



Study your market and your location, 

 or, rather, your honey flow; notwithstand- 

 ing, some say your location has nothing to 

 do with it. If you are in a locality capa- 

 ble of producing a fancy white comb 

 honey, "go slow." I said study your 

 market. Yes— it's one thing to produce a 

 crop and quite another thing to sell it — at 

 a paying price. If you can produce a 

 fancy article of section honey, don't ever 

 worry about over production. The 

 market is far short of the really fancy 

 article. If you are in a locality where 

 your honey flows are made up of short 

 flows, and a variety of flavors, you could 

 try bulk comb honey. You never could 

 produce enough fancy section honey in a 

 locality like that to pay you to bother 

 with it. Fancy honey isn't produced 

 under such conditions. 



In closing, 1 would like to ask friend 

 Wilder to explain a few assertions made 

 in the January Review. 



What insects are there (if any) in sec- 

 tion honey that are not in bulk, comb 

 honey? I have produced section honey 

 ever since I kept bees, and never had any 

 complaints of "insects" being in the comb 

 honey and I didn't know there were any. 



Why is bulk comb honey any more 

 wholesome than section honey, or ex- 

 tracted? 



Why is it necessary to have a special 

 hive for the production of bulk comb 

 honey? 1 thought any good extracted 

 honey hive would answer. In fact, I've 

 often thought we had more hives no 



