THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



Uniform Shipping Cases. Points in their Favor. 



FRANK RAUCHFUSS. 



Mgr. Colorado Honey Producers' Association. 



^ > NIFORMITY of grading and un- 

 .^j^ iformity of packages of all com- 

 modities produced in rural dis- 

 tricts and afterwards brought together 

 to be shipped in straight carload lots to 

 distant markets is now being recognized 

 by all shippers, whether individuals or 

 associations, as a matter of prime im- 

 portance. 



In fact, the business in some of these 

 commodities could not possibly have 

 assumed the gigantic proportions that 

 it has, without proper standards of 

 grading and packing that are generally 

 understood by the trade throughout the 

 country. Oranges and lemons are 

 packed in standard size boxes with 

 grade and size indicated on the end of 

 the box. Apples, cantaloupes, dried 

 fruits, nuts, etc., are all packed in uni- 

 form packages if coming from locali- 

 ties where their production is a matter 

 of some consequence. 



It is now only in localities where 

 these commodities are produced in a 

 small way as a side line to farming and 

 considered of little or no consequence 

 that the matter of grading and packing 

 does not receive the attention that it 

 should. 



Bee culture in Colorado has developed 

 to such a stage that the bulk of the 

 comb honey crop is now marketed in a 

 fairly satisfactory manner. There is 

 still room for improvement in many 

 quarters as regards to proper grading. 

 However, this is a subject outside of 

 the scope of this paper and we shall 

 confine ourselves to the matter of pack- 

 age. 



Comb honey is an article that sells 

 much on its appearance. No matter 

 how fine it may be in flavor and body, 

 if stored in poorly made or discolored 

 sections and packed in unattractive 



cases, it will not bring near as good a 

 price as an article of inferior quality 

 but properly handled and packed. 



]^Iost of our crop must find an outlet 

 in the states east of us and can only 

 be marketed to advantage in carload 

 lots. 



In my capacity as manager of a co- 

 operative association of bee-keepers for 

 the past twelve years I have had un- 

 usual opportunities to study the market- 

 ing question from all sides and have 

 come to the conclusion that the policy 

 of manufacturers of bee supplies in 

 catering to the whims of individuals 

 for new styles of sections and special 

 cases for same is ill advised and 

 works a hardship on the carload shipper 

 at the point of production as well as on 

 the jobber and retailer at its final des- 

 tination. 



What the carload buyer of comb 

 honey is interested in principally is to 

 secure stock that is carefully and con- 

 scientiously graded and packed in at- 

 tractive cases of uniform size. 



Any buyer of experience will gladly 

 pay a little more for such, than to take 

 goods of like quality but packed in a 

 number of different sizes of sections and 

 shipping cases. The reason for this is 

 that it requires less time in loading the 

 car (if bought f. o. b. shipping point), 

 less risk of damage while in transit, 

 less time to unload at destination, less 

 room occupied in warehouse, and, last 

 but not least, less trouble in making 

 sales and better satisfaction to his trade. 



A car of comb honey packed in cases 

 of exactly the same outside dimensions 

 (not necessarily of the same manufac- 

 ture) can be loaded in less than half 

 the time of a car composed of different 

 sices of cases. If honey is brought in 

 from the apiaries and first stored in a 



