112 



American ^ae Journal 



April, igii. 



»^^^ 1 



straight car-load lots to distant market 

 is now being recognised by all ship- 

 pers, whether individuals or associa- 

 tions, as a matter of prime importance. 



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 bo.x. 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 conse- 

 quence, that the matter of grading and 

 packing does not receive the attention 

 that it should. 



Bee-culture in Colorado has devel- 

 oped to such a stage that the bulk of 

 the comb honey crop is now marketed 

 in a fairly satisfactory manner; but 

 there is still room for improvement in 

 many quarters as regards proper 

 grading. However, this is a subject 

 outside of the scope of this paper, and 

 I shall confine myself to the matter of 

 packages. 



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 nearly so good 

 a price as an article of inferior quality 

 but properly handled and packed. 



Most of our crop must find an outlet 

 in the States east of us, and can only 

 be marketed to advantage in car-load 

 lots. 



In my capacity as manager of a co- 

 operative association of bee-keepers for 

 the past 12 years, I have had unusual 

 opportunities to study the marketing 

 question from all sides, and have come 

 to the conclusion that the policy of 

 manufacturers of bee-supplies in cater- 

 ing to the whims of individuals for 

 new styles of sections and special cases 

 for the same is ill-advised, and works 

 a hardship on the car-load shipper at 

 the point of production, as well as on 

 the jobber and retailer at its final des- 

 tination. 



What the car-load 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 load- 

 ing the car (if bought f. o. b. shipping- 

 point), less risk of damage while in 

 transit, less time to unload at destina- 

 tion, less room occupied in the ware- 

 house, and, last but not least, less 

 trouble in making sales, and better sat- 

 isfaction to his trade. 



A car of comb honey packed tn cases 

 of exactly the same outside dim-oisions 

 (not necessarily of the same manufac- 

 ture) can be loaded in less than half the 

 lime of a car composed of different sizes 



of cases. If honey is brought in from 

 the apiaries and first stored in a ware- 

 house before being loaded in the car, 

 then the trouble will be aggravated, as 

 different styles of cases must be placed 

 in separate piles. 



In order to see if the manufacturers 

 of bee-supplies would be willing to 

 recognize these difficulties, I wrote last 

 fall to several of the largest firms, and 

 am glad to report that they all have 

 shown a desire to come together on a 

 standard outside dimensions for 24- 

 section double-tier shipping-cases for 

 4'4x4'4xl/s sections, as well as for 24- 

 section single-tier cases. It is hoped 

 that cases for the coming season's crop 

 will be of uniform outside dimensions. 

 The following measurements were sug- 

 gested : 

 Specifications for Double-Tier Cases. 



Outside Dimensions for Standard Double- 

 Cases tor 4''4X4!-4Xi'a Bce-way Sections— 



H'B inches long, 'j'j higti. S's wide. 



Full half-inch lumber for ends. 



Full Quarter-inch lumber for tops, bottoms 

 and backs. Full fa-inch lumber for grooved 

 cleats. 



3 sheets corrugated pasteboard for each 

 case. 



2 sheets plain paper for drip-pans. 



Plain 2d fine wire nails for nailing covers. 



Cement-coated wire nails for balance of 

 case. 



Covers printed— "Glass! This,Side Up!" 



Packed in re-shipping crates. 



Specifications for Single-Tier Cases. 



Outside Dimensions for Standard Single- 

 Tier Cases for i!ix4'4xi^8 Bee-way Sections— 



iS'i inches long. I2 wide, s's deep. 



Full half-inch lumber for ends. 



Full quarter-inch lumber for top. bottom 

 and back. 



Full H inch lumber for grooved cleats. 



2 sheets corrugated pasteboard for each 

 case. 



I sheet plain paper for drip-pan. 



Plain 2d fine wire nails for nailing covers. 



Cement-coated nails for balance of case. 



Covers printed— "Glass! This Side Up!" 



Packed in re-shipping cases. 



If a discussion on the above stan- 

 dards could be arranged for this con- 

 vention it might be the means of bring- 

 ing out some valuable information. 



Denver, Colo. 



The Status of Apiculture 



BY DR. G. BOHRER. 



That apiculture as regards a knowl- 

 edge of the habits, care and manage- 

 ment of bees and the success of this 

 industry in practice is far in advance 

 of what it was 50 years ago is a fact. 

 And that it is far behind other indus- 

 trial pursuits as regards a thorough 

 theoretical as well as a practical knowl- 

 edge of them is also true. In addition 

 to this, it is safe to assume the ground 

 that the food and medicinal qualities 

 of honey as compared with other sweets 

 is also very imperfectly understood by 

 the masses of our people. At no time 

 within the recollection of the writer 

 has honey been regarded as much more 

 than a luxury, and not, by all odds, as 

 the most wholesome food of all the 

 sweets in use among the civilized na- 

 tions of the world. Yet such is now 

 known to be a fact by all who have 

 made the food qualities of the diflferent 

 sweets a subject of scientific investiga- 

 tion. 



It is well known that honey is partly 

 digested, through which it taxes the or- 

 gans of digestion much less than the 

 different sugars so commonly and so 



extensively in use as food. But to ren- 

 der it still more difficult to digest and 

 destructive to human teeth, it is very 

 extensively combined with glucose 

 (corn syrup), which is not at all pala- 

 table, and would not sell upon the mar- 

 kets if it were not combined with honey, 

 cane syrup or sugar. And it is also 

 very largely used in the manufacture of 

 candies; but it is here that it gets in 

 its deadly work on the teeth of all who 

 eat candy containing glucose. I feel 

 warranted in hazarding the assertion 

 that not 5 pounds of candy in each 

 thousand pounds of this product as 

 now found upon the markets of the 

 country are free from the presence of 

 glucose. It may be readily detected by 

 the flinty character of the candy, which, 

 as stated, injures the teeth by wearing 

 them away. In fact, it serves as a file 

 in cutting or grinding them away in 

 the process of mastication. 



Millions of pounds of such abomin- 

 able stuff is permitted to be sold to an 

 uninformed public annually, and that, 

 too, in the presence of a so-called pure 

 food law upon this subject, which is 

 anything but what its name concerning 

 this particular matter would indicate. 

 In support of the foregoing statements 

 I will refer the reader to the pure food 

 law upon this subject in my own State 

 (Kansas), which is evasive in every- 

 thing, and -specific in nothing, except 

 that it permits the wholesale use of 

 glucose in the manufacture of candies. 

 And to make the matter of deception a 

 most perfectly masked aft'air, it author- 

 izes the vendor and dealer to use as a 

 covering the following language: 

 "Guaranteed under the pure food law." 

 But special care is used in omitting to 

 state the presence of glucose or the 

 proportion of this ingredient to that of 

 pure cane or beet sugar or syrup. So 

 that nothing worth knowing is guaran- 

 teed by this feature of the Kansas pure 

 food law, except, perhaps, that such 

 candy does not contain either strych- 

 nia, arsenic or prussic acid in doses 

 sufficiently large to kill outright in a 

 few minutes or hours after taking. 



Now, if any one will point out one 

 thing in which the public is protected, 

 aside from what is above mentioned, I 

 will most humbly beg pardon and make 

 all apologies that are due in the case. 

 That the laws of many other States are 

 fully as misleading and deceptive as is 

 the law of Kansas, is no doubt true, for 

 in my opinion the law was formulated 

 at the expense of much labor and 

 money to those who shaped, or caused 

 the law to be shaped, as herein stated. 



The foregoing are a few items in re- 

 gard to which the world is in a seri- 

 ously benighted condition, and simply 

 to advertise honey until the crack of 

 doom will not add anything of value to 

 the increase in the sale of honey. 

 What is needed most is, as already 

 stated, that every industrial and educa- 

 tional institution throughout the land 

 be required to teach the habits, man- 

 agement, and practical care of honey- 

 bees, and demonstrations fully illus- 

 trating their practical management in 

 every important detail should be given, 

 as is the case in teaching other indus- 

 tries. In assuming this ground, I will 

 say that but very few persons engaged 

 in practical bee-keeping are found to 



