1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



209 



BEE-KEEPING AMONG 

 THE ROCKIES. 



By Wesley Foster, Boulder, Col. 



winter ventilation. 

 If bees have a large winter entrance they 

 are more apt to come through in better shape 

 than if the entrance were contracted. If 

 mice are troublesome they may be kept out 

 of the hives by using wire screen three mesh 

 to the inch over the entrance. The value of 

 abundant ventilation during the winter is 

 better known now among western bee-keep- 

 ers than a few years ago. The contraction 

 of the entrance is still thought to be essen- 

 tial by many; but some of the most success- 

 ful ones have had some experiences that 

 poiiit tke other way. 



THE SNOW ON THE RANGE AND ITS EFFECT 

 ON THE WATER SUPPLY. 



Government reports from the mountains 

 show that the fall of snow so far is below the 

 average, and that there will be less water 

 for irrigation than last year unless a great 

 deal falls from now on. The warm days in 

 the winter, which aid in settling and packing 

 the snow into ice sheets on the hign levels 

 of the ranges, have been numerous this win- 

 ter — at least they came at times when there 

 was snow to be settled and packed. The re- 

 port says there is considerable soft snow in 

 the timber on the lower levels and foot hills. 

 This condition of snowfall is general through- 

 out the mountains of Colorado. 



SHIPPING COMB HONEY; FREIGHT CLASSIFICA- 

 TIONS, ETC. 



A shipment of comb honey was recently 

 made from a distance of several hundred 

 miles into Denver. The shipper did not 

 know that the glass fronts should be protect- 

 ed with wood strips so the shipment would 

 take the lowest possible freight rate, which 

 is the first-class rate in less than carload lots. 

 The first-class rate is $1.7U between this point 

 and Denver; and where the glass fronts are 

 not protected the rate is double first class; so 

 it cost this bee-keeper $3.40 a hundred to 

 ship his honey to market. By tacking a 

 little strip of wood over the glass, 45 cents a 

 case in freight would have been saved. 



This ruling of the railroads in regard to 

 comb honey in glass-front cases is unjust I 

 think; for where the glass shows the contents 

 of the case it is much more likely to be care- 

 fully handled. A lot of single tier cases of 

 honey with wood slide in place of glass 

 came through in very bad shape, practical- 

 ly all of it mashed and broken. The freight 

 men thought it was cheese or butter, no 

 doubt. 



These instances show that bee-keepers can 

 not be too well posted on freight rates, class- 

 ifications, and tne proper way to ship honey. 



If the freight agent in the first case spoken 

 of had been looking out for the best interests 

 of his company's customers he would have 

 told the bee-keeper how to secure the lowest 

 possible rate. 



COMB- HONEY CASES WITHOUT GLASS. 



This whole question of glass cases or no 

 glass has reference to producing sections of 

 the country and the distant marlcets. Fruit 

 and honey have met much the same condi- 

 tions in seeking a market. Twenty years 

 ago the bulk of tne fruit crop was produced 

 in the Eastern States, where the most of it 

 found ready sale in nearby markets. The 

 battle for markets was not severe, and extra 

 bids were not made for trade. With the 

 commercial orchards of the West, where 

 markets were two thousand miles distant, 

 the sales demanded the packing of only the 

 choicest sound fruit, for the inferior produce 

 would spoil before the market could be reach- 

 ed. The profitable following of fruit culture 

 at once depended on allowing only the best 

 fruit to mature on the trees so all the crop^ 

 would be fit to ship. Then when the Wes- 

 tern growers found out their only hope was 

 in quality (they could not sell average fruit 

 in competition with Eastern fruit) , they had 

 to raise a better article, put it up more at- 

 tractively, and get a higher price. The cov- 

 ering of the edge of a box of dried peaches 

 with lace paper has added 10 to 15 cts. to the 

 price received. 



This is the state of affairs in the honey 

 market. Western honey has to be whiter, 

 and more attractively put up in double-tier 

 shipping- cases, to find a sale in the Eastern 

 markets. But those markets now want the 

 goods the way we put them up, with one 

 fourth of the case exposed to the glass 

 front. 



Mr. Scholl objects very much to the Colo- 

 rado methods of producing honey; but we 

 could not produce comb honey in bulk and 

 ship into Texas to compete with his product. 

 The cost of shipment would prohibit, and 

 then we should have to sell it as cheap as he 

 sells his or not find a market. But we can 

 sell our comb honey right in Mr. SchoU's 

 Texas markets because we are supplying a 

 demand Mr. Scholl does not meet. We cater 

 to a trade Mr. Scholl considers unprofitable. 

 It may be, in comparison with his bulk-hon- 

 ey business, but it is the only way we can 

 dispose of our Colorado crop. I think we 

 get much more per pound than Mr. Scholl, 

 though it costs us much more to produce 

 it. 



Cars of comb honey have been shipped 

 out of Colorado by the score at $3.00 net per 

 case to the producer, and I know of one car 

 that brought $3.15 per case of 24 sections. 

 For the actual weight of honey in a case, that 

 would be at least 16 cts. per lb. 



I do not doubt that Mr. Scholl can make 

 more money with bulk honey in his location 

 and relation to markets; but I think Colorado 

 and other Western bee-keepers do better to 

 produce a white comb or extracted honey. 



