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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



May 15 



Bee-keeping in the South- 

 west 



By LOUIS SCHOLL, New Braunfels, Texas 



A WARMING TO SHIPPERS OF HONEY; A 



PLEA FOR BETTER SHIPPING-CASES 



AND CANS. 



Last year the writer called the attention 

 of bee-keepers, especially those of Texas, to 

 the importance of better and stronger ship- 

 ping-cases or jackets for shipping our honey 

 in cans. Only slight attention, compara- 

 tively, was paid to this note of warning; and 

 while a few bee-keepers took uji the matter 

 and used better cases, the majority content- 

 ed themselves with the use of such as are 

 generally put out. Most of these are such 

 frail affairs that they do not carry the heavy 

 cans of honey shipped in them, and reach 

 their destination in the most dilapidated 

 condition. The engraving on page 322 shows 

 only a few such weak cases, taken from a 

 shipment of more than a dozen, all of which 

 were literally torn to i)ieces, not only expos- 

 ing the cans to injury, but allowing them to 

 be broken. One leaked very badly, and the 

 results would have been worse had not the 

 honey been mostly granulated, preventing 

 a greater leakage. 



While the individual bee-keeper does not 

 have very much loss during a season, which 

 accounts for the slight effort made toward 

 a reformation in better honey-shipping pack- 

 ages, the matter as a whole is a very serious 

 one, as we must consider the many thou- 

 sands of individuals with the thousands of 

 shipments, many of w/iich are subject to 

 some loss in one way or another. It is im- 

 possible to comprehend the extent of these 

 damages to honey shipments without study- 

 ing the facts in tlie case. Although I have 

 had an occasional shipment damaged to 

 some extent, in spite of the extra care taken 

 in preparation, it had never occurred to me 

 that more than twice the number of ship- 

 ments made by us were damaged more or 

 less. This was due to the reason that many 

 consignees do not report back such damages, 

 but put in a claim for recovery at their end 

 of the line. This was at once apparent to 

 me when I saw a list of shipments for which 

 such claims had been i)ut in; for out of the 

 number on the list half a dozen shipments 

 were our own, and of which we had never 

 heard any comi)laint for damages. 



To show the importance of this whole mat- 

 ter I will submit here a copy of a letter re- 

 ceived some time ago from an oflicial of rmly 

 one railroad calling my attention to this 

 matter. Heretofore I had not known the 

 seriousness attached to this matter. The 

 letter will explain the situation: 



HANDLING SHIPMENT.S OF HONEY. 



Mr. Scholl.—l submit herewith a file of correspon- 

 dence which I am assured is of vital interest to the 

 bee-keepers, or at least to the shippers of honey. 

 The losses of honey in shipment are so great that it 

 not only costs the railroads a great deal of money 



each year, but in the end works to the detriment of 

 the man who produces it. 



I do not know just liow the losses are going to be 

 avoided; but I think that some improvement in the 

 package can he accomplished: and to make this im- 

 provement the parties producing the iioney must 

 know the weakness of tiie package used. 



I am submitting this correspondence so that you 

 can see the condition of quiteafew shipments when 

 they are only half way to their destination. The 

 loss in tlie rest of the journey can not be expected to 

 be any less. Douljtless a great many sliipments are 

 delivered to the consignee with only slight loss, for 

 wliice no claim is presented, and the retailer stands 

 tlie loss out of liis profits, and naturally the reduc- 

 tion in the ijroflts to the retailer turns liim against 

 the commodity on which the profits are unsatisfac- 

 tory. 



I do not know tliat you can do any thing to im- 

 prove tlie situation. If you can not, no harm can 

 come from calling your attention to tlie losses now 

 sustained; but I liope you will be able to accomplish 

 some improvement. After the pavjers have served 

 your purpose I sliall be glad to have you return 

 them to me with such comments as you may liave 

 to ofler. Yours truly. 



The papers referred to are copies of reports 

 of honey-shipment damages, and claims 

 covering a period of only 27 days, between 

 August 14 and September 10; during which 

 time there were twelve in all. A copy of 

 each of these damaged-honey shipments 

 was appended to the above letter. Each one 

 showed exactly the condition of the ship- 

 ment upon arrival, extent of the damage, 

 etc. Weak cases, not strong enough to hold 

 as heavy contents as cans of honey; leaks 

 on account of improper soldering; tops work- 

 ed loose, and contents or part of contents 

 leaked out, etc., were the checks made on 

 these reports. 



If we stop to think for just a moment, the 

 short time in which these reports were made, 

 and by only a single railroad, and that after 

 the main shipping season, it must be admit- 

 ted that the situation is a serious one in- 

 deed. 



It must also be borne in mind, in connec- 

 tion with the above shipments, that these 

 checks were made when the shipments were 

 only half way to their destination. The 

 shipments rei)orted in the above were from 

 different parts of the State, and from nearly 

 as many shippers, through Fort Worth, 

 Texas, where the checks were made. In 

 what condition these shipments reached the 

 consignees it is hard to say. 



Now it is up to the bee-keepers. What 

 are you going to do about it? I have called 

 attention to this before, and it is my hope 

 it will not be in vain this time. 



New Braunfels, Texas. 



[Mr. Scholl is right. It is strange that a 

 bee-keeper will produce a fine article of 

 honey, aitd then put it up in a cheap or k_ 

 second-hand package. Cans that have been 

 used once are weakened or rusted. The 

 user of them saves a few cents on the pack- 

 age, and loses dollars where he saves cents. 

 The honey leaks, and trouble occurs be- 

 tween the railroads, the honey-producer, and 

 the purchasers of the honey. No wonder he 

 fails to make a satisfactory settlement with 

 either. Honey, if it is worth any thing, 

 should alw-ays be i)ut in Jirst-class new pack- 

 ages. — Ed.] 



