1910 



(jLiCAXiNGs IX HKK cri/rniic 



689 



GOLDENROD, 



BY HARRY LATHROP. 



The goldenrod, all out in bloom. 



Stands nodding In the breeze. 

 And sending out a sweet perfume 



To lure the honey-bees. 



From morn till night its golden light 



Shines over vale and hill. 

 Here hiding broken walls from sight. 



There bending o'er a rill. 



And far and wide this wealth is spread, 

 Of gold that all may share; 



Unlike the gold of greed, tliis wealth 

 Is scattered everywhere. 



Bridgeport, Wis. 



BULK COMB HONEY IN THE NORTH. 



One Sale Means Many Orders. 



BY CHARLES J. GREENE. 



A few years ago I became very much in- 

 terested in a series of articles in Gleanings 

 by H. H. Hyde, of Texas, on the production 

 of bulk comb honey; and I thought that, if 

 it were such a success in Texas, it might be 

 made a success here. I decided at that time 

 to test it here in Ne\V York under our dif- 

 ferent conditions, and I have been much 

 pleased with the experiment. I have read 



with much interest all articles 

 touching on this subject, but I 

 have found none that I thought 

 were comprehensive enough. 



I began on a small scale and 

 have increased each year since, 

 and have never been able to sup- 

 ply the local demand for the 

 product. I sell in two small vil- 

 lages and one village of about 

 5000 inhabitants, also along the 

 roads between my home and 

 these villages. As to equipment, 

 my hives are all regular ten- 

 frame I^., fitted with the supers 

 designed for holding the o'^xb 

 sections. In these sujiers I use 

 eight shallow frames with thick 

 top-bars with single groove and 

 wedge for holding the founda- 

 tion. In fact, most of my 

 frames are the regular Hoffman, 

 with the end-bars cut off to make 

 them narrow. I would explain 

 here that I use this style of 

 frame because it is more rigid 

 than the thin top-bar frames, and 

 preverts all sagging of these 

 heavy frames of honey. The 

 wedges are large enough so they 

 can be removed and used over 

 and over, as they are held in 

 place by three small wire nails. 

 The wedges can be easily pried 

 out with a stiff knife-blade, 

 when the narrow strip of foun- 

 dation peels right out, leaving 

 the groove clean for the next sheet of foun- 

 dation. I use the extra-thin super founda- 

 tion, either starters or full sheets, and thus 

 secure nice, straight, thick combs of honey. 

 The next problem was what to use to put 

 the honey in for market. The best thing 

 I have found so far is the regular 5 and 10 

 lb. butter-pails with straight sides, which 

 can be bought almost anywhere at a reason- 

 able price. I have used some pails with 

 slanting sides, but like the straight ones 

 better. I would not use any pail having a 

 smaller opening than the full size of the 

 pail. I have packed a few pails for neigh- 

 bors who have brought their own pails that 

 had contained corn syrup, and had a small- 

 er friction-top oi)enihg, and they were cer- 

 tainly a nuisance. 



Now for the packing. I place several 

 open pails before me on a table covered with 

 oil-cloth, with a super of honey within easy 

 reach. I then take a frame, set it endwise 

 OR a stick over the uncapping-tank or other 

 receptacle, and, with a very thin sharp knife 

 I cut along the bottom-bar, then across the 

 top end, then down along the top-bar a dis- 

 tance equal to the depth of my pails (this 

 will be determined at first by careful mea- 

 surement, but after a little "experience by 

 guess) ; then I cut across, and. with a quick 

 movement, place the piece in a pail with 

 the last cut end at the top; then cut anoth- 

 er piece and place by the side of the first, 

 and so on till the pail is filled. If a piece is 



