746 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Dec. 1 



this position the comb is very easily dam- 

 age. I, and, as a general thing, when the drip 

 cleats are misplaced the honey will be broken 

 down and leaking, spoiling the whole case. 

 But the most serious objection to the drip 

 cleats is that they are unyielding. The cor- 

 rugated paper, on the other hand, allows 

 the honey drip to pass away, and at the 

 same time makes an excellent cushion for 

 the sections. 



Any honey-producer who has any honey 

 to ship, and has nothing but cases with 

 drip cleats, can well afford to rip the cleats 

 out entirely and buy corrugated paper to 

 put in the bottom of these cases. He will 

 make money by doing it, and save wrangles 

 with the consignees and the railroad com- 

 panies. 



While, last year, a single thickness of cor- 

 rugated paper was use J in the bottom of the 

 cases, it sometimes happens that a case is 

 placed upside down, or that some one with 

 his big feet will step in the middle of the 

 case, crusliing or breaking the sections be- 

 neath the heel or ball of the foot. While it 

 would be too expensive to make the ship- 

 ping-cases strong enough for the average ig- 

 noramus to walk all over, it is advisable to 

 make every case as near fool-proof as possi- 

 ble. Either we ought to use a sheet of cor- 

 rugated paper on top of the sections as well 

 as under them, or engage the services of 

 some fool-killer to follow up every shipment 

 of comb honey. 



THE SAME OLD STORY; DO WE WANT TO 



COURT ADVANCED FREIGHT 



RATES ON HONEY? 



We have lately had a few shipments of 

 comb honey come in all broken "ker- 

 smash," and all because the honey was put 

 up improperly by the producer himself. It 

 is the same old story, and we are compelled 

 to repeat the warning again and again. It 

 really seems a pity to ship out otherwise 

 good honey and then have it ruined on arri- 

 val at destination because the producer tried 

 to cobble up some home-made shipping- 

 cases that he thought would enable him to 

 save money. Such a policy is penny wise 

 and pound foolish if ever one was. 



What are we going to do with this smash- 

 ed comb honey? Where it is not too badly 

 broken we would advise putting it up in 

 tumblers and selling it as chunk or bulk 

 honey. Of course, one can not realize on it 

 much better than extracted. But who pays 

 for the diflference between extracted and 

 comb honey? The producer, as a general 

 thing. In some cases he can make the rail- 

 road company pay the diflference; but in 

 most casas, especially in small shipments, 

 the i^roducer finds he has to pocket the loss 

 himself, as the cost of a lawsuit would be 

 more than he can actually gain if he won 

 the suit. 



If comb-honey producers are not more 

 careful, either freight rates on comb honey 

 will take a sharp advance or the railroad 

 companies will refuse to take comb honey 

 altogether. This is getting to be a really 

 serious matter. 



A JUST TRIBUTE TO ONE OF THE LEADING 



APICULTLRAL LIGHTS OF fcOUTH- 



WEST TEXAS. 



We regret to record the death of Mr. D. 

 M. Edwards, of Uvalde, Texas, that took 

 place Sept. 14th last, at his home. For 

 many years he was the leader in South- 

 west Texas in every thing pertaining to bee 

 culture. 



Our older readers will remember how the 

 editor of this journal, in 1901, made him a 

 visit; and so delighted were w^e with the 

 whole bee-keeping proposition in Uvalde 

 that we called it a "Bee-keeper's Paradise," 

 for certainly it was at that time. Well do 

 we remember that stock-raising and bee- 

 keeping seemed to be the two principal 

 lines of business. When we stopped over 

 at the hotel the chief topic of conversation 

 seemed to be bees and bee-keeping. We 

 never were in a locality before or since 

 where apiculture seemed to be so large a 

 part of a community's life and thought. 

 Conditions since that time have changed 

 considerably, for fruit-growing and stock- 

 raising have jumped apace with enormous 

 strides. It is probable, to-day, that these 

 other industries are more important now 

 than bee-keeping. 



We shall long remember the many court- 

 esies extended by our friend when we visit- 

 ed him. He was a man who stood well in 

 his community; and as a bee-keeper he had 

 few equals. He made money with his bees, 

 and was generally regarded as an all-around 

 prosperous man. What was more, he was 

 willing to give every assistance to possible 

 and even probable rival bee-keepers who 

 came to him to learn the business, some of 

 whom subsequently, as we happen to know, 

 squatted their apiaries within bee-range of 

 his yards. He was broad-minded to a fault; 

 and when those other fellows crowded on to 

 his territory he remarked with a smile, 

 "This is a free country, and I have no right 

 to say that the other fellow shall not occu- 

 py my bee-range if he desires to." Yes, 

 Mr. Edwards would spend half a day in- 

 structing some beginner how to handle 

 bees. He would tell him what supplies he 

 ought to have, then finally send him on his 

 way rejoicing. 



In a clipping taken from a local paper it 

 is said of him, "As a citizen he took an ac- 

 tive interest in the welfare of the city; and 

 he was an honest, conscientious, and up- 

 right gentleman; as a neighbor he was al- 

 ways courteous and friendly. . . . His 

 word was his bond, and honesty was his 

 watchword." We have had many years 

 pleasant dealings with Mr. Edwards, and 

 we can certify to the truthfulness of the 

 statements of his fellow-townsmen. 



CARRYING BEES INTO THE CELLAR; STEAL- 

 ING A MARCH ON MR. HOLTEKMANN. 



In this issue we call special attention to 

 Mr. Holtermann's plan for carrying bees 

 into the cellar — a plan which we believe to 

 be the best and simplest for doing it — 



