1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



205 



that would take honey in such large packages, 

 and take it nt the same price as in c<ins, a,nd 

 proviiiod I did not have to ship empty barrels 

 a long distance so that the freiglit would be 

 more than the first cost of barrel, and if I did 

 not have to liquefy before shipping, I could use 

 barrels. If the barrel could be kept from year 

 to year, and the crop sold at retail, it might be 

 a cheaper package in the end, for it will last 

 for years; but if I have to spade out the honey 

 and put it into other vessels, I should build a 

 wooden, tin-lined tank that would hold my 

 entire crop, and do it at much less cost than 

 the cost of barrels to hold the same; or, what 

 would be better, a metal tank with a heating 

 appliance, and liquefy the honey in the tank. 



Just recently I had quotations from Fish & 

 Co., of Chicago, and they quoted one-half cent 

 less if candied. Now if, to get the best price 

 for the honey, it be necessary to liquefy, the 

 barrel is not the package. Mr. France says his 

 barrels cost SL-W for 370 lbs., which is a little 

 less than K cent per pound. Our cans cost us 

 ^ of a cent per pound. The freight will be 

 some lower on the barrels. I have forgotten 

 just the difference, but it is not much; but if 

 the honey is to be liquefied to get the best price, 

 the liquefying is much easier done in the cans. 

 It is not necessary to take the screw-cap off 

 when melting. The honey will swell some; 

 but the degree of heat necessary — and above 

 which it ought not to go — will not swell the 

 can sufficiently to burst or kink it. I have a 

 tank that holds six cans, and covers the top of 

 an old range that I purchased and fixed up for 

 the purpose, and I usually leave the six cans in 

 this and covered with water, from 24 to 48 hours. 

 If the heat be regular, and as high as is safe, 

 24 hours will do; but with a slow fire, and the 

 temperature often low, 48 hours is necessary. 

 I have kept the caps screwed tight, and they 

 did not burst a single can in melting several 

 tons the past winter. 



Now, while I should much prefer the can, 

 and think it the cheaper in the end, I have a 

 criticism to offer on it. A GO-pound can is too 

 large. Two cans in a box make a package that 

 \s just too heavy and aivhivardfor one man to 

 handle. We can have them boxed singly at a 

 little additional cost, it is true; but this is not 

 the only objection. Many people will order by 

 the 2.5, 50, or 100 pound lots. It is so natural 

 and easy to order in 25 and .50 pound lots, or 

 multiples thereof, that it is often done; and 

 then we must ship more or less, or else corres- 

 pond and explain. Two 50-pound cans in one 

 box are abundantly heavy, and I think there is 

 no valid reason why they can not be had in 

 these sizes. 



There are still other difficulties in the han- 

 dling of extracted honey. If it would stay 

 liquid we could afford to ship in large packages, 

 and take somewhat lower prices; but when we 

 get at best only three to four cents above 



freights and packages, then have to cut half a 

 cent or more because it is candied, it is hard on 

 profits. I doubt whether one commission or 

 wholesale house in ten is fixed for liquefying. 

 If the wholesaler can not melt it, then it must 

 go to the retailer candied. Is there one out of 

 twenty-five retailers who knows how and is 

 prepared to liquefy? I believe that, in the 

 whole city of Denver, there is but one firm — 

 and that not on a business street — that is In 

 any manner prepared to liquefy. The Denver 

 commission men tell me they can not sell honey 

 well in 60-pound cans. If a 60-pound package 

 is too large, the 400 or 500 pound barrel would 

 be still worse. 



Now, if extracted honey sells in the general 

 markets, and holds its place with other sweets, 

 it must be put in shape to handle cheaply and 

 easily. If I were a wholesale dealer in the city, 

 I would demand that the goods be put in pack- 

 ages that I could handle. as other goods are 

 handled, or I would pay only such prices as 

 would give me a margin over the cost of such 

 packages and getting it into them. What the 

 commission man wants, and what he must 

 have if the product ever obtains and holds its 

 proper place in commerce, is the goods put in 

 such shape that it will reach the consumer in 

 original packages. Until this is done we shall 

 continue to do as we are doing— sell to consum- 

 ers direct. 



The producer of grains, grasses, and vege- 

 tables, and all manufactured goods, can sell 

 his products at any and all times. There are 

 regular dealers, and the necessary appliances 

 for handling all these things. If the individual 

 farmer had to advertise his products, and sell 

 and ship to those who may want and need his 

 product in other parts of the country, as many 

 bee-keepers now sell their product, how much 

 would he get out of his stuff? The city dealer 

 does not go to the farmer for his products, bat 

 goes to the commission and wholesale houses. 

 When he finds what he wants, it is in such 

 shape that he can buy as much or as little as 

 he wishes. 



I suppose that C. F. Muth is thoroughly 

 equipped for handling honey and putting it in 

 retail packages. He. no doubt, can use large 

 quantities of honey in large cheap packages; 

 but the general produce-dealer can not do this, 

 and must sell in original packages. I have the 

 past winter, as previously stated, sold several 

 tons of extracted honey. I could not sell it to 

 commission houses nor to retail dealers. Why? 

 Just ask your grocer to sell in your own mar- 

 ket, in eayis and barrels, and you will know 

 why. The wholesale houses must have the 

 honey in the very cheapest large package, and 

 then put it into his own retail package, or the 

 producer must put it into retail shape and all 

 properly packed in regular packages before it 

 leaves the honey-house. 



Here again comes that snag of candying, and 



