636 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 1. 



60-lb. tin cans are alike acceptable to manu- 

 facturers. 



3. One pound light. 



4. When new honey comes in first. 



5. None whatever these close times. Nothing 

 can be sold at a high price. 



6. Our receipts so far have been at least twice 

 as large this year as they were last year at this 

 time. Chas. F. Muth & Son. 



THE ACCEPTED RULES OF GRADING CRITICISED; 

 A MODIFICATION PROPOSED. 



Friend Root:— My aversion grows against 

 the " Rules of Grading " the longer I am writing 

 market reports. Almost every quotation made 

 according to the rules, since their existence, 

 was erroneous, because not a dealer had the 

 quality he was quoting on. Such is the case in 

 nine cases out of ten. I call on practical honey- 

 producers and dealers familiar with the busi- 

 ness to say whether I am right or wrong. In 

 all my dealings, one carload only of comb honey, 

 from Colorado, came into my possession which 

 came near the standard described under "Fancy 

 White." A perfect lot of comb honey is a rari- 

 ty, and all we do have should be called by its 

 proper name as nearly as possible. 



All comb honey should be white. The more 

 its color varies from white, the lower its grade 

 and the more unsatisfactory its sale. We don't 

 improve the quality any by calling it " Fancy 

 Amber;" and what "fancy " is there on dark 

 comb honey ? 



Whoever puts on the market unsightly honey, 

 be It white, amber, or dark, does not under- 

 stand his business. He gets into trouble with 

 his consignee; and if doesn't, then his consignee 

 loses money. We are not yet done taking un- 

 sightly combs from the cases of last year's 

 shipments and — throwing them into the render- 

 ing-buckets. 



I would suggest the following rules for grad- 

 ing: 



Fancy white comb honey, as per present rules. 



No. 1 white, as per present rules. 



No. 2. Let this grade embrace those qualities 

 next to No. 1, and the best amber. 



No. 3, embracing next to the best amber and 

 the best dark. 



No. 4, dark honey. 



I believe that "Fancy w^ite," No. 1, No. 3, 

 No. 3, and No. 4, will signify best our different 

 qualities of comb honey. " White," " amber," 

 and " dark" answer the purpose for extracted 

 honey. Chas. F. Muth. 



Cincinnati, O., Aug. 19. 



[I am ready to concede that there is some 

 truth in what you say, especially as you are an 

 old, old honey buyer. If I understand you, 

 " Fancy white," as it now stands in the accept- 

 ed grading, is all right, but that commission 

 men, in your opinion, are using it on grades 

 that are no better than No. 1. If any of them 

 are, let's call 'em down. If they can't grade 

 correctly we will grade 'em — out of our Honey 

 Column. 



It sounds a little queer to talk about "fancy 



dark " or " fancy amber," I must confess. I 

 should like to hear from other commission men. 

 So far as Gleanings is concerned, it can easily 

 adapt its rules to fit the requirements of com- 

 mission men and honey-men and producers. 

 All we need is to know what those requirements 

 are.— Ed.] 



FIGURING ON THE COST OF PRODUCING 

 HONEY. 



DIFFERENT CONDITIONS IN CALIFORNIA; REPLY 

 TO ADRIAN GETAZ. 



By C. H. CJnijton. 



I desire to say that Mr. Getaz is totally in the 

 dark as to our conditions here in California in 

 his article in Gleanings of Aug. 1. My article 

 was written to convey an idea of the actual 

 cost of producing honey. If I were as active as 

 Mr. Getaz, and " worked for nothing and board- 

 ed myself," I might modify my figures. I doubt 

 whether Mr. G. could take care of half of 285 

 colonies here in California, much less '"three or 

 four times that number." 



In 1893 I had but 95 colonies. I extracted 

 once a week for ten weeks in succession; and 

 by the time I cased up my honey and attended 

 to other necessary work around the apiary I 

 had but little time for any thing else. Last 

 year I had 177 colonies; but the flow was not so 

 rapid as in '93, so I extracted once every fifteen 

 days, and managed to do it all alone. I am 45 

 years old this month; stand (5 ft. -in my socks; 

 have the unrestricted use of all my members, 

 including the unruly one; but I don't want any 

 more than I had last year to handle alone. 

 Why, Getaz couldn't 'u?icap thehalf of his three 

 or four times 285 colonies, to say nothing about 

 removing the combs from the hive, extracting, 

 returning combs to hives, and casing up the 

 honey. 



As to the items which he says do not have to 

 be paid in cash, they should be counted the 

 same as any cash item to determine your selling 

 price. I am not keeping bees for fun. I am 

 "out for the stuff." If I invest a thousand dol- 

 lars in bees, and give them a year's care— in- 

 cluding in tne year three or four months' hard 

 labor — pay taxes on them, assume losses from 

 disease, etc., I must have something more than 

 bare wages and interest on the original invest- 

 ment. 



WHAT CAN YOU FURNISH DRAWN COMBS FOR? 



I know of no one who is engaged in the pro- 

 duction of drawn combs for the market. I 

 think if I were to engage in that line I would 

 have to figure the Interest on cost of plant, and 

 add these to cost of frame, wire, foundation, 

 honey consumed (which otherwise you would 

 have), and labor of making frames, putting in 

 foundation, etc. Now, I want you to make a 

 figure on this and let us all know what you can 

 furnish them for. I'll buy mine ready drawn if 



