1896 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



679: 



is to proceed as before as to the marking, when 

 I lay a long thin saw on the paper, the back of 

 which is straight, and then tear the paper the 

 same as you would tear it by a ruler, the back of 

 the saw being used in place of the ruler, as it is 

 longer. After a little experience you will be 

 able to tear from six to eight sheets at a time, 

 thus saving time. The paper should be cut 13-2 

 inches larger each way than the bottom of the 

 crate which you use. 



Having the paper cut and ready, the next 

 thing needed is a board one inch in thickness, 

 and of a size so it will go snugly into the crate; 

 that is, fit nicely, but not so tight but that you 

 can jar it out. Get this board out true and 

 nice, having all the corners true and sharp, for 

 you will wish to keep it for years. If it is made 

 of some kind of hard wood, the corners will 

 stay sharp longer and the board keep smoother. 

 Now lay one sheet of paper on the bench and 

 place this board in the center of it each way, 

 which will make your paper project '^{ inch on 

 all sides of the board, if you have done every 

 thing right. Put your fingers under the edges 

 of the paper on one side and one end, and bring 

 it up next to the edges of the board, rubbing it 

 a little so as to make a fold at the sharp or low- 

 er edges of the board, when you will work both 

 hands up to one of the corners, which will make 

 the point of the paper stand out away from you. 

 Now fold this point toward you, when you 

 have what is known as the " baking-tin " joint. 

 Now do all the other sides and corners the 

 same, folding each corner toward you every 

 time, when you will lift your board out of the 

 tray which has thus been formed, and which 

 will be the exact size of theinside of your crate. 



Next place a crate on the bench in front of 

 you, and beyond the paper tray, when you will 

 take the tray by the two corners, pressing the 

 baking-tin joint to its place, and slip these 

 joints into the open side of the crate next to 

 you, which holds the joints from spreading out 

 or bothering you while you are placing it in 

 the crate. Now take Xhi tsvo remaining joints 

 between your thumb and forefinger; raise ihe 

 tray a little till it is of the right height, when 

 the tray can be slipped easily into its place in 

 the bottom of the crate, the joints all coming 

 in place nicely. With the hand, smooth the 

 paper down on the bottom of the crate, when 

 you have something that will not leak unless 

 your honey is smashed bad enough to run over 

 the top. 



Now, should I tell you this is all, I should 

 leave out the part which annoyed me the worst, 

 especially where the crate was made so a cer- 

 tain number of sections just fitted it so that 

 they would not shake around when handled, as 

 they should not. The trouble came when I 

 went to put in the last or middle tier of sections 

 in the crate. All the others could be placed up 

 against the sides of the tray in such a manner 



that they would not catch on the paper; but 

 when I came to slip down these two last sec- 

 tions, one at each end, the section was sure to 

 catch on tl-ie upper edge of the tray, and carry 

 and tear the paper down to the bottom, which 

 made the tray no better at these points than 

 would have been a flat piece of paper over the 

 bottom of the crate. To overcome this I got a 

 very thin piece of tin, just a little narrower 

 than the width of the section I used, when I 

 placed this strip of tin within an eighth of an 

 inch of the bottom of the crate, and bent what 

 stood above over the top of the crate, cutting 

 off what came out beyond the end of the crate. 

 Now, when I came to put in the last section 

 at the end, I took and hung this strip of tin 

 down in the crate over the edge of the tray, 

 which put the tray behind the tin so the sec- 

 tion could not touch it, when the section was 

 slipped in place, the tin lifted out by the bent- 

 over end, and all done so smoothly and nicely 

 that there was pleasure in it. Fixed in this 

 way crates never leak unless there is an actual 

 "smash-up;" but this does not hinder any lit- 

 tle leakage from soiling the bottoms of the sec- 

 tions. To obviate this, make your crates }4 

 inch higher than your sections, and place in 

 the bottom of the tray little strips of wood }4 

 inch thick by h wide, and of the same length 

 as the width of your crate, placing them so the 

 ends of the sections can rest on them, when you 

 have something which will not leak, nor soil 

 the bottom of the sections. 



TWO MORE REPORTS FROM COMMISSION MEN. 



1. 2'! to 25 section crates. The New York 

 market prefers honey glassed both sides, or 

 heavy paper cartons, but must not weigh over 

 a pound; less would be preferable. 



2. 1.50 to 200 lb. keg and 5-gallon cans. Bar- 

 rels are out of the question, as there is no de- 

 mand for large-size packages, and they will 

 bring from }4 to Ic per lb. less when in barrels; 

 5 gallon 'cans may bring ^ to Kc more per lb. 

 than in kegs. 



3. One-pound sections or under. The retail 

 dealer buys honey by the pound and retails it 

 by the section; so if he can buy a case of comb 

 honey, 24 sections, say 21 or 22 lbs., he prefers 

 it. Overpounds will depreciate the price 1 to 2c 

 per lb. 



4. Sept. 1st to Dec. 1st. Trade opens usually 

 Sept. 15, and the bulk of the comb-honey trade 

 is done between Sept. 1 and Dec. 1; and if I 

 were a honey-producer I would always ship 

 early and take my chances; for, as a rule, the 

 early bird catches the worm. 



