1890 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



553 



freight, but we rarely receive a consignment by 

 express that is not more or less damaged; besides, 

 freight rates are much lower than express. Con- 

 signers should seek to keep the cases as clean and 

 bright as possible, therefore avoid marking with 

 brush and paint. Small stencil or rubber stamps 

 will answer every purpose. We advise glassing 

 one side of case only, and not the sections. 

 Albany, N. Y., July 9. Chas. McCulloch & Co. 



1. We prefer comb honey in single tiers, twelve 

 frames to case, weight 10/.< to 12 lbs. 



3. The best size of sections to show comb honey, 

 we think, is oxii'^ by Ih thick. 



3. We prefer light weight, but only from IK to 

 full weight in the 13 lb. cases. 



4. Mo3t of the retail trade sell comb honey by the 

 section. 



5. We never have had any trouble in moving dark 

 comb honey. 



6. We would recommend extracting half of the 

 dark honey. 



7. We certainly recommend the screw-top 60-lb. 

 square can, shipped in cases of two cans to the 

 case. It all has to be put in this shape to sell in our 

 market, except very dark honey. 



8. Producers of honey, like producers of grain, 

 must use their own judgment in moving their 

 crops. Comb honey is sold every day in the year. 

 As soon as the new crop comes in we always find 

 the farmer and small bee-man selling their honey 

 at very low pi-ices, some years supplying the trade 

 until October. After that time honey-dealers gov- 

 ern prices to a certain extent. If a number of 

 shippers want honey sold quick, and every shipper 

 is forcing sales at the time, this compels receivers 

 to keep honey down in order to move stocks. 



9. When a consignment of comb honey is received 

 In bad order, we have our man go through the con- 

 signment and take out all unbroken comb and re- 

 pack the same. The broken comb is then sold. 



10. If a producer has a home trade for his honey, 

 and time to sell the same, he may do better than 

 shipping; otherwise a good commission man that 

 makes a specialty of honey can sell his crop to 

 better advantage than the producer. All comb 

 honey should be shipped where it is to be sold, be- 

 fore freezing weather. It saves the shipper break- 

 age, and the sellers the trouble of repacking, as 

 comb honey shipped in cold weather is almost al- 

 ways received in bad order. 



Hamblin & Bearss. 

 Kansas City, Mo., July 13. 



1. We prefer single-tier cases with a capacity of 

 30 or 35 lbs., it does not matter which. 



2. We prefer, for one-pound sections, 4 Vx4;4 size. 



3. We prefer that one-pound sections shall weigh 

 15 ounces rather than 17. 



4. Most of our customers prefer to sell honey by 

 the piece rather than by weight. Our preference, 

 for our customers' sake, is that the weight be so 

 that they can do this. We, of course,/are obliged to 

 sell by weight. 



5. We have very great difficulty in moving off a 

 dark grade of honey. Boston is the poorest market 

 in the country for off -grade honey. 



G. We would certainly recommend the producer 

 to market his dark honey in the extracted form. 



7. We prefer the fiO-lb. square tin cans to any 

 thing else, there being two CD lb. cans in a case. We 



receive a great deal of honey from Florida in kegs 

 and barrels, but prefer the tin cans. 



8. Comb honey ought to be sent to market about 

 September 1, and from that on through the season. 

 Extracted, about Oct. 1. 



9. When a consignment of comb honey comes in 

 in a broken-down condition, we find some restau- 

 rant man who will cut the combs out and sell them 

 from a platter, but we have very hard work, and 

 rarely get over 8 to 10 cts. per lb. for the honey, and 

 never can collect any damage from the transporta- 

 tion company. 



10. This is a hard question, especially for a com- 

 mission man, to answer; and we think it best for 

 the producer to draw his own conclusions from 

 his experience. We have a great many letters 

 from shippers, expressicg their perfect satisfac- 

 tion with the way and manner and prices they have 

 received for their shipments of honey to us. We 

 have had some people who have written us they 

 could have realized more if they had sold their 

 honey at home. We can only say that, after fifteen 

 years of close attention to the honey business, we 

 turn away five times as much honey as we receive, 

 it always being our policy to check all consign- 

 ments that we do not think we can handle to ad- 

 vantage, preferring to please our shippers rather 

 than to secure a large quantity of honey and cut 

 prices. We feel very sure that those who have 

 shipped to us believe that they can do better than 

 to sell their honey. There has been a tendency of 

 late years to rush honey to the market in the early 

 part of September. This always demoralizes prices; 

 and receivers, in their anxiety to sell, put honey 

 lower than there is any necessity for it to be sold. 



Boston, Mass., July 7. Blake & Ripley. 



1. In general we prefer consignments of comb 

 honey to come in single-tier cases; yet when prop- 

 erly packed, the double-tier case is usually prefer- 

 red by the retail dealer, as honey shows up to bet- 

 ter advantage, and carries, or bears transportation, 

 equally well. 



3. Sections 4X x 4JSi' we think most desirable for 

 1-lb. combs. 



3. We should like the section to contain exactly 

 one pound of honey. Perhaps scant is better than 

 over, as the frame is too full, and dealers lose the 

 overweight in many instances. 



4. Where the special advantage to the retailer ex- 

 ists is in having sections so uniform in weight that 

 they can be sold at so much per frame. 



5. There is a very limited demand for dark comb 

 honey, and it seems to us that only those who have 

 worked up or secured a trade for it should put it on 

 the market unless they can afford to have it sell at 

 3 to 5 cts. per pound below the white in same shape. 

 Extracting is, to our mind, the best way to secure 

 good value for dark honey, it varying in price from 

 one to two cents below white. A good demand is 

 also found for it, especially a choice article, such 

 as well-ripened buckwheat, for which we have a 

 line of customers. 



6. The most popular packages in this maket are 

 barrels containing 300 to 500 lbs., and the square 

 tin can, which ought to contain just 60 lbs. of hon- 

 ey. These packages meet the wants of dealers who 

 buy of the commission merchant or jobber. Kegs 

 are too light, and honey soaks through them. As 

 to which of the two packages to use, we would in- 

 variably give the tin preference, as dealers who 



