1890 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



555 



stand, they will rarely buy. For instance, 

 comb honey is quoted at 2O cts. per lb. A 

 customer asks his dealer the price of this or 

 that section of honey. If he says 18 cts., the 

 honey is sold ; if 22 cts. is asked, the custom- 

 er refuses to buy. 



(5) "We are surprised that so many of the 

 commission men say they have no trouble 

 in moving off the dark honeys. 



(6) We note that most of them prefer to 

 sell dark honey in extracted form rather 

 than in the comb ; and they advise the pro- 

 ducer to extract most of his dark honey, if 

 he wishes to sell it. 



(7) It is surprising to note how popular 

 the 60-lb. square tin can is for shipping ex- 

 tracted honey. Only two— and one of these 

 very emphatically— prefer barrels instead of 

 the square cans. The latter costs about 

 half a cent a pound, and new barrels can be 

 had for about a quarter of a cent. One of 

 the dealers says that, if barrels cost half a 

 cent more than the tin, use the barrels ; but 

 otherwise, he says, use the tin. After all, 

 it seems that there is only a quarter of a 

 cent in favor of the barrels ; and as commis- 

 sion men generally prefer the square cans, 

 producers may all gather a good hint here. 



(8) The best time to move off comb honey 

 is some time in the fall— it may be early or 

 late. A good deal depends on circumstances 

 and the judgment of the seller. 



(9) We have had honey come to us in a 

 broken-down condition ; and knowing that 

 our commission men must have had similar 

 experiences we are greatly interested in 

 reading their replies. We have been in the 

 habit of sorting it over and wiping off soiled 

 and sticky sections, but it takes a good deal 

 of time. Blake c^ Ripley suggest a very sen- 

 sible method of disposing of it— getting res- 

 taurant-keepers to take it at a reduced price. 

 Chas. McCuUough A: Co. do not think it 

 pays to overhaul it, and they remark that 

 there are buyers who will always take it. 



(10) We knew that this question would be 

 a hard one for commission men to answer ; 

 but their replies seem candid, and we have 

 no doubt but there are many times when 

 honey on commission will bring more than 

 when sold outright. In the latter case 

 there is an immediate and certain return, 

 while in the former there is some risk. It 

 is true, that when honey is bought outright 

 the buyer must assume all risk of fluctua- 

 tions in prices ; and to be on the safe side 

 he will naturally buy as loiv as possible. If 

 honey is sold on c(>mmission, both parties 

 are interested in getting as good a return as 

 possible, though we know sometimes the pro- 

 ducer is dissatisfied with the returns. If he 

 could put himself in the position of the 

 commission man perhaps he would think 

 more charitably of his neighbor. 



JONES vs. BROW^N, AGAIN. 



this: Jones has let 100 (number not given) stands 

 of bees to Brown, each to share the profits alil^e. 

 Now, then, let us suppose that A. I. Root agrees to 

 let W. S. Fultz have ICO stands of bees for the 

 season of 1890, Fultz to take care of them and to 

 share the profits with A. I. Root, and the increase 

 is 100 stands of bees during the season. Now, how 

 many stands of bees will belong to A. I. Root, and 

 how many to W. S. Fultz? Evidently, A. I. Root 

 will want the original 100 and half the increase, 

 which would make his share of the bees 150 stands, 

 and W. S. Fultz would have only 50 stands. 



Now, if those bees were lost during the following 

 winter, the loss of the increase, which was all that 

 was owned in common, should be borne by both 

 parties alike; but the original 100 stands were the 

 property of A. I. Root, and he should stand the 

 loss on them. According to the contract as stated 

 in Gleanings, it is evident that, when Jones and 

 Brown dissolve partnership, Jones will want his 

 original 100 stands of bees, or all of them that will 

 be alive at the time, and also half the increase. 

 Then the proposition of Mr. Caldwell, in last 

 Gleanings, that they are both equal owners in the 

 apiary, is not correct. Brown is not part owner in 

 any thing but the profits. W. S. Fultz. 



Muscatine, la., July 8. 



When doctors disagree, who shall decide? 

 It seems to me, friends, that keeping bees 

 on shares is a complicated way of doing 

 business, at the best. Why not rent them 

 for a certain sum of money, to be paid in 

 time, whether the season be good or bad? 

 But even then we should have to meet the 

 question of returning the bees in as good 

 order as they were received. 



^ I ^ 



GETTING THE BEES OUT OE THE 

 SECTIONS. 



THE LEGAL ASPECT OF THE CASE. 



I HAVE been very much interested in the contro- 

 versy over the question of the responsibility of the 

 above parties as stated in the contract, and I differ 

 entirely from Mr. Caldwell, Mrs. Harrison, and 

 others. Inreading'he contn ci it rt^ads to me like 



DOOLITTLE GIVES A DISCOURAGING REPORT OF 

 THE HORIZONTAL BEE-ESCAPES. 



As the time for taking off the surplus honey is at 

 hand, perhaps a few words regarding getting the 

 bees out of the sections will not be amiss. The 

 most common way of doing this in years gone by, 

 and, surprising as it may appear, quite common 

 yet in some places even at the present time, was to 

 go to the hive and slide a piece of tin between the 

 communications of the hive and sections, when 

 they are removed; or else smoke is used to drive 

 the bees from these openings, when, in either case, 

 the honey is curried to a room having all but one 

 window darkened, where it is left for the bees to 

 collect on this window, when thej are put outdoors 

 by reversing the sash, or otherwise. The latter 

 plan, where smoke is used, will do much better 

 than the former; for with the tin, many bees are 

 cut in twain and otherwise mutilated, thereby mak- 

 ing the colony very cross, besides being a very cru- 

 el mode of procedure. I hope that no one in the 

 future will persist in such a way of taking off 

 honey. 



Some use a barrel or b^e-tent to set the honey in, 

 instead of the room, putting a cloth over the barrel 

 for the bees to ooUect upon, when it is turned over 

 as often as the bees collect upon it, thus setting the 

 bees free. With the tent a hole is left in the top 

 for the bees to go out through. This latter is prefera- 

 ble to the rf'om, providing the barrel < r tent is left 



