THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



19 



Thihd (trade.— Seetioas with wood or c >iul), 

 or botli. travel-stained or othorwiae much Koiled, 

 and such as are less thau thi-pe-fourihs filled 

 with honey, whether sealed or unsealed ; and the 

 crates containins two or more colors. 



Following the above rules, Mr. Baldridge, 

 the one who drafted the rules, had a note, 

 which read as follows : 



Note.— The color of the honey to be known as 

 light, medium, and dark; the crates to be un 

 soiled, but if otherwise, the honey in such crates 

 to be classed in the next grade below the one in- 

 dicated in the instructions. 



Fourth Grade.— All crates filled witli honey 

 not described in any of the foregoing grades. 



The convention did not see fit to adopt the 

 note, nor the fourth grade. There seemed 

 to be a sort of feeling that a venturesome 

 thing had been done in adopting what had 

 been adopted, and it would be safer to go no 

 further. Personally, I should be in favor of 

 their adoption. The man who will get his 

 honey to market with the cases unsoiled 

 (and it can be done by the use of outer 

 erates) ought to reap the benefit. If the 

 dealer re-crates honey in clean cases, he 

 ought to have his reward. The idea embod- 

 ied in this note is to compel producers to use 

 nice, clean cases and, in some way, get them 

 into the hands of dealers in that condition ; 

 or to cover the dealer's trouble and expense 

 if he transfers the honey into' clean cases. 



The greatest fault that I have to find with 

 the Chicago rules is in the naming of the 

 grades. As .J. H. Nellis remarked at Albany, 

 "we should grade up instead of down. Awhile 

 ago somebody began putting an X on the 

 head of a flour barrel. This indicated that 

 the quality of the flour was excellent. In a 

 little while somebody put on two XX's to 

 indicate that the flour was superfine. Then 

 there was added another X for extra super- 

 fine ; and this thing was continued until the 

 number of X's was limited only by the size 

 of the barrel head. We should grade our 

 honey in a similar mianar." There is some 

 truth in what Mr. Nellis says. To grade 

 down is to give the idea of cheapness and 

 low quality. The names of those Chicago 

 rules ought to be moved down one notch, at 

 least, and a new name given to what is now 

 called first grade. The name given to what 

 is now called the iirst grade ought to be a 

 word indicating quality in the superlative 

 degree. Perhaps the word " fancy " would 

 answer as well as any. The rule as now 

 given calls for perfection in the first grade, 

 and the great bulk of honey would be thrown 

 into the second grade, and the stigma of 

 second grade would be prejudicial to its sale- 



The great bulk of honey should be in what is 

 called first grade. If from a crop of 10,000 

 pounds, 1,000, or even only r>00 pounds of 

 absolutely perfect sections can be culled, let 

 them be called "fancy" and quoted and 

 sold as such. If wide frames and separators 

 must be used and the honey removed prompt- 

 ly upon its completion, in order to secure 

 honey that will meet the requirements of the 

 fancy, then let the man who can and does 

 take such pains receive the reward that he 

 merits. I have certainly seen honey that 

 could l>e classed as first grade according to 

 the Chicago rules. After the fancy grade is 

 picked out, then have a first grade that will 

 take the great bulk of the honey. With a 

 little modification, I think what is now sec- 

 ond grade in the Chicago rules would answer 

 very well for first grade. I think it ought to 

 be changed so that it would admit sections 

 in which the wood or comb is slightly travel- 

 stained. 



I also consider the note added by Mr. 

 Baldridge as very important. I can't agree 

 with those who think only white honey can 

 be first class. This system of grading does 

 not apply to the kind of honey, that is, to 

 the source from which it is gathered, but 

 rather to the mechanical manner in which it 

 has been handled by the bees and their 

 owner. In other words there is first class 

 buckwheat honey just as surely as there is 

 clover. When in Albany, I, in company 

 with E. R. Root, visited the commission 

 house of H. R. Wright. Upon our arrival 

 we found Messrs. Segelken and Killmer, 

 both New York dealers, examining a fine lot 

 of buckwheat honey, and one of them was 

 just exclaiming: "That's a fancy lot of 

 buckwheat," and it was. Ernest Root also 

 told me of seeing a drummer help himself 

 repeatedly at the table, to buckwheat honey. 

 Upon being asked his opinion of such honey 

 he replied : "It's the only honey fit to eat." 

 This plan of calling only white honey first 

 class won't do. Tastes differ in this respect. 

 We can have fancy white, fancy medium and 

 fancy dark honey, even if it does have an 

 odd sound at first. We can also have a third 

 grade white honey. When it is possible to 

 give the source, that might answer if all 

 people were as well informed as bee keepers 

 in regard to this matter ; but, as it is, it may 

 be well to use the words "white," "medi- 

 um," and "dark;" or perhaps the word 

 " amber " would be a better word than " me- 

 dium." We would then have " fancy white," 



