THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



iu which to place honey that is distinctly 

 inferior in quality or appearance. 



Now, as to the names of the grades. I 

 suspect that the reason why some objected 

 to a ruling which required white cappings in 

 the first grade was that they were not willing 

 to admit that first class honey could not be 

 produced in their neighborhood. 



So there are many people who can hardly 

 be induced to buy an article, however great 

 its intrinsic worth may be, if its name indi- 

 cates that it is " second " in grade or quality. 

 Let them suppose that they are getting the 

 best and they will be satisfied with it. That 

 grade of honey, therefore, that there is most 

 of, should be t ken as a standard from which 

 the grading should run both ways. Above 

 this standard, names will probably prove 

 most suitable. For the lower grades I have 

 always used numbers. Considering the ob- 

 jections to this I thought well of the Albany 

 system of using letters, but I must confess 

 they sound awkward. 



Now let me examine some of the minor 

 points, using the Chicago rules as a basis. 

 "All sections to be well filled." This is a 

 reasonable requirement, found in both sys- 

 tems, and should apply to the two higher 

 grades. Well filled sections look better and 

 sell better for several reasons. "Combs 

 straight." This, too, is right. Irregular 

 combs are an annoyance and source of loss 

 to the dealer, and seldom reach the consumer 

 in perfect condition. Combs with straight, 

 flat surfaces look better than those which are 

 irregular. Moreover, most dealers prefer to 

 sell sections of honey by the piece instead of 

 by weight ; so, for the highest grades at 

 least, I would add to the words "of even 

 thickness," and "of nearly uniform weight." 

 " Firmly attached to all four sides." There 

 is a chance for disagreement over the word 

 "firinly." If combs fill the sections well 

 and are attached to all sides they are apt to 

 be firm enough for all purposes. A section 

 in which the comb is not attached to the 

 bottom is far more liable to injury in hand- 

 ling, especially if it is of the four-piece dove- 

 tailed variety. I have seen many a section 

 smashed by lifting it by the bottom, which 

 immediately proceeded to come loose. 



It is well enough to demand that honey 

 for the highest grade shall be free from any 

 discoloration of wood or comb, but a slight 

 discoloration of either should not disqualify 

 it for the next grade. 



For the highest grade, all cells should be 

 sealed, partly because such sections look 

 better and partly because unsealed cells con- 

 taining honey are always liable to leak and 

 daub things, especially if the section is 

 turned over so that the honey can run out. 

 There is no danger from this source if the 

 honey has been properly ripened and is then 

 kept in a warm room, but as this last is a 

 condition we cannot always secure, it would 

 be well to insist for the two higher grades 

 that if any cells are unsealed, they shall be 

 empty, or if they contain honey it shall be 

 so thick that it will not run out. 



We come now to the question of color, a 

 point on which there has been some disagree- 

 ment. Now what do we want a system of 

 grading for ? Is it simply from a love of 

 order, a desire to put things in their right 

 places ? Or do we want to put honey in dif- 

 ferent classes according to its comparative 

 salability in order to place the business of 

 buying and selling upon a firmer and more 

 unifOi-m basis ? I think the latter. 



For whose benefit do we grade, and upon 

 what does the salability of honey depend ? 



Neither we as producers or the jobber or 

 commission merchant or the retail dealer 

 care anything about the honey we deal in 

 except that it may be easily handled, please 

 the consumer and sell for a price that will 

 leave us a satisfactory profit. 



What does the consumer demand ? 



First of all, most of all, and beyond all, 

 that the honey shall look nice. If it satisfies 

 the eye he cares little about the flavor, pro- 

 vided, of course, that it is not flavorless, as 

 some honey is, or has not an actually dis- 

 agreeable flavor. 



I used to try to educate my customers to 

 distinguish the difl;erent kinds of honey with 

 a view to giving them what they liked best, 

 but I have given it up in despair. As a rule 

 they know little and care less about distinc- 

 tions in flavor. In selecting honey, nine 

 times out of ten that will be preferred 

 which is whitest in color, and customers are 

 frequently willing to pay several cents a 

 pound more for this extra whiteness. 



Then, since the price and the salability de- 

 pend on the color and appearance, why not 

 make these the basis of our system of 

 grading ? 



It might add a litile to the convenience of 

 the jobber and the retail dealer to have 

 light and dark honey kept distinct, and each 

 graded by itself, but it would not enable us 



