190 



June, 1916. 



American "Bee Jonrnal 



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The Honey Sold eor Less When Dark 



Streaks Showed in the Wood and 



Shipping Cases 



should be labeled with the producer's 

 own mark. In one warehouse there 

 was a big pile of shipping cases 

 marked "J. E. Crane & Son, Middle- 

 bury, Vt. One of the cases was op- 

 ened and some of the sections remov- 

 ed. They were very nice and each 

 was wrapped in a clean carton with 

 the Crane name and the usual print- 

 ed matter. The dealer remarked that 

 he had been handling Crane honey for 

 nearly thirty years. In this case the 

 honey was known to the buyer and the 

 name was a guarantee of quality. But 

 a few weeks before the writer had 

 asked for honey in the Boston mark- 

 et and had been shown a jar of ex- 

 tracted honey with the Crane label. 

 There is no question but that it is 

 greatly to the advantage of the seller 

 to market his best product under his 

 own trade name when he can do so. 

 However, it ofte.i happens that when 

 he goes into a strange market the 

 only buyers who will present them- 

 selves will be those who buy to sell 

 again under their own name and 

 such would not buy honey with the 

 individual trademark. It is well to 

 correspond with the commission mer- 

 chant with whom one expects to deal 

 and learn something of the market re- 

 quirements. Coyne Brothers who are 

 among the largest sellers of honey in 

 the middle west have a trade which 

 they supply with comb honey in their 

 own cartons and with each case they 

 send a placard for advertising pur- 

 poses. This trade has come to look for 

 the Coyne Brothers brand. Honey sold 

 to this trade is placed in the cartons 

 and repacked after it reaches their 

 warehouse. Of course not all of the 

 honey that passes through their hands 

 is handled in this manner. 



GENERAL REQUIREMENTS. 



While the writer interviewed a 

 number of dealers both wholesale and 

 retail the most satisfactory interviews 

 were with Daniel J. Coyne of Coyne 

 Brothers and R. A. Burnett. Mr. 



Burnett has sold honey since 1877 and 

 Mr. Coyne nearly as long. Mr. Coyne 

 began as a helper at $3.00 per week 

 and worked up until he was getting 

 $60. per week before he started in 

 business for himself. Both men have 

 specialized in honey for many years 

 and were in position to give many 

 pointers on the conditions in the 

 honey market. When asked for some 

 general advice to the honey seller 

 they agreed on the following: 



Sell through a firm that specializes 

 in honey, for such a firm can get a 

 better price. Be very careful about 

 grading and packing and use corru- 

 gated paper lining for the shipping 

 cases to catch drip. Both agreed that 

 in general comb honey sells better in 

 bright wood shipping case with glass, 

 than in corrugated paper cases, and 

 usually arrives in better condition. 



Mr. Snook, the railroad claim agent, 

 gave the following advice in regard to 

 shipping: Use only factory-made 

 shipping cases and load the honey so 

 that the combs will be parallel with 

 the rails. This will place the shock 

 of shipment on the edges instead of 

 face of combs. Use cement coated 

 nails since they hold better, and use 

 cushioned carriers. Stencil name and 

 address on the package instead of 

 using a shipping tag put on with 

 tacks. Tags often get rubbed off and 

 the shipment goes astray while the 

 stenciled address cannot be lost. Also 

 avoid as far as possible the shipment 

 of comb honey in cold weather. 



Grading and Packing Comb 

 Honey 



BY WESLEY FOSTER. 



A FEW of our Rocky Mountain dis- 

 tricts have a late honey flow. The 

 beekeepers in these places have 

 difficulty in selling satisfactorily be- 

 cause they cannot get their honey 

 shipped for the early market, and if 

 they hold for the late market in March, 

 April and May, which is usually good, 



quite a proportion of the honey will 

 granulate more or less. These moun- 

 tain locations (many of them) have a 

 dark or amber honey of poor quality, 

 and for this reason the honey cannot 

 be held. There is no alternative but to 

 sell at a reduced price, which is usually 

 done. We caution them to not hold 

 this later honey for prices better than 

 those offered for the early honey. 



Beemen often make mistakes of this 

 kind. An instance comes to mind. 

 One car of comb honey was sold last 

 fall at a very satisfactory price ; in fact, 

 at a higher price than had ever been 

 secured for honey in that locality, Not 

 a great distance from there was an- 

 other car of honey for which 5 cents a 

 case less was offered. The beekeepers 

 held out for the additional 5 cents, and 

 the buyer refused to take it. As a con- 

 sequence the honey was not sold for 

 some time, and when a buyer was 

 secured the honey brought 35 cents a 

 case less than the price originally 

 offered. 



I often hear it said that what bee- 

 keepers need is several buyers buying 

 honey in a locality and competing with 

 each other for the honey. This might 

 help, but it is just a little easier for the 

 buyers than for the beekeepers to 

 have an understanding. Where prices 

 around $3.00 a case for comb honey 

 can be secured, the honey should be 

 sold. No beekeepers should have had 

 to take less than $2.75 for fancy honey 

 last year in the Rocky Mountain coun- 

 try. Some prices lower than this were 

 paid, but it was for honey packed late 

 in the season, and some of it was not 

 very carefully graded. 



It is still the practice for some bee- 

 men to put sections in the No. 2 grad. 

 if half or two-thirds of one side of the 

 section is sealed, provided it is good 

 weight. Then another mistake is pack- 

 ing honey below the minimum stamped. 

 It is strange that some will take the 

 risk of getting into trouble with Uncle. 

 Sam, but it is done in some instances, 

 and with the consent of the buyers. 



The minimum net weight is placed 

 at 10 ounces for No. 2, and it should 

 under no circumstances run below 



BEST QUALITY OF SHIPPING CASES SHOULD BE USED 



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