Vol. XIII. 



APRIL 1, 1885. 



No. 7. 



TERMS: 81 00 PkrAnnum, IN ADVANCE;! Ti^ (-• + riT\l t c-J^ n rl Vti 1 Q 'J i* < Clubs to different postofflces, NOT LESS 

 •■iOopiesforSl.90;3for82.75:5for$4.00i Hjiil ILUl lb rltlV ill ±<J t O. I than 90 ct«. each . Sent postpaid, in the 

 lOor more, 76 cts. each. Single Number, ^ _ _ ; U. S. and Canadas. To all other coun- 



lOcts. Additions to clubs maybe made f 

 at club rates. Above are all to be sent | 4 



TO ONE POSTOFFICB. J -^V. 



PL-BLISIIKD SKMIMONTHLY BY 



: tries of the Universal Postal Union, 18c 

 ryen r extra. To all countric 

 i U. P. U., 42c per year extra. 



NOTES FROM THE BANNER APIARY. 



liAISK FlltST-CI.AS.-; liDNKV. 



fACH yoar, wlioii attt'iidiiig- the boo koepers" 

 convention at ("hicago, I have spent half a 

 ' day amonjf the commission merchants of , 

 South Water Street, where the sidewalks are ! 

 piled full of barrels of apples, nuts, beans, I 

 and onions; baskets of peaches, grapes, pears, and 

 plums; coops of cackling poultry; piles of dead 

 partridges, quails, and ducks; bo.ves of cheese; 

 lirkins of butter, piles of crates of honey, etc. | 

 Only a narrow passageway wide enough for one 

 person to pass is left through the center of this ' 

 endless profusion of " good things." This passage- 

 way is intersected iu front of each store by a i)ass- 

 agewtiy entering from the store door to the edge of I 

 the sidewalk. Inside, the stores are filled so full , 

 that I fell to wondering how the sidewalks could be ! 

 cleared at night. The street is literaUy filled with | 

 trucks and drays engaged in carrying away and 

 bringing in the varied products. The passageways , 

 upon the walk and in the stores are alive with a j 

 I)ushing, bustling, eager, but good-natured crowd I 

 of sharp and experienced buyers. It is interesting | 

 to stand back out of the way and watch the proceed- | 

 ings. Whatever is attractive commands immediate | 

 attention; but it must hear iiispcction befoi-e it can | 

 be sold at a /I i(//i price. Buyers expect that the red 

 checks of the peaches will be turned uppermost ' 

 and against the cracks in the baskets, but they 

 want no culls in the center. The nice-looking ap- 

 l)les disclosed by the removal of a barrel-head do 

 not satisfy the would-be purchaser, so out comes 

 the hatchet that always hangs at the belt of n I 



" helper," and three or four holes are cut through 

 the side of the barrel. No matter how nice the 

 honey may appear when seen through the glass 

 side of the crate, this same ever-ready little hatchet 

 must needs pry off the cover to the shipping-crate, 

 and allow the inside sections to be examined. 

 My friends, it is through such an ordeal as this that 

 your honey must pass, and under such ciicumstan- 

 ces that it must be sold, if sent to a commission 

 mei-chant. If it is second class, it will stand a sec- 

 ond-class chance of being sold, and, when sold, 

 must be sold at a second-class price. 



When in convei-sation with one of the commission 

 merchants in i-egai-d to the advisability of sending 

 my honey there to be sold, he said, "If it is white, 

 the combs straight, and the sections well filled, I 

 think we can sell it for you at a good figure; but if 

 it is diirk, oi- even a little ' off,' or if the combs are 

 not well finished, don't send it. You had better sell 

 it at home for a shilling a pound— yes, for whatever 

 you can get for it." He then took me back into the 

 stoi'c and showed me some third-grade honey put 

 up in third gi-ade style. The crates were made of 

 inch boards, and held about .5} lbs. each. The lum- 

 ber was planed, but was somewhat weather-beaten. 

 There was an opening covered with glass upon one 

 side of each crate. These openings had been cut 

 out with a coarse saw, and no pains had been taken 

 that they should be well proi)ortioned, or even that 

 the angles at their corners should be right angles. 

 The honey was dark, and there was no space be- 

 tween the honey and the cappings; the combs had 

 a yellowish cast, and the i)ropolis had not been 

 cleaned from the sections. That honey had stood 

 there o)ie year, and the consignor had complained 

 bitterly because the consignee was "so slow." 

 This is, of course, an extreme case; but I gf^w all 



