1885 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



411 



HOME-MADE CANS FOB HONEY. 



THE WAY' OUR FRIEND MUTH-RASMUSSEN DOES IT. 



«S shipping honey-cans made up is very 

 expensive, on account of the bulk, we 

 have for some time been doing quite a 

 little trade with the friends away off, 

 by sending them .Jones cans in the 

 rtat. We extract the following article from 

 the I'dcifir Bund Frcfift of March 28, written 

 by our friend \Vm. Muth-Rasmussen: 



The Jones honej--cans can be procured in the flat, 

 most of them at one-half the cost of i-eady-made 

 cans. Fifty of the sheets, forming the side of the 

 cans, are stuck inside each other, making an almost 

 solid block, little larger than a single can. Thus 

 they take up very little room in shipping, and the 

 freight charges are consequently considerably less 

 than for ready-made cans. The bee-keeper may, at 

 his leisure, put these cans together and keep them 

 on hand for filling dii-ectly from the tank. Larger 

 cans may of course be used for home storage, and 

 the hf)ney from them can be poured into a tank at 

 any time, when it is desirable to fill a lot of the 

 small cans. The only extra im))leMient ^rc'iuii-ed 

 is an 



"EXPANSION TOOr,," 



which consists of a ccnter-i)iece with handle, to 

 which are loosely riveted four pairs of T'-shapcd 

 springs, holding foui- plates, oi- leaves. These 

 leaves drop togcllier when the hamlle is raised, but 

 spreail ai)art when the l<iul is set down on a Hat, 

 smootli snrtacc. Aft r piittiim- the top, bottom, 

 and side of a cin t^gct licr, the expansion tool is 

 dropped through the hole in the top. Hy pressing 

 on the handle, the eeiiter-|)ieee is pushed to the bot- 

 tom, and the four leaves, by the tension of the 

 springs, are forced outward. i>ressing the edges of 

 the sheet flrnily :ii;aitist the tlang.'S of the top and 

 bottom. All the joints ai-e now soldeied in the usu- 

 al nuinner, and the evpaiisinn tool renioNcd by 

 simply |>ulling the liaiulle, whieh releases the ten- 

 sion on the sprint^s and causes the leaves to drop 

 close toirether. The cans are then tesl.'d by filling 

 them witli water and leftiiig them stand a little 

 while. If any of them leak it will lie shown by the 

 water, and it is far easier to mend the leak now 

 than after the can has been filled with honey, as ev- 

 ery old l)ee-keei)er knows. In 



FILLING THE CANS 



Thov should be placed on a scale which will take 

 ott' the tare, directly under the honey-gate of the 

 tank: and if the honey is not too eoldandthick.it 

 will keep a person busy opening and closing the 

 gate, removing and covering the filled cans and 

 putting emjitv ones in th(Mr place. T'revious to fill- 

 ing the cans, each cover should have a small pin- 

 hole jiunched in the center by a sharppointed prick- 

 puneh. This is for letting out the air, when sealing 

 the can. 



SEAMNO. 



1 make my sealing-wax of equal parts of rosin 

 and beeswax. Dark-colored beeswax answers the 

 purpose just as well as light, as the rosin makes the 

 mixture of a bright, yellow color. The wax and 

 rosin »rp ipelted together in a can on the stove, and 



a little at the time poured into another can, provid- 

 ed with a handle and lip, from which it is poured 

 into the groove around the cover of the honey-can. 

 As the air in the can gets warm, and expands under 

 the influence of the hot sealing-wax, it would force 

 its way out and make air-bubbles in this, if the cov- 

 er were not provided with the above-mentioned 

 air-hole. When the sealing-wax has cooled off, the 

 air-hole is closed with a small drop of solder. 



Finally the labels are put on with dextrine or 

 paste, and the cans placed on shelves, or packed in 

 boxes for shipment. The boxes should be marked 

 with the size and number of the cans, and with the 

 name and address of the producer, which can be 

 done by means of stencil-plates, so that nothing re- 

 mains to be done, before shipping, but to add the 

 name and address of the consignee. If the honey 

 is still liquid at the time of shipping, it will be nec- 

 essary to mark the box "This Side Up." But if the 

 honey is granulated in the cans, they will stand any 

 amount of rough handling. To prevent the labels 

 from injurv by rubbing against each other, the 

 cans should be tightly wedged together by wads of 

 old newspapers; and if there are two or more tiers 

 of cans in a box. a sheet of clean packing-paper 

 should be placed between them. 



THE SIZE OF CANS 



Must depend partly on the public demand, partlv 

 on the price of the honey and of the cans. To avoid 

 trouble in making change, it will be best to adopt 

 such sizes as can be retailed at even 2.5, .50, or 75 cts. 

 each. People seldom care to buy a larger quantity 

 at the time, and generally have the cash ready 

 which they wish to expend. 



It is wonderful how readily, particularly the 

 smaller cans, go olT. At a recent "Indian fandan- 

 go " in this neighborhood I sold in a couple of days 

 .50 two-pound cans at 2.5 cents each. Old and young 

 of the dusky tribe eatne with their two bits, and 

 wanted a can of himey. and many were no doubt 

 intlui'nce<l liy the knowledge that the can could be 

 used again, when the honev was gone. 



Wm. Muth-Rasmussen. 



Independence, Cal., Feb. 1, 188,5. 



knr 



SHIPPING BEES WITHOUT WATEH. 



I,S() SOMETMINO AJJOCT SIMPMCITV HIVE-BODIES 

 WITHOUT COVERS. 



OW do you fill tliose tin bottles with water in 

 your bee shipping-cages? Why do you not 

 sell Sbnplieity bee-hives without cover or 

 bottoms? Vou can sell bodies with rim- 

 pieces, or bodies without rim-pieces. You 

 r the Simplicity bodies are used also largely for 

 storing surplus combs away; and if we need them 

 we can get a cheap bottom-board, and also a cheap 

 cover by your tin sheets. A good many bee-keep- 

 ers have use for a large number of bodies, but not 

 for cover and bottom; we use, sometimes, these 

 hives three stories high. What is the use, then, of 

 the three covers, or bottom? If I were a supply- 

 dealer I am sure I could sell a large numberof these 

 hive-bodies, and could do the bee-keepers a great 

 favor. H. M. Moyer. 



Hill Church, HerksCo., Pa., May 30, 1885. 



Friend M., we do not use tin bottles any 

 more at all. We have not used any for two 

 years. By many experiments we have satis- 

 iied ourselves that, while sometimes during 

 an exceedingly dry spell a shipment is lost 

 for want of water, there are more times 

 when tlie water does more harm than good, 

 with the best arrangements we have been 

 altle to get up. You can fill the bottles, 

 however, by means of a common oil-can 

 tilled with water, or by holding them under 

 a stream of water, failing say a foot or two. 

 — In regard to the Simplicity bodies, why, 

 bless your heart, we have been selling them 

 for ten or fifteen years in just the way you 



