1901 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



187 



The apiary shown in the photo is comforta- 

 bly shaded with peach-trees, and contains 150 

 colonies, but is roomy enoagh for 200. An 

 alfalfa-field is in the foreground. The some- 

 thing in the distance that looks like a hay- 

 stack is the dense foliage of umbrella-trees 

 around a farmhouse. 



THE ART OF BOTTLING AND SELLING HONEY. 



Does Not Pay to Bottle a Poor Grade ; Package 

 must be Useful when Empty ; the Lard-bucket 

 not a Good Seller; Importance of Tinfoiling; 

 an Excellent Article. 



BY J. C. WALLENMEYER. 



Having had an experience of eight years in 

 bottling a dozen different kinds of honey in a 

 dozen different kinds of packages or contain- 

 ers, I thought I would give the benefit of my 

 somewhat varied experience to the readers of 

 Gleanings that they might possibly profit by 

 avoiding the usual mistakes of beginners in 

 using unsalable packages. 



I have bottled honey from alfalfa, basswood, 

 willow-herb, white 

 clover, California 

 sage, Florida man- 

 grove, saw and cab- 

 bage palmetto, wild 

 aster, and smart- 

 weed ( or heartsease ) 

 mixed ; dry-weather 

 honey-vine, and fall 

 flowers. For c o n - 

 tainers I have used 

 pint and quart Ma- 

 sons, costing 50 and 

 60 cts. per dozen, 5 

 and 8 oz , and 1 and 

 2 lb. square flint- 

 glass jars, costing 

 $5.70 and $7.50 per 

 gross (corks includ- 

 ed); 13 and 16 oz. 

 jelly-glasses ; >^-gal- 

 lon fruit-tablet jars 

 costing 5 cts. each ; 

 lard-buckets ; glass 

 bowls, and Root's 

 No. 25 round flint- 

 glass one-pound jars 

 — quite a variety to 

 select from. 



I found Root's No. 

 25 jar the best and 

 quickest seller of all, 

 because, after being 

 emptied, it could be 

 used as a self-sealer 

 for jelly, preserves, 

 jams, etc. ; only flint- 

 glass jars should be 

 used, as they show 

 the honey off to 

 perfection. Amber 

 honey will sell near- 

 ly as well in quart 

 Masons on account 

 of the universal use 



of the package; but it is hard to sell 3 lbs. 

 of honey to every-day consumers. Most peo- 

 ple prefer a small cheap package. Our mar- 

 ket demands a honey of light or light amber 

 color, heavy body, mild flavor, and fine bou- 

 quet or aroma. It does not pay to bottle a 

 poor grade of honey. The people generally 

 get accustomed to the kind of honey produc- 

 ed in their own locality. I found this out to 

 my sorrow when I tried to sell three barrels 

 of mangrove and palmetto honey from Flori- 

 da, although I thought it fine indeed. This 

 matter of selection is very important. If you 

 happen to run short of honey, and must buy, 

 procure an article as near like your own as 

 possible. I have found, just as friend Pouder 

 says, that patrons grow suspicious when they 

 get different honey. I find honey from white 

 clover, dry-weather honey-vine, and fall flow- 

 ers, to give the best satisfaction for bottling, 

 in my locality. Briefly stated, there are three 

 essentials for success in bottling honey : 



1. Best quality of well-ripened honey. 



2. Neat, attractive package, useful when 

 empty. 



FIG. 1.— J. C. WAI^LENMEYER AND HIS LIQUEFYING APPARATUS. 



