540 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUUE. 



July 



were obliged to feed two-thirds of the colonies dur- 

 ing all this time, the other third gathering enough 

 for their own use, and some 20 of the best ones giv- 

 ing not to exceed 5 lbs. each of surplus honey to 

 other weak ones. About the middle of September, 

 honey commenced to come in slowly, increasing in 

 quantity during all of October, and until the mid- 

 dle of November, when it slacked off some until the 

 1st of December. I estimated the average increase 

 of stores during October at 5 lbs. per colony, and 

 during November at 15 lbs. We started the ex- 

 tractor Nov. 1, taking out nearly (WOO lbs. during 

 that month. The first appreciable amount of bell- 

 flower honey came in Nov. 28, the main tlow from 

 which lasted through December and January. We 

 had an average hive on scales, and the following 

 table gives the daily yields during the principal 

 honey months. 



In this table the daily 

 gain is given in ordinary 

 figures; the daily loss, In 

 black; when there was 

 no gain, nor loss, in ci- 

 phers; and days when we 

 extracted from that colo- 

 ny are marked with an X. 

 At the commencement of 

 the honey harvest 1 se- 

 lected three of the strong- 

 est and best-working col- 

 onies in the apiary, and carefully weighed all the 

 honey taken from them. The total yields were re- 

 spectively 313J4, 309^4, and 280 lbs. each, during the 

 four months from Nov. 1 to March 1. These were 

 very strong colonies, occupied fully three stories, 

 and, in fact, I do not think there were any other 

 three colonies in the apiary that stored an equal 

 amount of honey. From the 1st of February the 

 yield of honey gradually slackened until the 1st of 

 June, my estimate of the average gain of stores per 

 colony being 8 lbs. during March; 3 in April, and 1 

 in May. O. O. Poppleton. 



Havana, Cuba, June 1, 1889. 



[Concluded in next issue. J 



SHIPPING-PACKAGES FOR COMB 

 HONEY. 



A I'KDMINENT COMMISSION FIRM FURNISH SOME 

 SUGGESTIONS. 



rr-k KPOBTS of the V. S. Honey Producers' Kx- 

 YJ change as to condition of bees, and prospects 

 T\ of this year's honey crop, are very favorable 

 f r and promising. The number of apiarists is 

 continually increasing. It is expected that 

 many carloads of fancy white-sage comb honey, 

 put up in modern eastern style, will be shipped 

 from California to our markets. In view of thus in- 

 creasing supplies, the important question becomes 

 more pertinent: How shall we create more demand 

 for honey? Our reply is: 



1. Increase its intrinsic value for the consumer. 



2. Reduce the risk of loss by breakage. 



3. Make packages as attractive and handy as pos- 

 sible, of light-weighing material, at the least possi- 

 ble cost to the consumer. 



When the consumer buys a pound of butter at 20 

 cts. he receives 16 ounces net.. When he means to 

 buy a pound of honey at 20 cts. he receives, in 

 many cases, only about 10 ounces of honey, the in- 



trinsic value of which, at the above rate, is only \2 l / 2 

 cts., and (> ouuees of wood and glass or pasteboard, 

 which is worth nothing to him. Nevertheless he 

 has to pay H l / 2 cts. for this nothing, and yet we ex- 

 pect more demand of that consumer. The lady who 

 does not realize this fact may, unless she is one of 

 the upper ten, at least get the impression that hon- 

 ey is quite an expensive luxury. Of course, the apia- 

 rist has paid for glass and wood and paper box, and 

 spent so much labor and time to put up his honey 

 nicely, and for this he expects to be remunerated, 

 and possibly to make a little extra by the weight of 

 the packing material. But what does the consum- 

 er care for all that, who simply wants his money's 

 worth of honey? As all producers depend on the 

 consumer at the end, our aim must be to satisfy the 

 wants of the consumer. We propose, therefore, to 

 use a light-weighing, attractive, and handy paper 

 carton at the smallest possible cost. 



As we have had the best opportunity to see and 

 compare hundreds of different styles of honey- 

 packages, we have selected the very best, and made 

 some improvements, so that we may safely say that 

 honey put up in this style will sell, first of all, at 

 best prices, and give satisfaction. It is true, that 

 glassed honey looks quite tempting, and that goods 

 must be shown; but what we have said above is not 

 only true, but it is also a statement of the true 

 value. In order to show the honey, put one glassed 

 comb in on each side of the crate, and the other 

 combs in paper cartons. This refers to 1-lb. sec- 

 tions of fancy (No. 1), and fair (No. 2) white, and 

 1-lb. No. 1 buckwheat, comb honey only; of 2-lb. sec- 

 tions and No. 1 buckwheat fancy white, two-thirds 

 should be glassed (the glass weighing less in pro- 

 portion), and one-third not glassed; 2-lb. sections of 

 fair white, of mixed, and of No. 2 buckwheat and of 

 1 lb. sections of mixed and unfilled, should be with- 

 out glass and paper, in order to reduce the cost, and 

 know what the goods really are. 



WHAT SHALL, WE DO TO PROTECT OUR HONEY 

 AGAINST BREAKAGE? 



If eggs were not packed so nicely in patent paper 

 boxes, or in chopped straw, most of the dealers 

 would decline to handle those delicate structures. 

 Is comb honey less delicately constructed? No, it is 

 not; and for this reason some additional arrange- 

 ments ought to be made in packing to prevent loss, 

 and to avoid trouble, and to make the handling less 

 sticky. Before comb honey reaches the consumer 

 it passes through the hands of many persons who 

 do not understand at all how to handle so fragile an 

 article, and knock crates about, as if they were 

 bricks. Besides, comb honey is generally shaken 

 up so badly, when carted on the pavements of the 

 streets in cities, that some of it is bound to break 

 and to leak out. 



One of our best customers, for whom a nice lot of 

 honey had been smashed up entirely, said he would 

 never touch comb honey again if he could help it, 

 because of the annoyance and loss connected with 

 that sticky article. We know of many similar 

 cases where dealers became disgusted, and would 

 not handle comb honey at all, because of the risk 

 connected with the business. Remedy this by us- 

 ing Strohmeyer's comb-protector, which will pre- 

 vent breakage; and if there should be one leak- 

 ing comb in a crate, our comb-protector will pre- 

 vent the soiling of the other combs. Our comb- 

 protector requires % inch more in height of crates. 

 By using our attractive new style of paper carton 



