43d YEAR. 



CHICAGO, ILL, SEPT. 10, 1903. 



Na37. 



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Editorial Comments 



] 



Preparing Honey I'or Shipping. — We are receiving many 

 offers of honey, both comb and extracted, and also requests for ship- 

 ping directions. 



First, we may say that we are not in the market for any honey at 

 present, and should we be later on, we will so announce. 



Secondly, as to preparing honey for shipping — of course, most of 

 our readers know that we prefer to have all extracted honey put up in 

 the common .5-gaIlon or 60-pound square tin cans, two in a wooden 

 box. And we would advise the following procedure for comb honey, 

 when sent in less than car-load lots : 



Only the very best and second best would we place on the distant 

 market. We would put it into the ordinary 13, 20, or 24 pound no- 

 drip shipping-cases, placing next to the glass a row of sections con- 

 taining what would be a fair sample of the rest of the ease. There 

 should be no '' facing '' for deception. 



Then, six or eight of these cases of honey should be put into a 

 crate or box, but first putting in the bottom of the crate or box a 

 layer of straw or hay several inches deep. This will serve as a cush- 

 ion, and help to prevent the breaking down of the combs in handling 

 when shipping. 



After putting in the cases of honey, nail strips of boards across 

 the top of the box or crate, and :mark thereon, very plainly, " This 

 Side Up. Comb Honey. Handle with Care." 



Along each side of either box or crate, even with the top edge, 

 should be nailed a board, say one inch thick, three or four inches wide, 

 and about a foot longer than the length of box or crate, so that about 

 six inches will extend beyond the ends of the box or crate, to serve as 

 handles by which two men (one at either end) can carry it. 



We would have each crate or box contain about 300 pounds of 

 honey. Of course, 100 pounds each would do, but we think that the 

 larger amount would be handled more safely, as it would be too heavy 

 to tumble around, or to be easily overturned. 



We have prepared comb honey for shipping as above described, 

 and none was found broken after going hundreds of miles. 



We once received a shipment of about 3000 pounds, sent to us from 

 Minnesota in the ordinary 24-pound shipping-cases, each one being 

 handled separately. The result was that at least a third of the honey 

 was entirely broken out of the sections. And such a mess to clean up 1 

 Well, we don't want another like it for love or money. It was also a 

 great loss to the shipper. 



With proper care in preparation, comb honey can be shipped 

 safely almost any distance. 



Choice of Ijocation for Bee-Keeping. — A young man just 

 making a start, and intending to make bee-keeping the chief business 

 of his life, will do well to look about and choose a place specially 

 suited to that business. For that matter, so might one already en- 

 gaged in the business. But he would be unwise, especially if already 

 well planted, to go some distance to a new place, knowing nothing 

 about it, but that some one had secured a very large yield of honey. 

 Possibly that one year of great flow may be offset by two of failure. 



Possibly the distance or inconvenience of access to a market may be 

 so great as to counterbalance the greatness of the yield. 



Then there are considerations outside of bee-keeping not lightly 

 to be ignored. Climate, home, surroundings, are all of importance. 

 Some of the Northern bee-keepers in attendance at the National con- 

 vention at Los Angeles, who had cast longing looks toward that 

 golden land, went home entirely satisfied to remain where they were, 

 after seeing some of the California apiaries. Of course, all locations 

 in California are not the same, but some of them are dreary enough. 

 To get the advantage of pasturage an apiary is located in some canyon 

 away from the haunts of men, the nearest neighbor halt a mile or more 

 away, outside of the sound of bell of church or school. With many 

 it is a life of exile during the honey season, the rest of the year being 

 passed elsewhere, but all would not like that sort of life. 



On the whole, taking into account ties of friendship and old asso- 

 ciations, as well as trouble and expense of making a change, the prob- 

 ability is that not one bee-keeper in ten will find himself better off 

 anywhere in the world than right where he is now. 





Association Notes 





Messrs. W. F. Marks and 0. L. Hershiser gave us a call when 

 on their way home from the Los Angeles convention. They were the 

 only representatives from the State of New York who attended the 

 convention. 



Notice to National Members. — General Manager N. E. France, 

 of Platteville, Wis., desires us to say that if any member of the 

 National Bee-Keepers' Association has not received from him a set of 

 questions on a sheet to fill out and return, or has not received the 

 badge-button or any of the leaflets he sent to members — if such will 

 send him a postal card notice at once, he will see that they are sup- 

 plied. He wants all reports in soon, so as to include all in the annual 

 report, which he hopes to prepare so as to be of value to every member. 



If members of the National will kindly heed the above notice, and 

 act in accordance therewith, they will only be helping themselves. 



The Los Angeles Convention Report we expect to begin 

 next week. We thought we could get in the first installment this 

 week, but we have not received a sutficient portion of the proceedings 

 from the stenographer to start it in this number. Also, we have been 

 60 very busy since our return from the convention that we have not 

 yet had time to prepare some notes on the trip and meeting that we 

 expected to publish. Few can realize what it means for us to be away 

 from our office for over two weeks. But we are sure all our readers 

 will excuse us for any delays, under the circumstances. 



And on top of all the extra pile of work, we have also been suffer- 

 ing from a severe cold, which we contracted upon our return from the 

 sunny clime of California. It almost put us in bed, but we kept up 

 by main force in order to get through the accumulated correspondence, 

 so that now things are running about as usual in this oflice. On a 

 weekly publication, in addition to all our other business, we need to 

 be here about all the time. It is very difficult to get away for more 

 than two or three days at a time. 



