490 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 15 



in fact. Had Dr. Wiley's counsels prevailed, 

 it is safe to say these three factories would 

 never have been started. w. k. m. 



THE NEW GKADING-KULES FOR W^ESTEEN 

 HONEY; THE PRACTICE OF NOT SEPARA- 

 TORING SECTION SUPERS DISCRIM- 

 INATED AGAINST. 



The following letter, received from the 

 Manager of the Colorado Honey-producers' 

 Association, on the subject of grading western 

 honey, will be read, we feel sure, with in- 

 terest: 



Mr. Root:—l am sending you herewith a copy of the 

 new grading-rules adopted by the Colorado State Bee- 

 keepers' Association at its last annual meeting. 



Experience had shown us that, while our former 

 rules were satisfactory to most of the bee-keepers of 

 Northern Colorado, where the larger part of the crop 

 is always white, there was some dissatisfaction with 

 them in other sections of the State where sometimes 

 a considerable portion of the comb-honey crop is light 

 amber in color and the cappings of the same also off 

 in color. Under the old rules such honey, while it 

 was a nice article of good flavor and appearance, well 

 filled out and capped over, had to be graded as No. 2, 

 although we are told it was very often sold again by 

 jobbers in the East as No. 1 white. 



Another matter that received attention in the revi- 

 sion of the rules was the weight of individual sections- 

 We found that the term " all sections well filled " is 

 sometimes misconstrued to mean also a section of hon- 

 ey that is capped over and securely fastened to the 

 wood, but the comb so thin that it could not conscien- 

 tiously be called a No. l section of honey, weighing 

 only 12 to XVA ounces. Such honey packed with quite 

 heavy sections would bring the weight of the case up 

 to the required standard; and while it might pass 

 through the hands of the jobber all right, it would 

 prove unsatisfactory to the retailer, as the variation 

 in the weight of the sections of honey would be too 

 great to permit their being sold at a uniform price- 

 Not only this, but, according to the views of the com- 

 mittee revising the rules, a standard AH section filled 

 with honey should weigh not less than 13% ounces in 

 order to be classed No. 1. 



As practically all the comb honey produced in the 

 State is full separatored. the new rules touch only up- 

 on the average net weight of half and non-separatored 

 honey without going into details. 



The committee has aimed to secure grading-rules 

 which will result in a close grading of the crop accord- 

 ing to finish, color, and weight of individual sections, 

 so as to make the handling of our honey entirely sat- 

 isfactory and profitable to the retailer. 



The recommendations cover the most important 

 points to be observed in preparing and handling the 

 crop after it leaves the hive. 



Many of your western subscribers would, I believe, 

 appreciate it if these new rules were published in 

 Gleanings. 



The Colorado Honbt-Prodtjcbbs' Ass'n. 



Denver, Col. F. Rauchfttss, Mgr. 



The grading-rules referred to in the letter 

 above, it will give us pleasure to place at the 

 head of our Honey Column along with the 

 eastern grading-rules. 



No. 1 White.— Sections to be well filled and evenly capped 

 except the outside row, next to the wood; honey white or 

 slightly amber, comb and cappings white, and not projecting 

 beyond the wood ; wood to be well cleaned ; cases of separatored 

 honey to average 21 pounds net per case of 24 sections, no sec- 

 tion In this grade to weigh less than 13 1-2 ounces. 



Cases of half -separatored honey to average not less than 22 

 pounds net per case of 24 sections. 



Cases of unseparatored honey to average not less than 2.3 

 pounds net per case of 24 sections. 



No. 1 Light Amber.— Sections to be well filled and evenly cap- 

 ped, except the outside row, next to the wood; honey white or 

 light amber; comb and cappings from white to ofl; color, but 

 not dark; comb not projecting beyond the wood; wood to be 

 well cleaned. 



Cases of separatored honey to average 21 pounds net per case 

 of 24 sections; no section inthds grade to weigh less than 13 1-2 

 ounces. 



Cases of halt separatored honey to average not less than 22 

 pounds net per case of 24 sections. 



Cases of unseparatored honey to average not less than 23 

 pounds net per case of 24 sections. 



No. 2. — This includes all white honey, and amber honey not 

 Included in the above grades ; sections to be fairly well filled and 

 capped, no more than 25 uncapped cells, exclusive of outside 

 row, permitted in tills grade, wood to be well cleaned, no sec- 

 tion in this grade to weigh less than 12 ounces. 



Cases of separatored honey to average not less than 19 lbs. 

 net. 



Cases of half-separatored honey to average not less than 80 

 pounds net per case of 24 sections. 



Cases of unseparatored honey to average not less than 21 

 pounds net per case of 24 sections. 



After receiving these rules we wrote to Mr. 

 Rauchfuss, stating it was our opinion that, 

 had these rules been in effect, some of the 

 complications that arose over that car of mis- 

 graded honey, referred to on pages 339 and 

 358, March 15th issue, might have been avoid- 

 ed. In referring to this particular car he 

 says: 



I have no difficulty at all in locating the origin of 

 this car, as it is evident that it was produced in the 

 western part of this State. A good deal of mission wy 

 work seems to be necessary yet in that section when 

 it comes to producing and grading comb honey. I was 

 over there last fall and found there is quite a little 

 honey produced yet by people who don't pay any at- 

 tention to grading-rules, and apparently are not will- 

 ing to learn, as, so far, they have always been able to 

 dispose of their crop to careless buyers and specula- 

 tors at somewhat near the figures that careful bee- 

 keepers were getting for their crop; and as long as 

 such conditions exist we can not hope for much bet- 

 terment until the time arrives when such stuff as il- 

 lustrated on page 358 of Gleanings can not be sold at 

 all, as comb honey, and can be sold only for what it 

 really is— that is, cull honey, cut out and sold that 

 way. If you read over the grading-rules adopted by 

 the State association you will find no place mention- 

 ed for such honey as illustrated there, and it is not 

 our intention to have such goods as that ever go out 

 of the Slate. Regarding the useof separators, Iwant 

 to say that at the present time we have our members 

 (by this I mean the members of the Colorado Honey- 

 producers' Association) in line, so none of them are 

 producing comb honey without separators. Most of 

 them use full separators, and a very few half-separat- 

 ors. During the past season we have had only one 

 small lot of honey which we bought from a farmer in 

 the house, that was non-separatored, and it was a poor 

 lot. We therefore graded it over, and sold it in the 

 local market; but to my certain knowledge we have not 

 shipped a single case of unseparatored honey this year. 

 The Colorado Honey-producers' Ass'n, 

 Denver, Col. F. Rauchfuss, Mgr. 



We may explain that, when we wrote Mr. 

 Rauchfuss, we deplored the fact that some 

 bee-keepers in Colorado were still trying to 

 get along without separators, and that we 

 hoped the time would come when all the bee- 

 keepers in the Rockies would see the impor- 

 tance of separatoring their supers. We are 

 glad to see that the practice of leaving them 

 out is becoming obsolete; at all events, the 

 new grading-rules discriminate against such 

 non-separatored honey to such an extent 

 now that the producer can not afford not to 

 use them. It was a penny- wise and-pound- 

 foolish policy before; but the conditions of 

 the new ruling will make it even more fool- 

 ish. 



Of course we assumed that the attitude of 

 the Colorado Honey-producers' Association 

 as a whole is plainly against misgrading hon- 

 ey and trying to get along without separators ; 

 but it is a pleasure to see that the manager so 

 plainly declares against it. We are glad to 

 say that the gi*eat bulk of the Colorado hon- 

 ey on both sides of the Rockies is of the fin- 

 est quality and up to the grading. It is only 

 occasionally that we run across a bad lot. 

 We find the same to be true of other locali- 

 ties where good honey is produced. 



