1908 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1075 



go into No. 2 grade. The ideas of grayish to a 

 light-brown tinge may help some here. Re- 

 member, though, a light-brown tinge is not light 

 brown, for a light brown on a comb of honey is 

 dark. 



When ready to start packing comb honey, I 

 get a boy to nail the cases so they do not lie 

 around more than a day or so to gather dust and 

 fly-specks. Nails for the drip-sticks are not as 

 satisfactory as a little thick honey. The nails 

 will sometimes come through. In packing, the 

 cases are set on a bench so the top of the cases 

 comes to the top of the table on which the honey 

 is piled. 



The scrapers have the scraping-box on the op- 

 posite side of the table from the grader, so there 

 is no danger of scrapings getting into the cases 

 of honey. The grade is marked on the case be- 

 fore the cover is nailed on, and before the honey 

 gets to the pile. A plane is kept close by to 

 plane off any extra wood from either the bottom 

 or cover of the case. 



In piling the honey in the storage-room it is 

 best to pile the face out, so if any flies get in the 

 cases they can be let out by pulling a nail and 

 sliding the glass. And then I like to ^ook my 

 honey in the face several times before selling. 

 The time spent in admiring a pile of white comb 

 honey is not wasted — it's a very profitable task; 

 'twill keep one always on the alert for better 

 methods in producing a de luxe article. 



The recommendation supplementing the Colo- 

 rado State Bee-keepers' Association grading-rules 

 embody some of my ideas on grading and pack- 

 ing comb honey, as I was one of the committee; 

 and what the committee says I should like to add 

 to this article. 



PEMOVING AND HANDLING FILLED SUPERS. 



Comb honey should be taken off as soon as 

 completely capped; no more smoke than neces- 

 sary should be used, and the smoker kept well 

 filled with fuel so no ashes will blow out and 

 spot the cappings. If finished supers are stored 

 in the honey-house, one or several sheets of news- 

 paper should be used between supers to catch any 

 possible drip and keep out dust and ants. 



NAILING AND MARKING CASES. 



Cases should be well nailed with cement-coated 

 nails, and glasses perfectly clean. If edges of 

 covers and bottoms project they should be planed 

 off; if this is not done, many boards will split in 

 shipping. The whitest and smoothest boards 

 should be reserved for covers, and the others 

 used for bottoms. The paper tray in the bottom 

 should be evenly folded, and drip-sticks secured 

 in their proper places by the use of a little glue 

 or thick honey on their under side. Nail cover 

 on firmly when the case is filled. The mark of 

 the grade of honey should be put into both hand- 

 holes of the case: X stands for No. 1 white; one 

 dash for No. 1 light amber; two dashes for No. 

 2. The marking of filled cases should be done 

 before they go to the storage-pile. Second-hand 

 cases should be used only for the casing of cull 

 honey — never for the shipping-grades. 



CLEANING AND CASING HONEY. 



This work must be done in a well-lighted 

 place, and a large bench or table provided for it. 

 The shipping-cases to receive the honey should 



be placed so as to face the packer, and should be 

 arranged so no propolis from scraping will fly 

 into them. It is desirable to have several cases 

 for each grade on the bench, so that honey of the 

 same shade and finish may go in the same case. 

 A definite place should always be used for each 

 grade, to avoid errors in casing. 



An accurate spring scale should be handy to 

 weigh doubtful sections. 



The practice of piling honey on the bench 

 before casing is not recommended, as honey is 

 more subject to injury, and time is lost in casing. 

 It is desirable that the packer have a copy of the 

 grading-rules hung up before him for ready 

 reference; and where this work is entrusted to 

 others, the apiarist should provide specimen sec- 

 tions representing the poorest of each respective 

 grade, and give strict orders that any thing inferior 

 to these samples must go in the next grade below. 



The face of each case should be of uniform 

 color and finish, and truly represent the contents 

 of the case. 



Cull honey is composed of the following: 



Honey in badly stained sections caused by 

 leaky covers. 



Honey that shows signs of granulation. Sec- 

 tions that are leaking, or whose cappings are 

 injured. 



Sections that are fairly well capped, but have 

 more than 25 open cells. 



Sections that are capped, but weigh less than 

 12 ounces. 



All cull honey should be marketed around 

 home, or rendered. 



HAULING OF COMB HONEY. 



The proper time to haul and ship comb honey 

 is while the weather is still warm, therefore no 

 time should be lost in getting the crop ready. 

 In hauling by wagon it is desirable to provide 

 springs for the wagon-bed; and if these can not 

 be had, a layer of three or four inches of straw 

 should be used in the wagon. On top of this 

 should be spread a canvas or large wagon-cover, 

 in such a way that, after the wagon is fully load- 

 ed, the canvas will fold over the top of the load, 

 thoroughly protecting the honey from dust or a 

 possible shower. 



The bed of a regular farm-wagon will take 98 

 cases of honey. A good steady team and care- 

 ful driver are required to haul comb honey safely. 



Boulder, Colo. 



[In a letter in connection with this article Mr. 

 Foster explains that all his packing is done ac- 

 cording to the rules of the Colorado State Bee- 

 keepers' Association. He believes that those 

 rules are valuable, especially if the time and 

 thought of experts are worth any thing. He 

 says, " We have fought and jawed and voted in 

 committee and on the floor of the convention 

 over these rules." — Ed.] 



A WARNING. 



Under the national pure-food law, perhaps 

 we may remind some producers that they are ren- 

 dering themselves liable to Uncle Sam if they sell 

 amber honey for white clover, or, in fact, mis- 

 represent the source of any honey on an inter- 

 state deal. 



