240 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 15 



ject for several 

 months I had what 

 seemed to me a very 

 satisfactory case, at 

 least in theory. 

 Whether it would 

 be practical could 

 be told only by try- 

 ing it on a some- 

 what extensive scale. 

 We ordered some 

 500 of these cases 

 made for shipping a 

 part of our honey 

 crop for 1906. 



I may as well say 

 right here that the 

 case consists of a 

 rectangular frame of 

 cellular board with 

 corrugated straw- 

 board partitions. 

 These are covered 

 with a top and bot- 

 tom, both having 

 telescoping sides 

 and ends that fit 

 over the rectangular 

 frame, and that near- 

 ly or quite meet in 

 the middle. A sheet 

 of single-faced cel- 

 lular board, to lay 

 on the bottom to 

 catch any drip from 

 the sections above, 

 and to cushion them, completes the case. 



I confess I had a good many misgivings when 

 I came to use them. Many things are beautiful 

 in theory but they fail in practice. My misgiv- 

 ings were somewhat allayed when, at the begin- 

 ing of the packing season, one of our men let a 

 case drop from a table, nearly three feet high, to 

 the floor, without injury to a single comb. 



There were some other things that still bother- 

 ed me. The sides of the cover and bottom stuck 

 out somewhat so that the case did not look as 

 trim as the wooden cases. I soon found, how- 

 ever, that these were an advantage, as they acted 

 as springs or buffers, breaking any blows that 

 might come against them. I was also afraid and 

 troubled, lest, being of paper, they could not be 

 piled one on top of another ten or twelve deep as 

 we tier up wooden cases; but I found that in this 

 I was also mistaken, for an empty case would 

 hold up a heavy man, even if he let his weight 

 come on to the toes of one foot, which indicates 

 that the whole case would hold up one or two 

 tons if the weight were evenly distributed over 

 the surface of the top of the case. The top rests 

 on the partitions; and while they support the top 

 they also brace the ends and sides, making the 

 case very secure. These partitions come '2 inch 

 or more above the sections, thus protecting the 

 top of the sections perfectly. 



Another thing that I was not at first satisfied 

 with was that each case had to be tied up with 

 twine or cord, but I found this was an advantage 

 also, as, when piled one on top of another in a 

 car, they do not slip and slide over each other, 

 and will stay where they are put much better 



IT IS MUCH EASIER TO CARRY THE NEW-STYLE SHIPPING-CASES THAN THE OLD. 



than wooden cases, as it is difficult for one twine 

 to pass another. I have found ordinary binding- 

 twine strong enough for this purj^ose, and not 

 expensive. 



It will be seen from the above description that 

 each comb is well cushioned by partitions on 

 both sides and ends, and on the bottom with an 

 extra board, and the sides and ends of the case 

 with the strong and somewhat flaring flanges of 

 the top and bottom. 



It might be said further, as to these compart- 

 ments or cells for each comb, that if a man falls 

 to the ground he may get hurt; but if he should 

 have three or four men on his back as heavy 

 as himself the chances of his getting hurt 

 would be largely increased, it is also easy to 

 see that each partition and compartment helps to 

 break the force of a blow or the effects of a jar. 



I have spoken of how one of these cases pro- 

 tects the combs contained in it during a fall of 

 nearly three feet. Later in the season a ivooden 

 case filled with combs was dropped some eight- 

 een inches, and every comb but two was broken. 

 How our experiment with 500 paper cases with- 

 out a square inch of wood in the whole lot came 

 out is best told by those who received them. 



Early in the season we shipped ten of these pa- 

 per cases, with a lot of -Tvoodeii ones, to H. B. 

 Phillips, Auburn, Maine. This was over a route 

 where they would have to be transferred one or 

 more times from one car to another. Mr. Phil- 

 lips wrote, soon after receiving them, that he 

 found one or more broken combs in every wood- 

 en case, but not a single broken comb in any of 

 the ten paper cases. We quote the following 



