MAY 1, 1913 



313 



creased to 210 colonies, and took 20,750 

 pounds of extracted honey. 

 St. David, Ariz. 



PROPER PACKING AND GRADING 



BY LOUIS SCROLL 



There is at present no other matter of so 

 much importance to the Texas beekeeper, 

 and tlie entire South, for that matter. There 

 exist, at the present time, no definite rules 

 that govern the packing and weight of the 

 various packages of the honey of the South, 

 as regards what might be termed a standard 

 by which to go absolutelj^, both as to the 

 manner in which the various sizes of cans 

 and pails used shall be filled, and as to the 

 weight of honey they should hold. 



There seems to be quite a diversity of 

 opinion among even our leading beekeep- 

 ers; and as long as this continues we may 

 expect trouble from time to time with the 

 buyers of our products. While some claim 

 we ought to let the weight include container 

 \vilh the contents in the selling weight, 

 others furnish a full net-weight package. 

 The latter seems far the better way, and 

 one that can be easily arranged, and at the 

 same time will be more in confonnity with 

 the present regulations of the pure-food 

 laws. But if some of us are doing this, all 

 should do likewise; for it makes quite a 

 difference with a large crop whether we are 

 compelled to furnish full net weight of 

 honey as against those who include the con- 

 tainers as i3art of the weight. 



Another most important item, and one 

 that needs a lot of " clubbing," is that of 

 packing dark off-gTade honey in with fine 

 white comb honey. Often such stuff is so 

 far " off " that it is unfit to eat, and hence 

 the practice should not be permitted to go 

 on. 



The matter of the proper amount of comb 

 honey in proi^ortion to extracted honey in 

 packing " bulk comb honey " needs some 

 adjustment before our next packing season 

 rolls around. While some beekeepers, to be 

 honest, put a large amount of comb honey 

 in the cans, and less extracted, others vary 

 these amounts to a great extent, and just 

 as honestly. The trouble is, we have no real 

 standard to go by, and such should be pro- 

 vided. 



We have a great deal of trouble also when 

 it comes to the prices of honey. There are 

 quite a number of beekeepers who believe 

 in keeping the price up in proportion to 

 the supply and demand, and in relation to 

 other commodity prices, so far as practica- 

 ble. But this often — yea, very often indeed 

 — works against them in the prompt dispos- 



al of their products. This is because there 

 is such a difference in the price at which 

 \arious beekeepers sell their honey that the 

 lower prices prevent others selling their 

 lionej^ 



A better organization of the beekeepers, 

 or even a simple " getting together " and 

 discussing these various questions, would 

 bring about an improvement over the pres- 

 ent-day situation. 



New Braunfels, Texas. 



A FURTHER NOTE OF WARNING AGAINST 

 SPRAYING WHILE IN BLOOM 



BY PROF. N. E. SHAW, 

 State Entomologist of Ohio. 



The time of year is now at hand when 

 the spraying campaign is started against the 

 many pests affecting our fruit-trees. A 

 word of caution should be given for the 

 benefit of those who disregard the advice 

 of authorities and spray their trees while 

 in full bloom. There is nothing to gain 

 bj' the application of spray at this time, 

 but, on the other hand, positive injury is 

 sure to result to the vital parts of the flow- 

 er, and likewise to bees and other insects 

 which are so necessary to the proper devel- 

 opment of the fruit. 



For a time the coiTectness of reports 

 from correspondents (that many orchard- 

 ists sprayed their trees while they were in 

 full bloom) was doubted. During the past 

 year reports of this kind were investigated 

 by insi^ectors, and it was found that the 

 practice was being followed to a consider- 

 able extent. A few of the offenders, strange 

 to say, are some of our largest fruit-gi'ow- 

 ers whose sjjraying equipment is not suffi- 

 cient for their orchard acreage; and in or- 

 der to spray all of their trees before the 

 closing of the blossom end of the apple, 

 they commence operations while the trees 

 are in full bloom. 



Another class of offenders is composed 

 of those who do commercial spraying for 

 small orchardists. Their object, of course, is 

 to extend their work over as long a period 

 as possible, and many of them spray right 

 through the blooming period, regardless of 

 the condition of the blossoms. Their em- 

 l)loyers are usually ignorant of the harm 

 done by the practice, and make no stipula- 

 tion as to the time during which the work 

 must be performed. 



This Department will make every effort 

 possible to discourage this harmful prac- 

 tice, and asks the co-operation of beekeep- 

 ers in reporting all instances of this kind 

 that come under their obsen^ation. 



Ohio Department of Agi*iculture. 



