376 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUUE 



R. N. Gidley, New Zealaud, demonstrating his method of securing a large crop of honey. 



l)loyee at fault, and he is compelled to pay 

 it. There are very few claims that are not 

 saddled off on some one. Hence you may 

 be sure that the express man gives attention 

 to every thing in his care. 



In my two years' experience I had noticed 

 that packages received attention in inverse 

 ratio to the care with which they were 

 packed. For instance, if I ran across a 

 very strong and Avell-made box I would 

 pitch it from one end of the car to the 

 other; but if the parcel happened to be a 

 frail hat-box, with the merest stiip of crat- 

 ing around it, or a sjilint basket lined with 

 cotton, and marked " Eggs," I handled it 

 with the greatest care, and so did all the 

 rest, and so they do yet. You can't turn a 

 splint basket over; you can't pile any thing 

 on top of it; and you have to handle it care- 

 fully at all times. That gave me my cue. 

 The saloon man across the street gave me 

 several corrugated-paper cartons of the size 

 that be used to ship half-gallon jugs in. 

 Seven sections of honey, firmly tied to- 

 gether with the top sides up, and just a few 

 thicknesses of paper around, made a com- 

 pact package that exactly fitted in the car- 

 ton. I then sealed the carton, put some 

 straw in a common five-cent splint basket, 

 and put the carton in it, this also making a 

 snug fit. Then I tied the carton in firmly so 

 that there was no possible chance for it to 

 woi'k loose. Finally I wrote in my ordinary 

 Jiand, on one edge of the carton, " Honey ! 



handle with the same care as " — and then in 

 large printed letters that took up the rest 

 of the space of the carton — " Eggs." The 

 object of this was not to deceive, but to be 

 sure that every one handling would see at 

 a glance the fragile nature of the contents. 

 Of course the shipment was billed " 1 bsk 

 honey;" and as the entire package weighed 

 just a little over nine pounds, and comb 

 honey, owner's risk of breakage or leakage, 

 takes a special rate with a minimum charge 

 of thirty-five cents, this sample cost me just 

 that amount. I could have sent it much 

 further for the same money. As it was, it 

 had to go to New Orleans for the first trans- 

 fer, then across Louisiana and Texas. After 

 this long trip it reached its destination in 

 perfect condition. 



My next shipment consisted of four car- 

 tons placed in a box into which they fitted, 

 with hay in the bottom and around the 

 sides. The top was open except that wire 

 was zigzagged across to keep the carton in, 

 and half a barrel-hoop was used for a han- 

 dle, also as a guard to keep the box from 

 getting tilted over on one side or getting 

 turned upside down. This and subsequent 

 shipments made in the same manner also 

 went through without a single comb crack- 

 ed or bleeding. My recollection is that the 

 four cartons complete weighed forty pounds, 

 and the special rate was $2.10 per hundred, 

 or 84 cts. for each shipment. Articles that 

 take a special rate by express take pound 



