GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



four hundred miles; but for shorter dis- 

 tances the trade prefers it packed in glass, 

 because it thus sells far better and for a bet- 

 ter price, so long as the article is fancy. 

 The local trade takes to this new way of 

 1 aeking the honey very well where the peo- 

 ple are familiar with honey; but when it 

 comes to building up a trade or demand, it 

 is slow work. So, taking all things into 

 consideration, we have found it better to 

 pack all the light honey in glass and the oif 

 or dark grades in cans and pails. 



After trying nearly every kind of glass 

 packages that could be used for this pur- 

 pose we have adopted the regular iV^ason 

 fruit- jars — quart and pint size — and we 

 have found more demand for the latter size. 

 Of course the honey thus packed is neatly 

 labeled with our name, address, and g-uar- 

 antee. 



ADVANTAGE OF MASON JARS. 



Aside from the demand, there are many 

 other advantages in this package to the 

 honey-producers. They can buy the jars 

 at almost any grocery, and get them at a 

 greatly reduced jjrice at any wholesale 

 grocery by taking a considerable cjuantity 

 of them. 



Then the jars come well packed in good 

 corrugated paper cases — 12 jars to the case. 

 The covers of the cases are only slightly 

 pasted down, and can be easily and quickly 

 removed. The jars are usually clean, and 

 all that is necessary is to rinse them in clean 

 water. When they are filled and labeled 

 they may be set back in the same cases, the 

 covers sealed, or a strong cord tied around 

 it on all four sides. We usually use bind- 

 er twine for tliis purpose, as it is cheap and 

 strong. Most of the cases are handled by 

 the cord instead of taking hold of the pack- 

 age. A good man can pack from 30 to 50 

 cases, ready for market, in a day. Neither 

 time nor expense is required for making 

 cases, and you have something far better 

 for the purpose than you could make. 



HOW TO LIQUEFY THE HONEY WHEN IT 

 GRANULATES. 



On our labels the following appears : "If 

 this honey granulates, set the jar in warm 

 water or in the sunshine, and it will lique- 

 fy." 



This is another gxeat advantage in using 

 glass. Sometimes the honey will gi'anulate 

 while on the shelves in the stores; and the 

 clerks know that, if they take it to the rear 

 of the store and set it in the sunshine, it will 

 soon be liquefied and ready to set back on 

 the shelves, so that it is just as attractive as 

 ever. 



If desired the honey may be set out in the 

 sunshine as it is packed, and heated up for 



a day or two, thereby retarding granula- 

 tion. If the sun is shining very warm it is 

 better to fasten the covers down before it is 

 set in the sun, else it will become hot enough 

 to melt the comb and spoil the appearance 

 of the honey. If the sun is not sliining too 

 warm, the honey can be set in the cases, and 

 the tops left open and set out where the 

 sun may shine on the jars as they stand in 

 the cases. If there is any packing to be 

 done during cool weather, or if any should 

 be left on hand until it granulates, the jars 

 can be removed from the cases and set out 

 in the direct rays of the sun, and then heat- 

 ed up and put in shape for the market. 



The illustration shows a large sliipment 

 of bulk comb honey out in the sun between 

 our work-sho]) and packing-house, where 

 it can get the full benefit of the heat of the 

 sun. In this way our entire crop of honey 

 is heated so that our trade is troubled but 

 little with gi'anulation. 



The apiary in the background is a por- 

 tion of our home yard, and shows how all 

 our hives are shaded during the summer. 

 We always select a location where there is 

 small gi'owth and thin shade, so that we are 

 not bothered by having to shade our liives, 

 and we have a cool open shade to work in. 



Cordele, Ga. 



[As we understand it, the illustration 

 shows packages or boxes of bulk comb hon- 

 ey ready for shipment, but placed in the 

 sun for a time to warm up the honey inside. 

 It would seem to us that not enough heat 

 would j^enetrate through the sides and tops 

 of the opaque jDackages to warm up the 

 honey in the glass Mason jars so that there 

 would be any effect one way or the other 

 on granulation. Perhaps we do not take 

 into account the full effect of the southern 

 sun. 



It will be remembered that Mr. H. R. 

 Boardman and Mr. E. B. Rood have for a 

 number of years jDracticed setting glass jars 

 or honey in solar wax-extractors, where con- 

 siderable heat is generated — enough so that 

 the temperatui'e of the honey is raised to a 

 point where granulation is arrested. It is 

 also believed that the sun's rays have an ad- 

 ditional chemical effect tending toward the 

 same end. Of course, if the jars are shut 

 off from the sunlight, as in the illustration, 

 there would be no chemical effect. 



One objection to bulk comb honey coming 

 to the North is the danger of granulation; 

 and while it can be liquefied, many will not 

 discriminate carefully between what is 

 meant by warm and hot water, ovei'do the 

 job, melting the combs as well as heating 

 the honey. In the southern States, where 

 there are no such extremes of temperature 



