JULY 15, 1912 



431 



case to indicate the fragile character of the 

 goods it covers. The old theory was that 

 it would warn the freight and express han- 

 dlers to be careful ; but experience for many 

 years back shows that such warning seldom 

 is of any avail. In fact, the railroad com- 

 panies are now discriminating against glass 

 in shipping cases. All comb honey nowa- 

 days is or should be shipped in carriers. 

 When so packed, the glass will seldom show, 

 even if used. Reliance must rather be placed 

 on large printed labels on the carriers to 

 indicate the character of the goods; and the 

 safety of the comb honey lies really in the 

 fact that the carrier is too heavy to be 

 dumped or thrown. The straw cushion used 

 in cai-riers will take care of what little jars 

 the sections may receive. 



The only argniment that can be advanced 

 for glass in shipping cases is for retail dis- 

 play purposes; but as we have argued time 

 and time again, sections can be shown off 

 to better advantage in a regular showcase 

 than between two bars of wood of a soiled, 

 unpainted wooden container. 



We believe the time is not far distant 

 when producers of comb honey, and buyers 

 alike, will demand the elimination of glass 

 entirely, not only as an unnecessary ex- 

 pense but as a positive detriment. If the 

 new grading rules adopted by the Colorado 

 Honey-producers' Association, as given in 

 our last issue, should be generally adopted, 

 and if buyers would refuse to take comb 

 honey, except in carriers, in less than ear 

 lots, and discriminate against eases with 

 glass, the comb-honey business would soon 

 be restored to its former standing. Dealers 

 furnish cases made for glass for no other 

 reason than that old usage sanctions them. 

 It is high time that we pack our comb honey 

 in the strongest cases we can make, weight 

 and price considered. Certainly we ought 

 to make such containers as strong as those 

 for bottled goods that are far less fragile. 



MANAGER RAUCHPUSS' STATEMENT CONCERN- 

 ING THE NEW COLORADO GRADING RULES. 



We sent Mr. Frank Rauchfuss, Manager 

 of the Colorado Honey-producers' Associa- 

 tion, an advance copy of our editorial on 

 Colorado's new comb-honey grading rules. 

 Mr. R., we understand, had much to do 

 with the framing of the new rules. His 

 comments on our editorial will, therefore, 

 be read with interest. 



Mr. Ernest R. Root: — Your letter of the 1st inst. 

 is at hand, also advance copy of the article in 

 Gleanings relating to grading. I am well pleased 

 ■with it, and hope your suggestion of having a meet- 

 ing of honey-shippers and carload handlers of hon- 

 ey, at Chicago or some other place, some time in the 

 near future, will be carried out. 



In your editorial you say, "Another very impor- 



tant suggestion is that for scraping the section." It 

 should be incorporated in the rules, for it is very 

 important. In prefacing the whole article you say, 

 "Not only the rules but the general suggestioris are 

 worthy of careful reading." We should like to call 

 your attention to the fact that we are not making 

 suggestions as to how honey should be graded and 

 packed, but give instructions, and these must be car- 

 ried out if the honey is to be accepted. There is one 

 slight omission in the description of the marking of 

 "Choice" honey. It should read, "Choice must be 

 marked — (dash) in hand-holes," and directions 

 for extracted-honey producers should read, "Adopt 

 the plan of marking," instead of marketing, "each 

 extracting." 



In adopting these rules we have held to the view 

 thai comb honey is an article that sells principally 

 by appearance ; therefore the question of color and 

 finish has been given most prominence. For in- 

 stance, in our fancy white you will note that honey, 

 comb, and cappings must be white ; in the No. 1 

 it Bays, "honey, white or very light amber, but comb 

 and cappings from white to slightly off color." While 

 I realize that this term, "slightly off color," is some- 

 what vague, I have not been able to run across any 

 one who could offer a better description. You know 

 that here in Colorado, especially on the western 

 slope, we have quite a little honey that is of a pink- 

 ish order, of very good flavor and body, and very 

 often has cappings that are nice and white except 

 for a little discoloration at the bottom. We realize 

 that such honey as that should go into No. 1 grade, 

 especially if the qualifications of weight are care- 

 fully observed as they should be. Now, in the choice 

 grade we have the following description as to color: 

 "white to amber, but not dark." This is another 

 rather vag^e way of explaining things, but is the 

 best we could do ; and when it comes to explaining 

 these matters, the best way to do is to have grad- 

 ing demonstrations. We have had several of them 

 at oiir annual meetings, and they have been well 

 received by the members. In the grading instructions 

 you will find one clause where it says, "The front 

 sections of honey in a case must be alike in color 

 and finish, and be a true representation of the con- 

 tents." Now, this disposes of the whole matter 

 where more than one shade of color are permitted 

 in the same grade ; because if this instruction is car- 

 ried out, honey of one shade and finish will be 

 found only in the same case ; and the dealer buying 

 the honey can govern himself accordingly. As you 

 well know, in every city there are people who prefer 

 dark-capped honey before the white-capped, although 

 they are in the minority ; and by this kind of grad- 

 ing they can easily be accommodated. You will note 

 that no provision has been made for honey where 

 more than fifty cells are uncapped. This has met 

 with some criticism by our people on the western 

 slope. They contend that sections weighing prob- 

 ably 14 ounces, but capped over three-fourths on 

 one side and one-fourth on the other, are good sal- 

 able sections. However, my experience in the comb- 

 honey business has been otherwise. While there are 

 isolated cases where such honey is wanted, they are 

 not sufficiently numerous to give them any consid- 

 eration in grading rules. Such honey can usually 

 be disposed of to fair advantage in the home mar- 

 ket; or if this is not the case they could be ex- 

 tracted. 



The Colorado Honey-producees' Association, 

 Frank Rauchfuss, Manager. 



Denver, Colo., July 3. 



We are glad to know that the matter is 

 not so much optional as mandatory. Good ! 



GtjEANINGS will be glad to assist in any 

 movement looking toward a more general 

 adoption of these excellent grading rules. 

 We have already written to Secretai-y Tyr- 

 rell, of the National Beekeepers' Associa- 

 tion, asking him if it would be possible 

 for him to arrange for a meeting of pro- 

 ducers and buyers at some central point, 

 say Chicago, with the view of adopting the 

 Colorado rules as they stand, or making 

 such modifications as might seem wise on 

 the part of all those concerned. 



