10 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



January: 



through iu less time than shipments 

 by freight, and if as a matter of speed 

 honey has to be shipped by express, 

 I ti.ud that single shipping cases with- 

 out being crated or connected with 

 other cases, go by express in better 

 condition, and are handled more care- 

 fully, than heavier crates; but ship- 

 ments by freight or in wagons should 

 have 6 or 8 cases crated together iu 

 open crates so as to show the glass and 

 honey through the openings, with a 

 liberal supply of straw under them. 

 The addition to the directions to so 

 load that the edge of the comb should 

 be towards the locomotive, is, I find 

 never regarded, as the crates are usu- 

 ally so placed to fit the space in the 

 car; but the top of the crate should 

 hive in large, plain letteis this direc- 

 tion: "THIS SIDE MUST BE UP," which 



is usually regarded. 



Iu hauling, I advise the use of ve- 

 hicles with springs. If such cannot 

 be had, a liberal supply of straw un- 

 der the crates, and slow driving would 

 be desirable. 



Do not attempt to ship comb honey 

 great distances in warm weather, nor 

 when the honey is liable to freeze, as it 

 is more liable to break and leak . I well 

 remember how a careless shipujeut iu 

 hot weather nearly ruined the honey 

 market of a city; the honey arrived 

 badly broken and the cases leaked, 

 the dealer in his eagerness to dispose 

 of it, labeled it: ''Comb honey, 8 

 cents." The market reports of the lo- 

 cal paper next quoted: "Comb honey 

 8 cents per pound." This quotation 

 spread to near by places, and for 

 months this was the prevailing price. 



W.M. Gerrish, East Nottingham, N. 

 H., keeps a complete supply of our 

 goods and Eastern customers will 

 save freight by ordering from him. 



(From Bee Keepers Record).— (British). 



ABOUT BEES AND BEE KEEPING. 



THE PLEASURE OF IT. 



BY HENRY W. BRICE. 



Whilst prepared to admit that the 

 large majority of bee keepers join the 

 craft mainly with an eye to the com- 

 mercial point of view, it should not 

 be taken for granted that this is the 

 only end to be attained. Quite a sub- 

 stantial minority keep bees either 

 simply for the pleasure of it or for 

 the purpose of studying the lower an- 

 imal creation. The number who have 

 started bee keeping for the pleasure 

 it affords to set up a colony of busy 

 little laborers in one's garden, whose 

 work in the summer time seems to add 

 sunshine to sunshine, to say nothing of 

 those who find their pleasura in ad- 

 vancing the science, is much larger 

 than is generally thought, snd it seems 

 to me that such individuals form the 

 very backbone of our pursuit. At the 

 same time, it should not for a moment 

 be understood that profit from bee 

 keeping is not acceptable ; far from 

 it. Jn fact, it is a clear sign of the 

 times that everything we now take in 

 hand in the present day must be re- 

 garded from the £. s. d. point of view, 

 This particular phase of bee keeping 

 sets one wondering what the position 

 would be if the profit to be got from 

 them permeated all the pursuits in 

 life which are included in the wor 

 "hobbies." It is not easy to imagine 

 a man making a hobby of, let us say 

 his home garden, and lovingly tend 

 ing the fl»jwers it contains as one oi 

 the joys of life, yet only finding the 

 pleasure of it in proportion to the am 

 ount of cash he can realize from the 

 sale of his precious blooms ! Does ii 



