1898. 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



neatly turned up, forming a shallow 

 pan; within this pan we nailed small 

 triangular strips on which we placed 

 the sections of honey, and between the 

 several rows inserted wood seperators, 

 in the same manner as in the supei's. 

 Whilst the use of paper pans in the 

 shipping cases, and strips of wood un- 

 der the sections is now wellknown to 

 many, it may be a matter of surprise 

 to them to know that they are not yet 

 in general use, and the writer found 

 it necessary to write numerous letters 

 to fully explain their uses. 



Separators in shipping cases are, I 

 think, not yet very much used, but I 

 3nd that if seperators are used, a comb 

 oroken from a section is confined to 

 :he space within that section; it cau- 

 aot break or deface the next adjoin- 

 ng section, whereas, if the separators 

 ire not added, the entire row is fre- 

 quently broken down. Wood separ- 

 itors are cheap, costing less than two 

 ^nts for a case, whilst their benefit 

 s more than ten-fold, I therefore think 

 hat no shipping-case is complete with 

 )ut the separators. 

 I have been to some expense, both 

 the World's fair and while visiting 

 lumerous honey markets, to ascertain 

 he most desirable size, form and de- 

 ailed construction of shipping cases, 

 nd it appears that commission mer- 

 hants and retail dealers in honey 

 •refer a case holding 24 sections, sin- 

 le tier high, with glass on one side 

 rom 2 to 3 inches wide, with the top 

 oards fitting between the front cleat 

 nd the back, so as to hold the top in 

 lace while retailing from the case, 

 nd so as not to show the joint on the 

 rent or glass cleat. 



In this paper I will not say where, 

 rto whom to ship, but outline more 



fully the form of shipping-cases, how 

 to fill them, and how to forward them, 

 and when, and thereby prepare the 

 way for a fruitful discussion. 



As already stated, the 24-section 

 case, showing four sections through 

 the glass, seemed to be preferred, and 

 therefore we should furnish the size 

 and form de&ired. In construction 

 the cases should be light, the cleats 

 for holding the glass should be grooved 

 not rabbeted, and the glass slid into 

 these grooves so that, should the glass 

 break, the grooves will retain the 

 pieces in position. Having placed the 

 paper pan and wood strips in the bot- 

 tom, select 24 sections of honey, as 

 nearly alike as you can; place four 

 average sections near the glass, top 

 up, that is, in the same position as 

 they were on the hive; if inverted 

 some open cell is liable to leak, and 

 the running over the white face of the 

 comb mars the beauty of its appear- 

 ance. Should there be a little space 

 endwise, make them tight with little 

 wedges at the end; next drop in a 

 wood separator, which should be as 

 wide as the hight of the sections. In 

 this manner fill the case, wedge up 

 the back of the sections so they are 

 tight sidewise, lay on another sheet 

 of paper, which should be large 

 enough to project a little with the ed- 

 ges, then fasten on the top, preferably 

 with small screws. 



Goods shipped by express must be 

 speedly loaded and unloaded, and are 

 consequently not handled with the 

 same care as freight shipments, where 

 ample time is usually taken to load 

 and unload; therefore honey shipped 

 by freight arrives- usually in better 

 condition than when shipped by ex- 

 press; but express shipments go 



