184 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



October 



[)Vo\\u\\s\\- Ix'cii marked so as to know 

 from which hive it luid been talvon, it is 

 well to note this condition on the hive- 

 record for future reference and 

 "■uiclancc. 



I cannot now just recall to mind 

 where I have read of detaching these 

 little brace-combs or legs by means of a 

 thin-bladed knife: it was mentioned in 

 a recent number of some bee-paper. In 

 my hands a short thin-bladed compass- 

 saw has always done the work better 

 than a knife. The saw would cut away 

 without denting the capping; the knif<' 

 would only crowd through and not in- 

 frequently injure the capping, especially 

 when the honey was cold. 



The grading of our honey cannot be 

 done by inexperienced help. I find it 

 impracticable to impart my ideas about 

 this matter to any one not an expert. 



The crating of the honey is a simple 

 matter after the grading is done, and I 

 need not say much on the subject except 

 that the crating should be done hon- 

 estly. Even the boxes of one grade vary 

 somewhat. The line cannot be drawn 

 so closely but that some boxes will be a 

 little better than others. I hold that 

 the inner tiers should contain just as 

 good honey as is visible on the face. On 

 this point I might say, only a few days 

 ago I happened to be in the post-office 

 of a neighboring town, where I was not 

 known. I chanced to overhear a con- 

 versation between several, as it seemed, 

 prominent business men. One said: 



"As a class, there are no other people 

 so dishonest as the farmers," etc., relat- 

 ing then some of his experience in buying 

 apphis, tile barrels being faced with 

 good, large apples, but were otherwise 

 filled with trasii. I felt sorry that such 

 a sentiment should prevail among theses 

 people. 1 ventured to approaijh them 

 and asked the gentleman to kindly go 

 over to the grocery across the street 

 and emi)ty out a few of the sixty bas- 

 kets of Burbank plums which I had just 

 delivered there, then come back and 

 tell us wiial he had found in the bt)t- 



toms of the baskets. However, he 

 would not go; perhaps I blulTed him off. 

 It seems to me. not saying anything 

 about dishonesty, it is a very poor busi- 

 ness policy to face apple barrels, iilmn 

 baskets or honey crates with a superior 

 article, putting trash into the center. 

 Let us all denounce and guard against 

 such a practice. It does not pay in the 

 long run. 



When I first commenced using plain 

 sections I thought it might be necessary 

 to use cheap dividers in the shipping 

 crates, and accordingly I had quite a 

 number of thousands sliced from beech 

 timber; but I have now come to the con- 

 clusion that they are not as necessary 

 as it at first seemed. I have given uj* 

 their use entirely, although 1 have 

 them and hardly know what use to put 

 them to. 



Through the (Jrape-growers' Associa- 

 •tion of my town I am often in a position 

 to ship honey in through cars to differ- 

 ent and distant markets. It is my 

 experience that honey in small lots 

 carries much safer when put up in large 

 crates of about two hundred pounds. 

 These crates are provided with project- 

 ing handles so two men can conveniently 

 carry a crate of this kind. But the pro- 

 jecting handles are sometimes trouble- 

 some when it comes to packing baskets j 

 of fruit around them. We have changed 

 the construction of tiie crates in a 

 manner that the handles will drop down 

 out of the way. We now hear no 

 more grumbling of our fruit men, who 

 have sometimes threatened cutting off 

 those handles. 



We aim to ship our comb-honey before 

 cold weath(>r s(>ts in. 



Naples, N.V.. Aug. :>.->. IDOU. 



His Highness, the Bey of Tunis, has 

 conferred on Mr. T. B. Blow, an Eng- 

 lishman, the decoration of the order of 

 Nichem Iftakar. with the rank of officer, 

 in recognition of his services as adviser j 

 on apiculture to the Tunisian govern- 

 ment. — Olecmings. 



