112 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



their best honey into this grade ; but the 

 man who puts several tons on a large 

 market could select a number of crates 

 for which an extra price could be ob- 

 tained, and that without lowering the 

 price of his No. 1 honey. 



The No. 1 contains the bulk of a good 

 bee-keeper's crop, and on that account 

 it is the most important of all. The only 

 bee-keeper with whom I have had a 

 chance to talk the matter over, objects 

 to my putting down " ten cells " as the 

 limit allowed unsealed on the poorer side 

 of a No. 1 section. But it seems to me 

 that, so far as possible, everything 

 should be very exact. If such a phrase 

 as "only a few cells" should be used, 

 then some would understand that to 

 mean three, and some fifty. If ten isn't 

 the right number, then make it five, 

 twenty, or whatever is thought best ; 

 but don't leave it indefinite. The term 

 " slightly discolored" is indefinite, and 

 on that account objectionable, but I 

 don't see how to better it easily. 



In No. 2, not more than one-fourth of 

 the total surface must be left unfilled 

 and unsealed. Possibly it is not neces- 

 sary to say three-fourths of the surface 

 must be filled and sealed, for it will 

 hardly be sealed without being filled. 

 As to the remaining fourth, it may be 

 filled and not sealed, or there may be 

 empty comb or entire vacancy to the 

 amount of one-fourth of the section. Of 

 course, the unsealed part might be on 

 one or both sides. That is, one side 

 might be all filled and sealed, and the 

 other side half sealed, or each side might 

 be three-fourths sealed, or one side may 

 have anywhere from the half to the 

 whole of it sealed, only so that there 

 shall be enough sealed on the other side 

 so that the sealing on both sides taken 

 together shall be as much as three- 

 fourths of the total surface of both sides 

 added together. 



The difficulty of adopting a system of 

 grading that shall be satisfactory to all 

 is greater than at first anticipated, so 

 that I do not wonder that some have 

 little faith that any one system can be 

 agreed upon. I think that all agree 

 that the ground of the difficulty lies in 

 the fact that different localities produce 

 different kinds of honey, and each local- 

 ity wants a system of grading that shall 

 show no discredit upon the honey pro- 

 duced in that locality. 



If I am rightly informed, the York 

 State men have no difficulty in agreeing 

 upon a system that suits them ; so can 

 the California men ; so can the Missis- 

 sippi Valley men. Now, suppose white 

 clover is the only kind of honey pro- 



duced all over. There would probably 

 be no greater difficulty in settling upon 

 a system acceptable to all. No. 1 white 

 clover would easily be the same in York 

 State or in Western Illinois ; and then 

 suppose that, all over the land, a second 

 crop should be obtained from Spanish- 

 needle. Would not all agree that a No. 

 1 Spanish-needle section should be just 

 the same as a No. 1 white clover sec- 

 tion, except that one was filled with white 

 clover honey and the other with Spanish- 

 needle ? and the same way if all the 

 different sources of honey ruled in every 

 location. Now, if I am correct in this, 

 then there ought to be no more difficulty 

 in agreeing upon the grades, as things 

 now exist ; and then the only thing to 

 add is, to say what kind of honey is con- 

 tained — light, amber, .dark or mixed. 



If any one objects that light, amber, 

 etc., are not distinctive enough, then 

 there need be no difficulty at any time 

 in specifying particularly any one class 

 of honey. Indeed, I should expect that, 

 in time at least, some few particular 

 kinds of honey would come prominently 

 to the front, and that possibly in some 

 markets No. 1 Spanish-needle might be 

 quoted higher than No. 1 light. But 

 the great thing is, to agree upon the 

 grades, to be alike applied to all kinds 

 of honey, and I have some hope that we 

 may reach that. C. C. Miller. 



J. E. Crane — Commission men are op- 

 posed to a fancy grade, because it de- 

 tracts from the sale of the lower grades. 

 Dealers say they have no trouble in 

 selling honey even if the "fancy " grade 

 is mixed with the No. 1. Some people 

 are very particular. They want a nice 

 article, and the dealer gives it to them. 

 Others are not so particular, and they 

 get the combs that are not quite so 

 nicely finished. 



W. Z. Hutchinson — I suppose it ia 

 upon the same principle that my grocer 

 never sends me any poor butter, yet I 

 pay no more for my butter than the man 

 who is not so particular. 



A. N. Draper — These extra-nice peo- 

 ple have an extra-nice pocket-book, and 

 they don't object to having it squeezed. 

 I say the fancy grades of honey should 

 be sold for a fancy price. 



Frank Benton — I think Mr. Draper is 

 correct. 



R. F. Holtermann — Taking one year 

 with another, what proportion do you 

 suppose would rank as " fancy " accord- 

 ing to the exact gradings that have been 

 published? 



