1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



99 



foundation or natural combs are used they ought to be worth 

 that, so we will put them iu at that price. At 7 frames we 

 have 294, but wo will call it 300 at 10 cents each — $30. 

 Add to this the cans, extractors and such, $18, and we have 

 $4:8 to go into a permanent investment, and that is not one 

 bit more than half what is really needed. It will not do to 

 figure in these things on the one ton of honey — the interest, 

 wear and tear and cost of maintaining them should come in, 

 though the proportion of per cent, would diminish or increase 

 as the crop was large or small. I am going to drop out this 

 item, too, and see what we will realize on our ton of honey 

 according to the foregoing figures. 



I find in this journal the following quotations for Chicago, 

 at the time of this writing : " White comb, 12 to 13 cents " 

 — say 123^ cents— $250 per ton. "White extracted, 5 to 7 

 cents," or $140 per ton at the top price. Referring back, 

 you will find I have estimated the cost of comb to be I3-3 cents 

 more per pound than extracted, while iu the markets we can 



I 



it must pass through several hands — hands unused to honey — 

 It must be in sealed packages. Sealed packages soon run the 

 cost away above that of comb. Comb honey gets its case at 

 about 1 cent per pound, or less, but you cannot put up all 

 pound packages of extracted for less than 3 to 5 cents, sealed 

 against leakage. 



Now do not forget that I have been figuring comporative 

 cost, not actual cost of producing the two articles. Actual 

 cost is an ever-varying thing. Wo can figure very close 

 on the cost outside of labor. True, it is not so much 

 labor to produce one ton as to produce 10 tons ; but very often 

 there is a lot of work done in anticipation, that we must do. 

 Aside, however, from this we can figure the cost so that we 

 can say with a reasonable accuracy that any given yield, and 

 at given prices, will give us so much tor our labor. The gruit 

 cost of honey is the labor, and extracted takes more of it, and 

 piled up more, than does comb. 



There are those who think there Is little room for im- 



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get b}4 cents more per pound — a profit of 4 cents more for 

 comb than extracted. 



We will suppose that we can produce 2 pounds of ex- 

 tracted to 1 of comb — 2 tons to one. If one ton costs $17.75, 

 2 tons would cost $35.50, and bring according to the figures 

 above, $280. Now deduct from this the freight on the extra 

 ton, and the commission of o or 10 per cent., and there is no 

 more money for the 2 tons of extracted than for the one ton 

 of comb. The commission alone on the extra ton would be 

 $14, leavjog $16 to pay the freight, which, at 75 cents, 

 would be .SL5. 



Another thing to consider is retail packages for extracted. 

 At present there is reaUy no market for extracted honey In 

 retail pncfcnycs. I mean, of course, the wholesale market. 

 You cannot find any quotations on extracted except in barrels 

 or cans. Nearly all extracted honey candies more or less, and 

 must be put into the retail package as soon as extracted, or 

 else there must be an addition to your plant of a liquifying 

 arrangement. Suppose, then, you put it into retail packages 

 as you extract. The cheapest package is tin pails. These 

 palls do not seal, and the honey cannot be shipt unless candied 

 solid. The cheapest pail will cost hi cent per pound more 

 than the 5-gallon can. 



Glass and sealing packages will cost from about 3 to 5 

 cents per pound, and there is no establlsJU market for them. 

 They are not reyular, and may be you can sell and maybe not. 

 Dealers do not want to risk such. If you live near town, and 

 sell direct to customers, an unsealed package will do ; but if 



provement in apiculture, but I am not one of them. We must 

 improve methods of produciug and marketing extracted 

 honey or quit it. There is abundant room, I am sure, in one 

 line, and that is in supplying home markets and siipplantiug 

 the glucose and cheap syrup that is now on the market. Why 

 is it that nearly everybody buys maple syrup at .$1.25 to 

 to $1.50 per gallon when honey brings but .$1.00 per gallon, 

 and less ? The reason is that our methods are so crude and 

 our product so scarce that we just cannot get it to the con- 

 sumer. Page Co., Iowa. 



The "New Champion" Chaff Hive. 



Figure 1 represents the New Champion double-walled 

 chaff hive, made by R. H. Schmidt & Co., of Wisconsin. It 

 can be used for comb honey and extracting at the same time 

 if desired. It has a 3}.i-inch air-space that may be filled in 

 winter with chaff, sawdust, or other packing material. This 

 can be removed in the spring and the room used as an air- 

 space during the summer days, by simply lifting out one or 

 two sides (see Fig. 2), which are fastened by steel-wire pins, 

 and can be replaced easily and quickly. The hive bottom is 

 double, with a 2-inch chaff or sawdust filling. 



The hive is made of ?6-inch white pine lumber, planed on 

 both sides and shiplapt. The outside beads are nailed up and 

 down, on hardwood cleats, and the roof is tinned, making the 



