(;i.K.\NIN(;s IN HKK CULTURE. 



101 



work td-tiay |iiiiiiliiiK in oils. Sin- li;is hem 

 very filatl to have iiic [)oint out ticlVi-ts for licr 

 to rcmcily. alt lioiiirli, if I wim'c to take tiic l)riisli 

 into my own iiainl. and attempt to makt> a 

 pirtnre of a bet- on a llnwcr, a hilu'l inifilu ''•' 

 nt'itlcii on cai'h tiMii.stinitnisli tlif lire from liif 

 llovvcr. After further (iisenssion, lintlinir out 

 more fully the views of others, it is posNJhle 1 

 may know enon>ih to formulate whal 1 think 

 would suit me. in whieli case I .shall not hesi- 

 tate to try mv ham! at it. ('. C. Mii.i.kk. 

 xMareuiio. 111. 



[Hoxes known as pieces'.' — Mr. KUvood ex- 

 plained this on page 1."'."). Maich 1st iss\u>.] 



THE GRADING OF COMB HONEY. 



The Chicago convention gave no instructions 

 how to mark the several grades of honey, hnt 

 siiould have done so, perlia[)s. I sc(^ no obj<'c- 

 tion to the use of letters in case liiey are taken 

 in rotation. I don't like the idea of skipping 

 around in the alijliabet; for instance, from A, 

 H. C. to M. Why not use I) for ^1 ? Can any 

 one give a valid icason '.' In case wi' use letters, 

 why not use them in such a way that consumers 

 can understand their meaning as well as pro- 

 ducers and dealers? The letter A is good 

 enough for first grade, or for the best grade, 

 unless it might be better, all things considered, 

 to use the double A A; then the singh; A might 

 be used for second grade: 15 for third grade, 

 and C for fourth grade, which, in my opinion, 

 are grades enough. M. M. Hai.dkidgk. 



St. Charles, 111., Feb., LS'.t:.'. 



.1. A. (iUKKN ( HtTt('isi:i) sTii.i, i-iKTi I i:i;. 



Friend Creen says in Cii,KANi.\(is. |)age It. " I 

 must say that I am not at all satislied with 

 either of the systems of grading conil) honey 

 that have been proposed. That adopted at the 

 Northwestern convention was rather too exact- 

 ing in some of its reiiuirenients. and. in some 

 ri'spects. was incomi)lete." He then giv(>s in- 

 structions for grading coml) honey as adopted 

 by him.self, which, it seems to mo. are opcMi to 

 the same criticisms he bestows u|)on the system 

 adopted in Chicago. He says that honey in the 

 best and second best grades should be" light- 

 colored "■ and of "good llavor." Now. this mal- 

 lei' of •■ color" and "Havoi'" was duly consider- 

 ed in Chicago: and it was thought best, when 

 all things were taken into consideration, to 

 omit them both. To include "flavor" would 

 make heaps of trouble to both dealers and bee- 

 keepers. For instance, "light-colored" honey 

 may be white clover. sw(>et clover, basswood. 

 willow, the sages of California, etc. Now, the 

 flavors of these different kinds of lioney are so 

 unlike each other, and so peculiar, that what 

 wduld suit one consumer would not suit an- 

 other. There are i)lenty of people who dislike 

 exceedingly the flavor of basswood (linden) 

 honey. Now. suppose the retailer buys a quan- 

 lity of basswood honey, warranted by the in- 

 structions as laid down l)y friend (Jreen to be 

 of "good flavor." and he sells the same to con- 

 snmi'rs who ha])pen to live where basswood 

 honey is unknown, and they so dislike its flavor 

 as to find fault with it. The retailer would 

 then be (jiiite apt to comi»lain to the w holesaler. 

 and he in turn to the producer, and the objec- 

 lional)le feature would have to be adjusted in 

 some way. and chiefly at the expense or loss of 

 ihe bee-keepei-. The same may Ix? said in re- 

 gard to some of the other kinds of light-colored 

 honey. The only safe way for both producers 

 and consumei-s to pursue, it seems to me. is to 

 let llavor alone and give no heed to it in grad- 

 ing comb honey. Let the eye alone detei'mine 

 the gradi' to which any honey in the comb be- 

 longs. The sight is by no means .so apt to get 

 people, into tronl)le in regard to honey as the 

 taste. 



The idea that only honey of "'light color" 

 can be of the best grade is preposterou.s. for 

 there are many consumers who prefer dark 

 honey, or of amber color. Much depends upon 

 one's taste, and what market it is. Then why 

 make any ado about color in grading honey. 

 provided it be. in each crate, of one color, or 

 " uniform in color.'" as [lei- tiie Chicago instruc- 

 tions'.' This enables the, dealer to gel any 

 color of honey h(^ prefers for his market, wlietli- 

 er it be dark, medium, or of light color; also of 

 any grade. I see no good reason why any one 

 should worry about the color so long as'con- 

 ."umers can have their choice. 



GRADING HONEY. 



AND rHK.N MM. OHEEN CKITICISE,'^ HIS f UITICS. 



I hopi' the discussion of this subject may be 

 continued until w-e arrive at some sort of under- 

 standing as to what is desirable. If \vv can 

 agree on only a few essentials, I have faith that 

 we may yet be able to nnite on somi^ system, 

 even though it may not be entirely satisfactory 

 to all or to any. 



In the tir.st place, how many grades shall we, 

 have'.' I will readily admit that those systems 

 which keep color and general appearance or 

 condition distinct, such as those of Mr. Bal- 

 dridge, iMr. Frazier. or Mr. Mandelbauni. as 

 given in the Review, are more philosophical, 

 more systematically exact, than one in which 

 they are considered together. The trouble is. 

 they are too elahoiate and complex for actual 

 use. at least until the business of selling honey 

 has attained a higher development than it has 

 at present. Any system which divides honey of 

 good quality into more than four grades is un- 

 wieldy, and will break down in piactice. 



Some object to th(i establishment of a super- 

 tine grade of honey — a grade that shall be bet- 

 ter than the great bulk of nice honey. Ills 

 probable that there are some localities where it 

 would be impossible to produce the honey de- 

 manded for the "Extra select " grade. There 

 are many more bee-keepers who nev<'r can pro- 

 (Ince such honey until they improve their meth- 

 ods. iJut the fact r(>mains. that there are some 

 bee-keepers who can produce this (!xtra nice 

 honey, and some of them get an extra price for 

 it too. It is right that they should. It is pos- 

 sible, considering the small quantity of such 

 honey, that it would not be advisable to place 

 it on the general marked to be sold on commis- 

 sion: but such honey will be produced, and the 

 producer will receive his icward. 



As Mr. Elwood says, it is impossible to ex- 

 press on paper all the variations which must be 

 taken into account in grading honey. In writ- 

 ing out my system it was my intention rather 

 to describe a ty|)ical section of each grade than 

 to lay (low n unyielding i-ules. A section that 

 is particularly idee in s(»me respects may be 

 I)ermitted to be slightlv defective in others. 

 Thus I often place in the high(!st grade a sec- 

 tion having some ccdls unsealed. But they must 

 be of the line of cells touching the wood, and 

 must contain no honey. 



The ".V" grade contains, as a rule, only white 

 honey: but a slight discoloration of the bottom 

 of one side of a comb is not sufficient to throw 

 it out, provided it is up to the standard in other 

 respects. 



For a section to have the comb unattached at 

 the bottom is a .serious defect. This may not 



