1897 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



45 



for the bees from that source where such fields 

 exist. Here and there will be fields grown for 

 seeds. For a seed crop they prefer a field not 

 too thickly set and not too wet. The scattering 

 plants grow great spreading bushes, as it were, 

 a single plant often occupying a circle of three 

 feet in diameter when not crowded by others. 

 These seed fields will be in bloom from one to 

 two months, like the sweet clover, having both 

 bloom and ripe seed at the same time, though 

 not so much so as the sweet clover. 



Now observe the foregoing conditions, and you 

 will see that the simple presence of alfalfa is 

 no guarantee of pasturage. There is always 

 some in fence-corners, on roadsides, ditch- 

 banks, and other out-of-the-way places that 

 matures \)\oom; but aside from this it depends 

 upon the use made of the crop, and whether 

 the farmer is "up with his work " and cuts 

 promptly, what amount of pasturage the bee- 

 keeper gets. 80 far as I know, the conditions 

 here described are in the main true of alfalfa 

 districts in general, though there may be some 

 conditions that change the details somewhat. 

 The Arkansas Valley is nearly 300 miles further 

 south than Lovelaud. and has a season almost 

 if not quite a month longer. There is also quite 

 a difference in the soil and water supply. 

 Much more seed is also grown there than in my 

 own territory, hence it is at present a better 

 field for honey than my own. Water supply, 

 soil, demand, whether for seed or hay, etc., de- 

 termine whether seed or hay be grown, and 

 these bear upon the pasturage question. 



OTIK GRADING-RTJLES CRITICISED AGAIN. 



FOOLISH FADS IN GRADING; SHIPPING C^SES, 

 AND SNOW-WHITE SECTIONS. 



By B. J. Thompson. 



In Gleanings for Oct. 15, pages 758-9, you 

 have a short article on B. Walker's opinion of 

 the rules of grading honey, and call for an 

 expression of the opinion of your readers. 



I heartily agree with Mr. Walker in his 

 opinion as stated in that article, that " all of 

 the grades are too strict over unimportant de- 

 tails." In Gleanings, Dec. 1, page 864, the ed- 

 itor speaks of the snow-white dress for sections 

 and shipping-cases as a " foolish fad, and the 

 sooner it dies out the better." Now, it seems 

 to me if the demand for snow white sections is 

 a foolish fad, then a set of grading-rules which 

 demand that "both the wood and comb shall 

 be unsoiled by travel stain or otherwise" is a 

 "fad" and a very foolish one at that, and 

 especially so when it is next to impossible to 

 obtain honey that will fill the requirements of 

 those rules. 



In all the years of my bee-keeping I can not 

 remember of having any honey that would ex- 

 actly fill the present rule for " fancy," and very 



little No. 1; and yet every dealer who has ever 

 handled my honey has given me credit for hav- 

 ing as fine lots of honey as he ever handled. (I 

 do not write the above to boast, but to show 

 why I think the present rules of grading too 

 strict and unjust.) If a person can secure a 

 crop of " snow-white " honey, all right; but to 

 make a grade of that kind when such crops are 

 the exception instead of the rule is not just to 

 the large majority of bee-keepers. 



White honeys are not all of the same degree 

 of whiteness, if such an expression is allowable; 

 and some seasons the honey can be secured in 

 whiter, nicer shape than others. Both of those 

 factors should enter into the consideration of a 

 set of grading-rules, to be just to all in all parts 

 of the United States. 



If sections that are not snow-white are just 

 as good as the snow-white (and I can not see 

 any reason why they are not), what possible 

 harm can there be in having travel or propoiis 

 stains on the wood, provided they are properly 

 cleaned ? Furthermore, I can see no detriment 

 to the comb being slightly discolored even for 

 fancy grade. The fancy grade calls for " All 

 sections to be well-filled; combs straight, of 

 even thickness." When a section is " well filled, 

 comb straight," I can not see of what use the 

 condition " of an even thickness " is, unless it is 

 a point in favor of those who use separators. (I 

 use 7-to-foot sections without separators.) If a 

 comb is straight, and sections well filled, the 

 condition of " an even thickness " is unneces- 

 sary, and only gives the purchaser a chance to 

 be more particular, or find fault if he chooses. 



Let us have a careful revision of the grading- 

 rules, and let them be such that they will be a 

 good practical guide to honey-producers. Give 

 us something practical, and that we can use, 

 even if some points have to be left to the de- 

 cision of honey -producers in various parts of 

 our country. The practical bee-keeper's good 

 common sense will not let him go very far astray. 



Waverly, Wis., Dec. 7. 



[I believe all that you and friend Walker say 

 is true. Acknowledging, then, that our present 

 rules are faulty, what we need to do is to set 

 them right. I wrote to friend Walker, asking 

 him to submit to us another draft of the same 

 rules, with all the objectionable features elimi- 

 nated; but he was so crowded with work that 

 he could not get to it. I therefore call upon 

 you, friend T., to take them and redraft them. 

 You have both the experience and ability to do 

 it. 



The scheme of our present rules is excellent, 

 and all we need to do is to lop ofl" some of the 

 impracticable or impossible requirements. A 

 slight change in the wording here and there 

 will be all that is necessary, in my judgment. 

 I said the scheme of the present rules is all 

 righ^-that is, having several grades, such as 

 "Fancy," Nos. 1. 3, etc., and then designating 

 thp source by " White," "Amber," " Dark," etc. 

 Our commission men and bee-keepers have 

 become used to the present rules, and, so far as 

 possible, we should retain these features.— Ed.] 



