(;i,i-:.\NiN(;s ix hick cn/rrRic. 



(.uli 



the exact truth. I shoiiM be doing a ver\' 

 j^roat injustice to York Slate hee-kecpers were 

 1 to paint the iielil in such nlowini^'^ colors that 

 it would ]>roduce anoth -r Kh>ndikc or Okhi- 

 lionia rush of bee-keepers. 



Well, I have .secured photojjrai)hs illustrat- 

 int;' ajiiaries and varii us new-fangled iileas ; 

 and in future issues of Cii,H.\NiNGS I propose 

 to give in detail soni.nhing of what I have out- 

 linetl above. 



F. D.\XZKNH.\KER. 

 We herewith present a half-tone portrait of 

 Mr. V. Danzenbaker, of Washington, D. C, 

 taken on his OOth birthday. Havitig never 

 used tobacco in any form, nor suffered a day's 

 illness since his eighth year, he is to-day as 

 active as most men of fortv. He inherits 



from his father and grandfather, who owned 

 300 colonies of bees in West Jersey, over 60 

 years ago, an all-absorbing interest in bees 

 and apicultural pursuits. He says every day 

 in the apiary is for him pleasant recreation, 

 ha\'ing combined bee-keeping and farming 

 until, in his 50th year, he is satisfied to be 

 known as a farmer bee-keeper. 



Having spent many years experimenting to 

 ascertain the best hives and methods for the 

 production of comb honey he has brought out 

 and patented some valuable improvements in 

 hives and appliances. After using the Dove- 

 tailed (or lock-cornered) hive eight years 

 himself, he brought a finished model to us 

 and gave us the first order for Dovetailed 

 hives made in our factory. Since then he has 

 brought to our attention the D. case, named 

 by IIS after him. 



The little book, entitled "Facts about 

 Bees." contains much very valuable informa- 

 tion in regard to a variety of operations in 

 •caring for bees, invaluable to a beginner, and 

 well worthy a careful reading by the veteran 



bee-keeper, even if he does not agree with Mr. 

 D. in regard to the best system for producing 

 comb honey. Indeed, it contains as nuich 

 anil as valuable matter as some bocjks on bees 

 we have seen published and .sold for 2.") and .")0 

 cts.; yet this will be sent you for .simply a 2-ct. 

 stamp to ])ay postage. 



Mr. Danzenbaker, who has been spending a 

 few days in Medina since the Buffalo conven- 

 tion, would like very much to hear from all 

 those who have tried his hive the past season. 

 Write him at Wa.shington, D. C, offering sug- 

 gestions or criticisn)s as you may have any to 

 offer, telling him how you have succeeded 

 with the hives. 



GR.A.DING HONEY. 



It is really amusing to .see the way different 

 people interpret the same grading-rules. In 

 order to secure uniformit}' of grade so far as 

 possible, we have printed on a slip a copy of 

 the grading-rules suggested on p. otiB, Aug" 1 st 

 GLH.A.XINGS, together with instructions for 

 packing honey for .shipment, one of which we 

 send to each party to whom we make an offer 

 for comb honey. The sample shipments 

 which have come in, each graded (or repre- 

 sented to be graded) b}' those rules, are a 

 study. The A No. 1 grade from one man will 

 show up better than the fancy from another, 

 and yet I have no doubt that both endeavored 

 to grade to tlie rules to the best of their abili- 

 ty. It seems to be next to impossible to make 

 a set of grading-rules that shall be sufficient- 

 ly simple, and at the .same time explicit enough 

 to be so correctly understood that a mixed lot 

 of honey would be graded practically the same 

 by every bee-keeper who should undertake it. 

 We feel as if we were no better off than we 

 were without any rules at all, except, perhaps, 

 that the honey is subdivided into classes, 

 where before, many times, we received it all 

 mixed together. 



There is a great deal for bee-keepers to learn 

 along the line of putting up their honey in the 

 best possible shape for market. Those who 

 are the most careful about grading are, as a 

 rule, the most careful in their methods of pro- 

 ducing honey ; what they secure is all of a 

 better average grade than'that of their neigh- 

 bor who is more careless and slipshod in his 

 management. We have decided that, in order 

 to know what grade we are buying, we irmst 

 see the honey, or a sample crate of it, before 

 we can be safe in filling orders by making 

 direct shipments from the producer to the cus'- 

 tomer. There is just as much difference be- 

 tween customers as between producers in the 

 matter of grading. As evidence, here is a 

 case. A Michigan bee-keeper from whom we 

 have bought honey several years sent a crate 

 of honey to a customer in Illinois. On receiv- 

 ing it, he wrote as follows : 



The honey you shipped came here in splendid con- 

 dition ; and" to .say I was plea.sed with it would be put- 

 ting it mildly. In fact, I never saw prettier honej-. 

 When I need some more I'll know where to send for 

 it. Fred H.a.ssm.an. 



East Alton, 111., Aug. 18. 



The same producer sent another shipment to 

 another customer, and he was very much dis- 

 satisfied. ' J. T. C. 



