296 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



May 15 



General Correspondence 



BETTER PACKING-CASES. 



Why We Can Afford to Pay More for a Case that 



will Insure the Safe Arrival of Comb Honey; 



Paper Cases Not Affected by Water. 



BY J. E. CRANE. 



You say, Mr. Editor, on paee 122, that at 

 both the Cincinnati and Indianapolis con- 

 ventions you emphasized the importance of 

 larger and stronger shipping-cases — larger, 

 to admit the use of corrugated-paper parti- 

 tions, and stronger, to stand the rough us- 

 age they very often receive. Quite right 

 you were, as such cases will prove a great 

 improvement over many now in use; and 

 while, to my mind, not the best, they will 

 serve a most excellent purpose, and make 

 an easy resting-place in the transition from 

 a wooden to a complete paper case; for, if 

 the truth must be told, it is an awful come- 

 down to think of giving up those beautiful 

 sandpapered white-basswood shipping-cases, 

 with sliding covers, glass fronts, and all 

 that, for a tan-colored paper box tied up 

 with a string. I know, for I have had some 

 experience right along these lines. Five 

 years ago I sent quantities of honey to mar- 

 ket in just such cases as you are now rec- 

 ommending; but. as I said, they are'^a great 

 improvement over many of the cases sent 

 out during the last few years. I think the 

 improvements you suggest, are, perhaps, 

 about as much as bee-keepers as a whole 

 will at present stand for; but when once the 

 bee-keeping fraternity get aroused to the 

 importance of this subject they will want 

 something more satisfactory than even a 

 wood and paper case. 



I was much interested in Mr. Weber's 

 statement, that paper cases had proved very 

 satisfactory except that, when they get wet, 

 they are likely to go to pieces, as they will 

 not stand rain or wet. I used to worry about 

 what might happen if paper cases should 

 get wet; but T am not lying awake nights 

 any more thinking about what might hap- 

 pen, for we have for the last two or three 

 years had them made of water-proofed paper 

 that will turn water like the back of a goose. 

 Indeed, I have poured water on to such pa- 

 per and let it stand for an hour, without its 

 doing any serious harm; but it is better to 

 keep both wooden and paper cases from get- 

 ting wet; for, if they do, they seem to ab- 

 sorb dust like a sponge, and reach their des- 

 tination in a most unattractive condition. 



You speak of the extra cost of five cents 

 per case. That means $5.00 per 100, or $50.00 

 per 1000, and will look pretty large to some 

 bee-keepers; but isn't the honey worth one 

 fourth of a cent a pound more if put up in 

 such cases? A dealer in Boston told me a 

 few weeks ago that, where they sent out a 



wooden case, they crated it in hay, and then 

 charged ten cents for such packing. This 

 is not a quarter cent, but half a cent a 

 pound extra. One dealer told us some time 

 ago he would rather pay two cents a pound, 

 and get it unbroken, than to run the risk of i 

 breakage as usually shipped. \ 



We have been in the habit of charging 

 five cents extra for honey packed in paper 

 cases where the risk of breakage was reduced 

 to a minimum, and dealers have been will- 

 ing to pay it, too, without a whimper. I do 

 not think it requires any prophetic wisdom 

 to see that honey put up so as to reach the 

 retail merchant without breakage will, after 

 a little, bring from one-half to one cent more 

 per pound tban in less carefully packed 

 cases. If a retail merchant finds only one 

 comb broken in a case of twenty sections it 

 is likely to reduce his profits half a cent a 

 pound on the whole case. _ 



There is another matter you might have ■ 

 mentioned in this connection to advantage; ^ 

 and that is, that better packing of honey 

 will increaee the sale and demand for it — I 

 am not sure but as much as the campaign 

 of advertising, so much talked about of late. 

 A large per cent of goods is sold these days 

 by agents, or drummers. It is comparative- 

 ly easy for the drummer of a large wholesale 

 grocery house to sell one or more cases of 

 honey with a large bill of other groceries; 

 but when the honey is received in a broken 

 condition he is up against a good deal of a 

 proposition when he tries to sell another 

 case to the same dea'er. A friend was tell- 

 ing me recently of being in a store in the 

 east part of this State, some time ago. He 

 saw a case of honey, and was looking it over 

 when the proprietor observed, "You see, I 

 have a case of honey." 



"I was noticing it," said my friend. 

 "Well, you see the condition it is in." 

 "Yes, I see." 



"Well," said the proprietor, "we could 

 sell a largeamountof honey if we could only 

 get it in good condition; but it is no use." 



Now, defective packing is not alone the 

 fault of bee-keepers. It appears to be a na- 

 tional fault or disgrace, or both. Our con- 

 sular reports are constantly talking of the 

 necessity of better packing, and yet the 

 shiftless ways continue. Only the other 

 day I picked up the New England Grocer, 

 and noted what it had to say along this line, 

 which is somewhat humiliating. "The 

 Germans and English, especially the Ger- 

 mans, lead us in trade in South America, 

 where we should have it all, or nearly all. 

 The people of those countries, especially in 

 South America and the countries of Africa, 

 admit that American goods and American 

 manufactures are superior, but they can not 

 buy them, many times, when they would 

 like to, because the Americans will not pack 

 their goods as the customs of the countries 

 demand, and to suit the different conditions 

 of transportation. Americans are not care- 

 ful in packing their goods. They do not re- 

 gard the conditions of shipment and the 

 conditions of transportation in foreign 



