AUGUST 15, 1914 



617 



even greater. Let us suppose that the pro- 

 ducer receives 12yo cts, for each one-pound 

 section. If he is to make as much money as 

 he did last year (and the presumption is 

 that the law of supply and demand and 

 competition have made 121/2 cts. net on 

 whatever he sold for a living price), then he 

 must necessarily charge the producer 25 cts. 

 more per case for his honey. 



The net-weight law was designed to pro- 

 tect the consumer; and in a large way it 

 does; but when that consumer buys comb 

 honey by count in case lots he should or 

 ought to pay at least 25 cts. more, or, we 

 will say, one cent more per section. When 

 the cost of production is increased, the extra 

 cost is bound to come, sooner or later, upon 

 the consumer. So in this ease. 



The next question that arises is, " Will the 

 producer charge more for his comb honey V 

 In our judgment he is certainly entitled to 

 do so, especially this year, when there is 

 quite a marked shortage in the production 

 of clover honey, and a short or light crop of 

 clover has a strong tendency to advance the 

 price of honey, even if there has been a 

 good yield of Western alfalfa and Califor- 

 nia sage. 



COMB HONEY SOLD BY THE CASEFUL BY 

 WEIGHT INSTEAD OF BY COUNT. 



In the foregoing we have explained the 

 operation of the net-weight law when comb 

 honey is sold hy count, or so much a ship- 

 ping-ease, irrespective of the weight of th3 

 honey in the shipping-case itself except as 

 it is shown by the minimum net weight on 

 each individual section. The producer can 

 save himself loss when he marks the mini- 

 mum net weight on each section by selling 

 the whole easeful of sections by weight less 

 the weight of the wood around the sections 

 and the weight of the shipping-case. Let us 

 take a concrete example : 



The producer we will say has all his comb 

 honey in 1% by 41/4 square beeway sections. 

 He puts it all in three gTades ; and each sec- 

 tion according to its grade is marked not 

 less than so many ounces. If he sells his 

 honey by count, as already explained, he 

 will have to collect more from the dealer or 

 consumer in order to get as much as he did 

 last year. But this may not be practicable. 

 Here is what a large number of producers 

 are going to do — in fact, we may say the 

 majority, so far as we can ascertain : They 

 will mark the minimum net weight on each 

 section according to its grade, and then sell 

 each case of sections by weight less the tare 

 of sections and shipping-case. If the case 

 holds 24 combs the whole easeful will be 

 weighed ; ancUlfcien the tare, one ounce per 

 section, or 24 ounces plus the tai"e for the 



weight of the shipping-case, will be deduct- 

 ed from the gross weight, making a net 

 weight of — • pounds. If the dealer, we will 

 say, pays 15 cts. per lb. he will pay the 

 actual net weight of the whole case of honey 

 multiplied by 15. At that rate the producer 

 will get paid for every pound of honey he 

 produces. But it goes without saying, that, 

 because he loses 24 ounces per ease over 

 what he formerly received for the price of 

 his honey, he will charge the dealer or con- 

 sumer enough more to make up the differ- 

 ence. If he got 15 cts. per lb. last year for 

 equally good honey he will multiply ly^ lbs. 

 by 15 and add 23 cts. to the case of honey. 

 The dealer, of course, will charge that up to 

 the consumer, and then some. 



When he sells a easeful by count he loses 

 all the honey in the sections in excess of 

 I2V2 ounces, 11 ounces, or 10 ounces unless 

 he charges enough more to make up the 

 difference, and this may not be practicable 

 in all cases. 



The National Net = weiglit Law; a 



Notwithstanding the fact that we 

 tliought we had covered every possible con- 

 tingency concerning the operation of the 

 national net-weight law, questions are still 

 coming in. Many have asked this question : 



"Does the net-weight law apply to ship- 

 ments of honey that are sold locally or 

 within the States?" 



Any federal or national law is operative 

 only on interstate business, and in the Dis- 

 trict of Columbia, or any territory not yet 

 made into a State. As there is no territory 

 within the United States proper that has 

 not been made into a State, the law as we 

 understand it would extend to insular pos- 

 sessions such as Porto Rico, Guam, and the 

 Philippine and Hawaiian Islands. 



A small beekeeper may sell his honey at 

 a local grocery without any marking or 

 stamping; but if that grocer ships that hon- 

 ey out of the State, that small beekeeper 

 may be held liable to fine under the net- 

 weight law. Right here is where the shoe 

 pinches, as it practically means that the 

 national net-weight law applies even to local 

 shipments. Naturally enough, one does not 

 care to run up against Uncle Sam. For 

 that reason we advise every one to comply 

 with the law, even on local shipments. 



The next question that has been repeat- 

 edly asked is whether every individual sec- 

 tion in a case is to be marked, showing its 

 exact weight or minimum net weight, if the 

 net weight and tare on the outside of the 

 case are correctly shown. Yes, indeed, it 



