JliiNK, I'.MI 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



429 



have now recommended that tin-ean makers 

 sui3ply tin cans only to packers of perish- 

 able food. The tin-can makers of the coun- 

 try have all (so far as we can learn) now 

 agreed to follow this recommendation. 

 Honey is not ruled a perishable food. Ac- 

 cordingly, no more tin cans can be furnished 

 shippers or packers of honey until such 

 time as all packers of pei'ishable food prod- 

 ucts have been furnished a full supply of 

 cans. That time will not likely be before 

 the next fall season (possibly August). It 

 may be interesting to know that two months 

 before this radical action by the National 

 Committee on the Conservation of Tin- 

 ])late was taken, four of the largest tin-can 

 manufacturers in the country, in reply to 

 inquiries of The A. I. Root Company as to 

 supplying tin cans, wrote that they had 

 booked so many orders in advance that they 

 were unable to quote any price or promise 

 any supply. 



That, then, is the tin-ean situation today 

 (May 20), and it is not likely to change 

 materially for some time — at least not be- 

 fore the honey crop is harvested. 



There are now, pi-obably, some small 

 stocks of honey-cans in the hands of dealers. 

 Honey producers should first, then, make 

 inquirj^ of their dealers for tin cans. 

 But it is a certainty that these stocks are 

 very small. The best advice to be given 

 extracted-honey producers who must ship 

 their product in bulk is to secure barrels for 

 this purpose — and begin securing them at 

 once. This advice is not only ours but is 

 suggested by the Agricultural Dei^artment 

 at Washington. A good barrel, such as has 

 been used for containing alcohol or whisky, 

 sterilized, dried and then paralhned, will 

 serve. New barrels of best quality may also 

 be used, but the price will be higher than 

 those bought second-hand. Another sub- 

 stitute for tin cans that may be used by pro- 

 ducers of alfalfa and sweet-clover honey in 

 the West (such honey as granulates quick- 

 ly) is the " Aikin bag," a waxed-paper 

 product. The Aikin bag heretofore made 

 has been for packages of one to ten pounds. 

 A serious effort is now being made to 

 manufacture successfully a much larger 

 " Aikin bag," the uncertain result of wliieh 

 effort we will publish later. 



What is the glass-container situatioli"? 



As we write, there lie before us letters 

 from several of the largest glass-manufac- 

 turers of the country. The substance of 

 these letters is that the manufacturers are 

 months behind their orders, and have prac- 

 tically withdrawn from the market. 



To learn exactly the possible supply of 

 glass containers for hone}" - producers, 

 Gleanings (thru The A. I. Root C'o.) on 



May 18 telegraphed five of the leading man- 

 ufacturers of packer glass as follows: " In 

 next issue of our bee magazine. Gleanings 

 IN Bee Culture, we desire to give authori- 

 tative information regarding glass honey- 

 containers. Can you entertain quantity or- 

 ders for summer delivery of honey tumblei s 

 and jars, and how will prices compare wi.li 

 one year ago? Wire reply." 



Here are the replies received : 



" We are sold out until November or 

 December. Not offering any prices now." 



" Capacity sold. Can not sujDply." 



" We are sold up to July 1. We can 

 not quote at this time for deliveries beyond, 

 as costs too uncertain. Do not make tum- 

 blers at all." 



The other two manufacturers were per- 

 haps too busy to reply, or were even indig- 

 nant to think that anybody should wire 

 them about furnishing glass in quantities 

 at this time. 



These telegrams prove the existence of a 

 glass-container famine, with no i^rosjDect of 

 immediate relief. 



Dr. Burton N. Gates, of Massachusetts, 

 appointed by the conference of representa- 

 tive apiarists which met at Washington 

 April 23 and 24 as a committee of one to 

 ascertain the available sujDply of honey- 

 containers, closes a discouraging report of 

 an investigation made by him as to the 

 status of glass-manufacturing, with this in- 

 junction : " It is respectfully urged that 

 some means be provided to enable the small 

 glass-user to know where and how to pro- 

 cure his containers." 



Today, to answer practically and specifi- 

 cally " where and how to procure honey- 

 containers," is impossible for even the larg- 

 est and most experienced bottler of honey 

 to do. As things stand, the hope of secur- 

 ing anything like a sufficiency of glass con- 

 tainers may be dismissed as being out of 

 question. We know that The A. I. Root 

 Company's bottling for the Airli'^e honey is 

 almost completely crippled for the want of 

 glass containers; and altho they have had 

 long and satisfactory connection with sev- 

 eral of the largest packer-glass manufactur- 

 ers in the country, they are today entirely 

 out of containers for several of their largest 

 lines and do not know how nor where to 

 supi^ly the want. The case is the same with 

 other large bottlers. 



To answer " where and how to procure 

 containers," we can today only tell our read- 

 ers of how The A. I. Root Company is 

 energetically .seeking to solve the problem. 

 This is by the use of a fiber container, 

 which is a treated paper product. The 

 company has conditionallv i^urchased one 

 million six-ounee fiber containers to supply 



