1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1339 



tioiis weigh approximately 2'Z lbs., our me- 

 iliiuu 2i lbs., and our heavy ones 2(5 lbs. to 

 the 24-seetion erate, ami ruu about like that 

 one year with auothei*. as mine do and have 

 done for years, that is what I call a '"one- 

 pound section,"' antl I believe everybody 

 else, unless he is o\'eri-uled by his own prej- 

 udice, would do the same. If Mr. Green "s 

 24 set'tious weigh only 19 lbs. they are too 

 small for one-pound sections, no matter 

 what their size may be. They should hold 

 one-third more. But I do not wish to say 

 that Mr. G. is making a mistake or is mis- 

 managing his business, but the contrary. If 

 his tratle calls for sections of that weight, it 

 is to his own interest to produce them, and 

 it would be perfectly legitimate and honor- 

 able to do so: but I don't believe Mr. G. 

 would expect a full pound price for them. 

 We must cater to the demands of the con- 

 suming public, be it 16, 13, or 8 oz. sections. 

 What I oppose, ami strongly so, is the idea 

 of selling 13 oz. of honey in the shape of a 

 three-quarter-tilled one-pound section under 

 the cover of deception, leading the purchaser 

 on in the belief that he is getting a pound of 

 honey. This is what I denounce as a genu- 

 ine fraud. 



Mr. Green asks: "Then why foster this 

 idea of a one-pound section" by such talk? 

 Logically we may not be using just exactly 

 the proper terms; but could Mr. G. tell us in 

 what better way we could describe 16, 13, 

 and 8 oz. sections'/ Besides, we are simply 

 following up an established old-time custom 

 which dates back to the days when honey 

 was actually retailed by weight in bulk. 

 People call at my wagon and inquire, "How 

 do you sell comb honey a pound?" I give 

 the price per section, and, if satisfactory 

 they will invariably say, "Well, give me one, 

 two, or more pounds," as the case may be, 

 and I hand out that many sections. Now, 

 should I call these people to account with a 

 long lecture, showing them the fallacy of 

 using improper terms, when there is no harm 

 done, and as long as we understand one 

 another perfectly well'.' I know what they 

 mean, and they know what I understand: 

 and you know it always pleases people to let 

 them have their own way. 



Mr. Green is ({uite right in presuming that 

 I had no experience with more than one size 

 of section. It always has been my aim to 

 produce a section that would give my cus- 

 tomers one pound of honey for a one-pound 

 price. The only experience with different 

 sizes I ever had was nearly thirtj^ years ago, 

 when the one-pound package had" begun to 

 be more generally called for, and we tried 

 to find out what size of section would come 

 the nearest, taking it one year with another, 

 to hold one pound of honey. After (|uite a 

 number of years' experimenting bac-k and 

 forth we found that in (nir case a 4J xoX If 

 section, Avith i-inch leeway, and usetl be- 

 tween solid wood separators would be the 

 looked-for "one-pound section." In later 

 years, since we have been a little more initi- 

 ated into some of the mysteries of bee-keep- 

 ing, I think we can do al)out as well with 



4X5 as we did formei'ly with 4jx5-inch sec- 

 tions. 



In the statement concerning his World's 

 Fair honey, Mr. Green gives us some very 

 good points for his own conviction, provid- 

 ing he will accept the argument and not 

 prove the old saying, " Convince a man 

 against his will, etc.," to be true. He says, 

 "Ten cases of honey, 34 sections to the case! 

 weighing exactly 19 lbs. net." This would 

 make H or ^^ over | 11). for each section. 

 Wouldn't this be close enough for all intents 

 and purposes to call them £-11). sections"/ 



But let us go one step further. If Mr. G. 

 competed for the gold medal with his honey, 

 it is very evident that he selected the very 

 choicest of perhaps several tons of honey. 

 The next grade, therefore, would naturally 

 be somewhat lighter, weighing probaljly in 

 the neighborhood of 18 lbs. to the crate, or 

 Jl per section. Would Mr. G. consent to 

 call these J-ll). sections? To be sure, his 

 next grade, if he has any, would be a little 

 below the average; but all would run i-lose 

 enough to 13 oz. so that w^e could call them 

 with all propriety a f-lb. section to distin- 

 guish them from other kinds. 



Since writing the foregoing I have taken 

 a few finished sections from some of my col- 

 onies. Taking particular notice of " their 

 weight, I estimated them to average a trifie 

 over 16 oz., and, to be a little more precise 

 about it, I placed the first 13 sections on the 

 scales. They tipped the beam at 12^ lbs. 

 All the rest were so near like them that no 

 difference could be noticed by the eye. 

 W'ould Mr. Green consider these entitled to 

 be called "pound-sections"? 



If we take into consideration that these 

 sections are of 4jXo-in. pattern we should 

 naturally expect that the regular 4x5 size, 

 which I shall probably adopt hereafter, will 

 crowd the one-pound mark still a little closer. 



LaSalle, N. Y. 



AVHITE AND SWEET CLOVER. 



Is there any Difference in the Color of the 

 Honey? 



[The two following letters will explain 

 themselves. — Ed . ] 



Mr. A. L. Amos: — I should like a little in- 

 formation on sweet clover. Your article on 

 page 884 inspired this letter. You speak as 

 though the yellow variety, if planted where 

 white clover is abundant, would interfere 

 with the white by the honej' Ijeing mixed. 

 Now, if the yellow did bloom at the same 

 time as the white, would the mixture inter- 

 fere in any sense with the .sale in any way 

 but by the fiavor? Is the color of yellow- 

 sweet-clover honej' any different from the 

 white? We have worlds of the white; but 

 this, with other seasons, is not a white-clover 

 year — not a bee working on it. I propose to 

 plant a quantity of either the white or the 

 yellow sweet: and if the flavor of the yellow 

 is the only (objection to it, then I will plant 

 both and have a continuous yield. I should 



