1124 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 1 



that had developed in four or five years in 

 bee-keeping. Of course, I asked him for the 

 privilege of publishing it, and finally made 

 arrangements whereby the complete process 

 was to appear in Gleanings. Possibly it 

 may not work with others as it has with Mr. 

 Alexander; but this one thing is sure: One 

 who has black brood will grasp at straws. 



OUR CAUCASIAN BEES AGAIN; THEIR GOOD 

 AND BAD TRAITS. 



I HAVE just asked our Mr. Mel Pritch- 

 ard, who has charge of cur bees, how our 

 imported Caucasians are doing, and how their 

 temper is, compared with that of other bees. 

 He says they are unquestionably the gentlest 

 bees he ever handled. He has mauled the 

 hives around in all sorts of shapes in cool 

 weather, and the bees paid no attention to it. 

 He can hardly make them show fight. 



But they are unsatisfatory in one or two 

 other respects. They do not know enough, 

 he says, to take syrup out of a common feed- 

 er in the hives when they are short of stores. 

 He has been trying to make them put the 

 syrup into combs. But it is the old case of 

 leading the horse to water that wouldn't 

 drink. 



Another thing, if the weather is a little 

 cool they will not venture out of the hive 

 until an hour or an hour and a half after the 

 other bees are out in the air. This may or 

 may not be a desirable trait in chilly weath- 

 er. At all events, Mr. Prilchard thinks the 

 bees are too good-natured to be gond for any 

 thing, and that this particular colony will 

 need a lot of nursing to bring it through win- 

 ter. On the other hand, the climate of the 

 Caucasus regions is about the same as that 

 of Italy or Florida. If the bees are able to 

 survive in Russia they might not live 

 through in our climate. Even if these bees 

 are not quite equal to Italians for honey- 

 gathering the fact that they are so very 

 gentle will make them much in demand 

 with a large number. 



MARKETING BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS. 



On the 20th of October we had a visit from 

 Mr. S. J. Griggs, of the Grigtis Bros., 

 Toledo, O., a concern that does a large busi- 

 ness in wholesaling and retailing honey as 

 well as the handling of supplies from that 

 point. While here 1 took occasion to inter- 

 view him about the honey business. As he 

 has had a large experience, what he has to 

 say ought to have considerable weight. 



" In the first place." said he. "bee-keep- 

 ers are beginning to learn the importance of 

 selling their honey before the holidays. Mr. 

 Selser, through the columns of Gleanings, 

 never said a truer thing than when he stat- 

 ed that there was little or no demand for 

 table honey after Jan. 1. You have done a 

 good thing for the bee-keeping fraternity in 

 preaching that doctrine, especially where you 

 urge bee-keepers to get their honey on the 

 market early. Our table-honey trade is prac- 

 tically nothing during January, February, 

 and March." 



HOW the TRADE IN COMB HONEY PUT UP 



'in cartons has been ruined. 



"Do you buy or sell very much honey in 

 cartons?" I asked. 



"We do not, "he replied, "and I will tell 

 you why. The carton trade has been almost 

 entirely ruined among the retail dealers, for 

 the simple reason that some bee keepers have 

 put up their very poorest comb honey in car- 

 tons. When I expostulated with some of 

 them they simply said, 'The trade wants 

 something cheap, and I give it to them in 

 cartons.' 'But don't you know,' I said, 

 'that you will kill your own trade quickly?' 

 No, they did not think so. But they did just 

 the same; and now when I talk about comb 

 honey in cartons to my grocer friends they 

 tell me they want no more of it." 



I suspect there is much truth in what Mr. 

 Griggs says. The original purpose of the 

 carton was to protect an extra fancy honey, 

 for there can be no question that cartoned 

 honey will ship better because the folds of 

 the pasteboard top and bottom make a very 

 serviceable and eff"ective kind of cushion; 

 and then the pasteboard, front and rear, 

 protects the delicate face of the honey it- 

 self. The carton has its legitimate use; but 

 when a bee-keeper, in order to get rid of his 

 undesirable honey in sections, puts it in car- 

 tons and then tries to palm it off on the 

 trade as No. 1, he is making a serious mis- 

 take. 



FRUIT A strong COMPETITOR OF HONEY. 



' 'Another thing, I have observed, ' ' he con- 

 tinued, "there is liable to be a lull in the 

 honey business when large quantities of 

 fruit are unloaded in the market. Many 

 who might purchase honey as a table deli- 

 cacy will take home fruit instead. When 

 the canning season is over, and cold weather 

 comes on, the honey trade begins to im- 

 prove; and that reminds me," he said, "that 

 the trade always starts up in cold weather, 

 and seems to be sluggish during warm 

 weather in the fall." 



"Can you explain why the temperature 

 has anything to do with it?" I asked. 



"No, I can not; but I have observed that 

 other honey-buyers and commission men 

 have remarked the same thing." 



In the quotations of the honey market in 

 our late issues one will see the statement 

 often made that warm weather is responsible 

 for light honey sales; but our Mr. Boyden, 

 who has a good deal to do with the honey, 

 business, doubts very much whether the 

 temperature has anything to do with the 

 matter. The sluggish condition of the mar- 

 ket he thinks must be due to some other 

 cause. 



''Do you sell much honey to the baker 

 trade?" 



" Yes, considerable. I disposed of quite a 

 lot of Cuban honey to the bakers, and they 

 all expre^sed themselves as being extremely 

 well satisfied with it. Cuban honey has 

 some qualities aboutit that make it especial- 

 ly adapted to the baker trade." 



