1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1305 



SELLING COMB HONEY BY THE PIECE OR 

 WEIGHT. 



Plain Sections and Fence Separators the Solu- 

 tion of the Problem. 



BY J. E. CRANE. 



The proverb has it, "No question is set- 

 tled till it is settled right," and so that 

 old bone of contention, selling honey by 

 the pound or by the section keeps bobbing 

 up ever and anon. Doubtless it has not 

 been settled right or it would keep still. 



I cannot help but admire Dr. Miller's 

 sterling honesty in the matter and desire to 

 find out and do the right thing. Have I not 

 been through it all over and over again; 

 and who that has put up tons of honey that 

 would run all the way from fourteen ounces 

 to eighteen ounces to the comb, and has 

 any sense of justice., has not felt uncomfort- 

 able at the thought that someone would 

 doubtless have to pay just the same for 

 the fourteen ounce comb that another would 

 for the eighteen ounce comb? I have some- 

 times said to myself when packing such 

 honey that I had done the best that I knew 

 how. If the bees put only so much in the 

 sections I did not see how it could be helped, 

 I was not responsible. If the grocer sold 

 by the comb he must be responsible. I had 

 put the honey up honestly and did not feel 

 responsible for how the grocer sold it, 

 whether by weight or by the piece. 



Again I have said to myself if I put all 

 the heavy weights in cases by themselves the 

 cases will run over weight or have more 

 pounds than combs, and this will not suit 

 the grocers ; and if I put all the light weight 

 sections that are fairly well filled and sealed 

 in cases by themselves it would make them 

 run too light, and so what could I do but 

 put them together? Even then my cases 

 would run from eighteen to twenty-one 

 pounds to the case of twenty sections. 



While I sympathize with Dr. Miller's view 

 of the subject 1 still feel, yes, know you 

 are right when you say "bee-keepers have 

 not catered enough to the demands of the 

 grocers." Still, I would not cater to the 

 grocer in just the way you mention, by 

 putting all the heavy weights in one case, 

 the medium weights in another, and the light 

 weights in still another, but rather by pro- 

 ducing combs so nearly alike that they can 

 all go together in the same case. Of course 

 there will be some light weights at the close 

 of the season that are not finished and 

 these should be sold by themselves. 



How to produce combs of even weight 

 or very nearly so is my object in writing 

 this paper, but before doing so let me show 

 you how nearly I have succeeded. Last 

 year I put up of my best grade of honey 

 some 400 cases and of these I was able to 

 mark about 370 cases (24 sections to the 

 case) 24 pounds net. while the remainder, 

 some 30 or 35 cases, were marked 23 pounds 

 net. 



This year we had three weeks of good 

 honey weather and then three weeks of very 

 poor weather and yet the combs run nearly 

 as heavy and even as last year. 



Perhaps I should say that if 24 sections 

 weigh 23 }i pounds, 24 pounds, or 24^ 

 pounds, I mark it 24 pounds. If they weigh 

 2234 pounds, 23 pounds, or 2t,% pounds, I 

 mark it 23 pounds, thus avoiding all frac- 

 tions. This suits the trade and as it is all 

 sold by the section it does no harm to any- 

 one. Now if I put 24 sections on the scales 

 and they weigh 23^^ pounds, I either re- 

 move a few of the heavier ones, and re- 

 place with lighter ones, or remove a few 

 of the lightest ones, and replace with some 

 of the heaviest ones I can find, and yet so 

 even in weight have my combs run that it 

 is often quite a task to select combs that 

 will change the weight even 14 pound. 



On page 11 19 of Gleanings you say, "But 

 take that same grocer a case of sections, 

 each of which will be almost exactly the 

 same weight, so that he can sell them by 

 the piece and see if he does not ask you to 

 bring him some more of your honey "in 

 the same way." Here Mr. Editor you 

 have hit the nail square on the head. I 

 cannot tell you how many letters we have 

 received this season saying ship us from 

 five to fifteen "more cases of honey the same 

 as the last." Alas ! our honey was all gone 

 weeks ago and still the demand keeps up 

 and we could sell tons more if we had it. 



Some years ago much was said in the 

 bee journals about developing the home mar- 

 kets, and I had a nice show case made, and 

 began, only to find that after I had a fair 

 trade worked up, that others would step in 

 and get the benefit of it ; and to save bother 

 and vexation I let them have it. Since I 

 have been able to produce honey of very 

 even weights and otherwise handsome this 

 trade has come back to me with little effort, 

 on my part, till I am now supplying every 

 grocer in the place so far as I know to the 

 exclusion of all other comb honey. Some 

 time ago I met a former resident of this 

 town who for many years has resided in 

 Chicago. He told me that he was in a store 

 in Chicago when looking up he saw a pile 

 of honey with my address on it. He said 

 to the grocer that the honey looked good 

 to him as he had lived many years in the 

 town from which it came and knew very 

 well the man who produced it. Upon this 

 the grocer told him that in Chicago they 

 received honey from every quarter of the 

 country, but of all the honey they received 

 the honey with those marks was put up 

 nicer and sold for a higher price than any 

 other. And so I might go on but I will 

 not weary you.* I am not giving these facts 

 to boast for I doubt if I take more pains 

 with my honey than thousands of other bee- 

 keepers, nor is my location any better, if 

 as good, as that of many others, nor yet do 

 I grade my honey with more care than others. 



