October, 1909. 



American Hw Journal 



oiifhern 



Conducted by LOUIS H. SCHOLL, New Braunfels, Tex. 



The Production of "Bulk," "Chunk," 

 or "Canned" Comb Honey 



No. 1. — Introductory. 



The more the writer has watched the 

 honey markets of both the South and 

 the North, and compared the prices of 

 both, the more I have been convinced 

 that the Southern bee-keeper who pro- 

 duces what is known as bulk comb, 

 " chunk " honey, has the better end of 

 the argument when it comes right down 

 to the most-doUars-and-cents stand- 

 point of comb-honey production. Even 

 though it be granted that we are far 

 behind here in the South, it is coming 

 to be a well-known fact that there is 

 more money in following a method 

 that some of the Northern bee-men 

 have called "going back to 30 years 

 ago" of producing comb honey; and 

 this method does not only apply to 

 Southern bee-culture, but would make 

 bee-keeping everywhere worth millions 

 of dollars more if it were adopted uni- 

 versally. It is a most sensible way of 

 producing comb honey, although the 

 most of the fraternity have looked 

 down upon such slovenly, old-fash- 

 ioned methods. 



I well remember when this subject 

 was first mentioned, we were laughed 

 at and ridiculed. Even many of the 

 Texas bee-keepers ridiculed the idea, 

 while they kept on producing section 

 honey. Some of these who saw me 

 during the first two or three years, 

 packing comb honey in this way, 

 scoffed at the idea, and predicted that 

 we would soon abandon it and get back 

 to where we belonged. Did we? No, 

 emphatically, >io.' Instead, all the other 

 fellows came over to where t/iey be- 

 longed ; they, one by one, began to 

 produce comb honey in a more sensi- 

 ble, more certain, and more profitable 

 way. The result is, that today there is 

 no other way in Te.xas. The sections 

 of honey produced in our State can be 

 counted, and these are produced by a 

 very feiL\ the most of whom are often 

 beginners who are not yet informed, 

 or who have been led astray by supply- 

 dealers' catalogs, which give pre-emi- 

 nence to the hive with the pretty sec- 

 tions. Pretty things they are, but let 

 me tell you (but you would not believe 

 it), that the production of section honey 

 has cost our great United States mil- 

 lions upon millions of dollars in icas/e- 

 fulness. 



Just figure for a moment the enor- 

 mous amount of basswood required 

 alone to supply only the sections and 

 shipping-cases, with glass thrown in. 

 Then figure the labor that is wasted on 

 every pound of honey thus produced, 

 from the making of these sections and 



cases until tliey have served their pur- 

 pose only to be thrown away — wasted. 

 Study a little the expensiveness of the 

 wliole thing — waste again. Nor is this 

 all the waste, for we must add to this 

 the great — yea, the enormous — loss of 

 honey that is not obtained, because the 

 bee-keeper insists on forcing his bees 

 to produce honey in sections. There 

 is a great loss in this respect, which 

 none can deny. Careful experiments 

 will bear tliis out. In this we must 

 also include the loss of time and extra 

 labor with swarms (as this exists to a 

 greater extent if section honey is pro- 

 duced), and the lesser amount of mark- 

 etable product. Here again S good 

 deal of waste is met with if many un- 

 finished sections result, no matter what 

 method be pursued in disposing of 

 them. Scraping each individual sec- 

 tion, assorting and grading them, and 

 then the necessary care that must be 

 exercised in casing them, are other 

 time-wasters. 



A further waste is that of extra 

 crates necessary for shipping, and the 

 extra amount of care and packing. Nor 

 is this all, for the freight-rates are con- 

 siderably higher, "double first-class 

 rates " over fourth-class rates at which 

 bulk comb honey is shipped. To this 

 must be added the greater danger of 

 smash-ups and losses in transportation, 

 which, here in the South, on account 

 of the long distances and the greater 

 heat, was the real reason why honey- 

 producers were forced to turn away 

 from section honey in disgust. 



Taking all these things into the most 

 earnest consideration there is waste, 

 waste, in my estimation at every turn 

 in section-honey production. There- 

 fore, was I to be blamed for adopting 

 methods of producing comb honey that 

 to many seemed like going back to 30 

 years ago when "chunk" honey was 

 the thing? No. That time has passed 

 now. and " chunk " honey, as it is often 

 called, or hulk comb honey as we know 

 it, will become known more and more, 

 and its production will advance and 

 spread until we shall see it in all parts 

 of the world. That a beginning has 

 already been made in this respect is 

 evidenced by occasional items that ap- 

 pear in print in the journals of the last 

 few years, showing that there are scat- 

 tered, here and there, bee-keepers who 

 produce it on a small scale, even in 

 some of the Northern States. 



Besides this, the scores of letters rela- 

 tive to this subject that I have received 

 from all parts of the country, show that 

 a great interest has already been taken 

 in the matter, and that bulk-comb- 

 honey production will be adopted by a 

 large number of bee-keepers. These 

 letters pertain to information regarding 



one phase or another of the hives, 

 frames, etc., used, and the method of 

 production, manner of packing, and the 

 kinds of packages used. 



Another proof of this fact is that one 

 of our foremost bee-supply manufactur- 

 ing firms has advertised to contract for 

 a large amount of choice comb honey 

 in shallow frames, expecting to use it 

 year after year. And right in line with 

 this article they say in the same adver- 

 tisement, "When you are once supplied 

 with the proper equipment you are at 

 no further expense for supplies each 

 year except for foundation. You save 

 the cost of sections and shipping-cases 

 if you produce comb honey," etc. 



Just opposite this advertisement we 

 find the following head-line, " SEC- 

 TION FAMINE." Under this, after 

 referring to orders for sections, etc., 

 we read : 



"We seem unable to turn these out fast 

 enough to supply the demand. We make 

 upward of 100. oou a day. Our surplus stock 

 is exhausted not only here at the factory, but 

 to a great extent with our branch offices and 

 dealers, and it is impossible to supply them 

 all at once. We are arranging to increase 

 our output, if possible, by a double shift of 

 men to run the machines." etc. 



This is to show the enormity of the 

 number of sections used up annually ; 

 yet this is not the only factory that 

 grinds them out by the millions, year 

 after year. Is it any wonder that sev- 

 eral times there have been mentioned 

 a fear that the supply of basswood tim- 

 ber for sections and shipping-cases 

 might soon be exhausted? And will 

 the honey-producers keep right on 

 along the same lines of producing sec- 

 tion honey until that time comes, of 

 will they change to some other more 

 profitable way? This is an important 

 question that will be considered more 

 seriously sooner or later. Having an- 

 ticipated this, and knowing that the 

 production of bulk comb honey, as it is 

 practiced here in Texas, has something 

 to commend it to all of the rest of the 

 country, because it would be more 

 profitable all around, as there would be 

 more honey produced and more people 

 would get a taste of it, I have prom- 

 ised to write a series of illustrated arti- 

 cles on this subject to follow this in- 

 troductory. I believe that there is a 

 great future for honey produced in our 

 way, and that there are more real dol- 

 lars and cents to be made out of it than 

 by the way most of the comb honey is 

 now produced. L. H. S. 



Some Characteristics of the Season 



As I grow older I find I do much less 

 actual work in the apiary than 1 form- 

 erly did. From long years of experi- 

 ence I have learned to diagnose from 

 outside appearances, which saves many 

 unnecessary manipulations. 



The mesquite — our surest honey- 

 plant of a very dry year, such as we 

 are having the present year — has been 

 a flat failure this year. This was owing 

 to the worms destroying the buds as 

 fast as they formed on the trees. This 

 is a new pest for the bee-keepers, 

 caused, no doubt, from the great de- 

 struction of the little birds that is con- 

 tinually going on here in the South. 

 The cotton-bloom and sumac are our 

 last hope for honey in this locality for 



