74 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Feb 3, 



bee-keepers on their good fortune, and only wish that our two 

 dear babies, that came to us within ths past three years, 

 could also have remained with us. But as they were both 

 taken we can only rejoice with others who are more fortunate, 

 for we have been assured that they with many others sor- 

 rowed with us in our losses. 



Report of the Northwestera Bee-Keepers' Coo- 



ventiou, Held in Chicago, Nov. 10 and 



II, 1897. 



REPORTED BY A SPECIAL BEE JOURNALOREPORTER. 



(Continued from page 58.) 

 FIRST DAY— Evening Session. 



DRAWN CO.MB. 



" What is drawn comb ?" 



Pres. Miller — Any comb made by the bees is drawn comb. 

 That is all there is of it. I don't know why it should have 

 that attacht to it, and yet of late it has been used quite often. 

 If you have comb made by the bees, it is drawn comb. If any 

 have any amendment to the deflnition I would like to have it. 

 Drawn comb and drawn foundation are two different things. 

 If no one has an amendment, we will pass to the next queetion. 



PACKAGES FOR RETAILING EXTRACTED HONEY. 



" Which is the best and cheapest package of 10 pounds 

 for extracted honey?" 



Dr. Besse — A 10-pound pail. 



Pres. Miller — Has any one any other package to suggest 

 than a tin package ? 



Mr. Schaper — I have purchast 100 wide-mouth stone- 

 jars, also crocks ; their cost is about eight cents apiece by 

 the hundred. 



Pres. Miller — What will be the cost of the tin ones? 



Mr. Baxter — Ten cents a piece, they cost me. I sell the 

 whole thing, and if they are returned all right; if they empty 

 it out I take so much off. I sell it at 15 cents a pound on the 

 market right along. This year I didn't extract any. 



Pres. Miller— Mr. Schaper has the advantage in the mat- 

 ter of price if his package is as satisfactory as otherwise. The 

 question probably would come in as to whether the stone 

 package would be considered as desirable to the customer for 

 use afterwards; that is a thing we must always consider. 



Mr. Rohrs — I have bought this year different sizes of 

 tin pails; some were five pounds, others seven, others about 

 14 and 14}^, and if I remember correctly they cost me, on an 

 average, about 6M and 7 cents. They have only a plain 

 cover, and as I ship my honey to friends who distribute them 

 among their friends, I like these little packages; they were 

 packt In a box and the board was nailed pretty close, some 

 tight, some not. Some. boxes arrived at their place of desti- 

 nation dry and clean, and some of them with nearly all the 

 contents gone, and so I ask. Will that lid close tight enough 

 to prevent leakage ? I want a pail where I can takeoff the 

 cover, because if I show the honey to a customer, I want him 

 to see the stuff I want to sell him, but if I have a tin screw on 

 top, about an inch and a half in diameter, they cannot 

 look into the pail, and I cannot show them what is in there. I 

 should prefer this common pail that I can take off the cover, 

 but want a lid that will close tight, so that in shipping if it is 

 turned upside down no honey will leak out. I see that Mr. 

 Dadant says it he seals it with wax and rosin mixl, when it is 

 warm, it will not leak. 



Pres. Miller — Will Mr. Baxter tell us something about the 

 Dadant pail, the circular of which he has handed me ? 



Mr. Baxter — I consider that the best package for granu- 

 lated honey. For liquid honey I don't know of a good pack- 

 age on the market. You can turn it upside down or anyway 

 If granulated. For the home market this will do very well, 

 because you can take the lid off, but if you want it shipt 

 away it has to be made so it won't leak. The way I do, I take 

 a piece of wax and tallow and heat it, and invert the bucket 

 into the melted wax and take it out quick, and the wax will 

 adhere all around the rim of the bucket, and the lid will be 



tight. That is my method, but it is a great deal of work. I 

 know of no package that fits so tight but what the extracted 

 honey will leak out when it is inverted. There are some, I 

 know, but they are not desirable because, first of all, they are 

 very costly, and the shape and so on are not what we want. 



Mr. Wheeler — I know of two or three packages that fill 

 the bill very well for me. There is a can made with a 4-inch 

 screw cap, similar to the 60-pound can cap; they hold 12 

 pounds. It has a little wire handle on top about three inches 

 long. I don't know what that size costs, exactly, but I should 

 judge not over a shilling. 



Mr. Whitcomb — I doubt whether there is anything better 

 for the purpose than a half gallon screw-top can. 



BEST RETAIL PACKAGE FOR CITY TRADE. 



"What is the best retail package for city trade in ex- 

 tracted honey ?" 



Mr. Wheeler — In t;he screw-top can you have one that you 

 may ship anywhere and may liquify in, and also by removing 

 the top show the quality by turning a little honey out on a 

 piece of paper. Honey can be exhibited to customers better 

 that way than any other way. We sell our own honey to our 

 own customers, and usually put it up in that way, where or- 

 ders from a distance come in, but in the store we keep it in 

 60-pound cans, and always show the honey on a piece of white 

 paper. I think 10 and 11 cents would cover this 10 and 11 

 pound can ; they are very neat. The freight rate on them is 

 the same as on syrup, or nearly the same. It is almost im- 

 possible to put it in a bucket and seal it down so it won't leak; 

 if it is thrown down by freight men, that starts the cover at 

 once, and it leaks out, and you not only lose the honey, but it 

 makes your customer feel ugly, and he doesn't want any more 

 of it. I doubt if we can get anything in the world better for 

 all purposes than the screw-top can. 



Mr. Rohrs — It was suggested to me to put a little rubber 

 ring on top of the can, and then put the lid on, and that it 

 would prevent all leakage. Has any one experience with that ? 



Mr. Wheeler — That will answer all right until the bag- 

 gage smasher gets hold of it; the minute he turns that upside 

 down your honey will leak out. You cannot afford to do that. 

 I have had no complaint shipping these 10 pound pails to 

 Kansas and Missouri. J have had customers there for 12 

 years, and they would not have a bit of honey in screw-top 

 cans. I have tried it in both of my own markets and Fort 

 Madison. 



Mr. York — I would like to ask whether Mr. Baxter shipt 

 to private families or to deilers. 



Mr. Baxter — Both. 



Pres. Miller — Is your honey candied or liquid ? 



Mr. Baxter — I ship it just as soon as I get orders. 



Mr. Baldridge — For the retail family trade I don't want 

 anything better than common house-pail; a two quart pail 

 will hold five pounds net, with about % of an inch space above 

 it, and the families who buy the honey have the pail to use 

 afterward, and it is a useful article in every household. Those 

 pails can be bought by the gross for less than 5 cents each, 

 and it makes a cheap package ; but if you want to ship it, 

 that is a different question. When a family wants 10 pounds 

 I take them two pails, so as to have a uniform size package. 



Mr. York — I should judge from the question that it asks 

 about the retail trade. What package would you suggest for 

 city retail trade? 



Mr. Baldridge^For family use I don't see that you want 

 anything different than for retail. I should rather have it in 

 a 60-pound can and draw it as it is sold into any kind of^pack- 

 age desired. 



Pres. Miller — How many have had any experience with 

 extracted honey for the retail trade? [Seven members had.) 



Dr. Besse — Most of my shipping is at Columbus. I have 

 a pretty good trade there. I attend the State fairs, and put 

 the honey in lOpound pails, in boxes, just the right height, 

 and when the lid is down onto it, I mark it, " This side up 

 with care." I bored holes through the end of the box and 

 slip a rope through and tie the knot on the inside, [and two 

 men carry it and keep it right side up every time. That is 

 the way I carry it to the grocery. r'Zi dI3 I !! 



Mr. Wheeler — I have sold considerable honey to the retail 

 trade, but I don't know what is the best thing to be used. I 

 use a half-pint jar, open top, with rubber screw cap ; that 

 sells the best with me yet. 'Z^ I I 



Mr. Thompson — I find nothing better than a 5- pound pail 

 for the home trade. 



LContinued next week.l 



Every Present Subscriber of the Bee Journal 



should be an agent for it, and eet all others possible to sub- 

 scribe for it. See offers on page 71. 



