372 



tHE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



Jujie 16, 



sent the kind of honey the case contains. Each grade of 

 honey should be paokt separately. We expect the facers to 

 be as good as the case contains, but the difference should be 

 but slight. It Is a help to the commission-man to be able to 

 say, "This honey is honestly packt." 



In selling, we sell by the way the honey appears. The 

 buyer. If he finds the honey to run different from what the 

 face indicates, returns it to us — which he has a perfect right 

 to do — and we take it back and refund him his money. 



All honey put up for Fancy No. 1, or No. 2 White, should 

 run even in color, and all sections be equally well filled. For 

 lower grades it does not make so much difference. 



We do not want to handle any falsely packt, or adul- 

 terated, honey. Yours truly, 



St. Louis. Westcott Com. Co. 



To THE American Bee Journal : — 



Is there ever a time when It Is to the producer's interest 

 to face his cases of comb honey with fancy white and fill in 

 the center with dark grades ? To my sorrow I am well aware 

 that this is frequently done, but when a dealer receives such a 

 lot he certainly remembers that he wants no more honey from 

 that man. Suppose a dealer would attempt to establish a 

 trade with his customers on this plan, how long do you sup- 

 pose he would remain In business ? The writer has, time and 

 again, been obliged to recrate large shipments of honey, sort- 

 ing out the different grades and reweighiug each case so that 

 he could guarantee It to be all through alike. 



I knew of one lot of extracted honey where the cans were 

 filled nearly full of dark amber honey, which was allowed to 

 granulate, and then the cans were filled with white clover 

 honey and sold for white clover ! This was a ridiculous trick, 

 but not so awfully much worse than fancy white combs next 

 to the glass with inferior grades in the center. Fortunately 

 there are numbers of producers who do put up on the honest 

 plan, and when we know them we are not afraid to offer the 

 highest market price for their product. 



Indianapolis. Walter S. Poddek. 



George W. York &, Co. — 



Dear Sirs : — Your letter is just received. We note the 

 paragraph regarding the facing of comb honey. We cannot 

 agree with the author of said article. Some time ago we re- 

 ceived from a well known bee-man two large cakes of beeswax, 

 to be sold on commission. A few days after receiving the 

 wax we had an order from a bee-supply man for 100 pounds 

 of wax. In getting It ready for shipment we had to break 

 one of the cake? In order to pack properly in the box. Behold 

 our surprise when we found In the center of the cake a stone 

 weighing H pounds. We then broke open the other cake, 

 and found another stone about the same weight. This we 

 call dishonest, and we think facing cases of comb honey with 

 white, and filling the center with buckwheat or honey-dew Is 

 also dishonest. We think these are parallel cases — one is just 

 as honest as the other. And if we had a shioment of comb 

 honey put up In the manner described, we would sell it on Its 

 merits, and would no doubt be sold as dark honey. 



We have shippers, not only of honey but of other com- 

 modities, that we do not have to open a package in order to 

 sell It if their name is on the package. Why? Because they 

 are known as honest packers. 



We may not be any more honest than the average boney- 

 men, but we would not knowingly sell a case of honey to a 

 customer faced up with white honey, for white honey, when 

 we knew the Inside was all dark. And to say the least. It is 

 dishonest, and ought not to be encouraged. 



Yours truly, C. C. Clemons & Co. 



Kansas City. 



George W. York & Co. — 



Oentlcmcn : — In reference to your letter I would say, first, 

 I do not handle any honey on commission. I now produce my 

 own honey by controlling a large number of apiaries. I have 

 a large fancy trade, and sell more honey than all the other 

 dealers In this city put together. But your letter In question 

 is just what drove me out of handling honey on commission 

 from the producer. 



My trade is such that they trust what I say. I never show 

 samples of comb honey, but just sell it as Fancy, or No. 1, at 

 one cent difference in price. I had one party who had sent 

 me his crop to sell for several years. His crop was very 

 white, but not white clover. One year he had a flow from 

 some source of amber honey that lasted about four days, and 

 came right during the white flow. He said nothing about it, 

 but put four or five sections In the middle of about every third 

 crate of 24 sections. It was not quite so dark as buckwheat. 

 I sold several lots of it without opening it, and nearly lost 

 every customer who received it. It was a hard thing to ex- 



plain away, and was considered dishonest. I then sold it for 

 one cent less on this account ; but about two-thirds of the 

 trade who handle pure white comb honey have no use for 

 amber honey at any price. This has to be sold to another 

 class of trade; therefore, mixing comb honey will ruin any 

 fine trade. I stopt that year ,(1894), and have never handled 

 any honey on commission since. I now have control of the 

 packing of my honey, and know what it is. 



Yours truly, Wm. A. Sblser. 



Philadelphia. 



George W. York & Co. — 



Dear Sirs : — Regarding the discussion about facing honey 

 and stuffing the centers with Imperfect or lower grade of 

 honey — It seems too preposterous for argument that such Im- 

 position or fraud would or could be thought by any one as 

 hone.st, let alone good business policy, besides being very in- 

 jurious to the reputation and sale of all comb honey, no mat- 

 ter how well put up. 



If comb honey is even fairly decently packt as to quality 

 or grade, the buyer Is generally somewhat charitable in his 

 views, and expects that the honey on the outside of the cases 

 is somewhat better than the centers, as the proverbial barrel 

 of apples ; but when combs only poorly filled, and buckwheat 

 honey, or badly mixt honey. Is packt in the center of the 

 cases, showing a rank fraud, then the buyer becomes sus- 

 picious, and gets in the habit of wanting to look at the center 

 of any crate he may buy, which. If the rule, would require 

 much more closely grading than has been done before this. 



Regarding the sin being less because sent to be sold on 

 commission, we regret that there Is not a better feeling or 

 appreciation of the situation on the part of the producers 

 toward the commission merchant. While there are no doubt 

 careless commission merchants that do not make proper effort 

 In showing up, understanding and discriminating in quality, 

 etc., in selling honey, there are worthy commission mer- 

 chants, and they are a very "necessary article" in working 

 off honey to the best advantage. On the other hand, they are 

 quite often Imposed upon by bee-keepers selecting out all their 

 best honey, and sending them only the refuse, or what they 

 can't sell at home. 



A commission merchant is practically one and the same 

 as the consignor. It is much easier for the commission mer- 

 chant to sell " straight goods " than crooked, and much more 

 satisfactory all around. 



The commisson merchant's buyer is depending on him, 

 and if the honey "pans out" fraudulently packt, he has 

 either to take it back, sell over again at less price, or to make 

 an allowance, which usually is a severe one, and of course has 

 to be charged back to the consignor. 



From our experience and observation we would say to 

 bee-keepers, by all means grade your honey as evenly as pos- 

 sible, and If desirable to pack your cull houey, always pack It 

 by itself, as it then can be sold for what it is, and at much 

 better ratio of price than if mixt up with the whole crop, and 

 thereby lowering the grade of the straight honey more than 

 the entire value of the cull combs. Respectfully, 



Albany. H. R. Wright. 



George W. York & Co. — 



Dear Sirs : — We hardly think that the author of the para- 

 graph you call our attention to (as shown above) meant that 

 he would deceive through the commission merciiant, when he 

 would not. In dealing directly with a purchaser, but rather we 

 presume he reasoned the commission merchant will look into 

 the cases, or the parties purchasing will, and consequently be 

 governed according to the contents. Granting this to be the 

 fact, It would then be bad judgment on the part of owner or 

 shipper, as the price obtainable would be little above the value 

 placed on the poorest grade found in the package, the buyer 

 arguing that he had no means of ascertaining the true con- 

 tents without sorting, reboxing, etc. 



Then honey of different grades in the same package does 

 not suit the wants of one person In a hundred, especially is 

 this so In the larger centres; when white is wanted, dark and 

 amber grades will not suffice, or I'icc iwrsa. Our experience 

 (extending over a period of 21 years in this market) is that 

 honey graded so it is alike in each case or package, sells to 

 the best advantage, and has the much-sought-for desideratum 

 of giving the general satisfaction to all concerned. The ex- 

 posed sections should be just as good as any in the package, 

 and no better. 



We often do things (without Intent to deceive) in such a 

 way that it has the appearance of deception to others. For 

 instance, we have called attention to a shipment of honey 

 that had different grades In the package ; the shipper ex- 

 plained It by saying that he sent It just as It came off the 

 hives — white, mixt, partly filled, dark, etc. — and put the white 



