1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



193 



Taking^ the fitrures I have g"iven, there is, 

 iu packing' 20,160 lbs. of honey, a diiiler- 

 ence in favor of the paper packag^e of S455. 

 Any wa3' 3'ou Ciin possibly fix it, there is 

 bound to be more freig^ht to pay on the g'lass 

 package after tilled, and as it goes to the 

 consumer, and more damage b}' breakage 

 and leaking. I know the claim that the 

 glass jar is worth its cost to the consumer, 

 but that is not true. A little thought will 

 show anj' fair-minded critic that the great 

 mass of consumers, either in high or low 

 station, have no use for the glass. Espe- 

 cially isthistrueof the laboring classes, and 

 that is the class who will consume the 

 larger quantity bj' all odds when the prod- 

 uct is put within their reach. They can 

 not possibly have anj' place to use the jars 

 satisfactorily. Let me crack another nut 

 for you. It is full of meat, and I hope to 

 see it eaten and relished by all to edifica- 

 tion. 



There was a time in Loveland when we 

 had no saloons, but now the enemy have us 

 down and we have three. When 'twas dry, 

 the people said the drugstores kept right on 

 selling, and there was as much sold as if 

 we had saloons, and they would have sa- 

 loons and get revenue. Now that we have 

 the saloons and the revenue, the people find 

 that the saloon fills a place that the drug- 

 store did not touch — that nearly all the sa- 

 loon trade is in addition to the drugstore 

 trade, and that drunkards, bad bills, and 

 general viciousness and rows, have multi- 

 plied to the hurt of legitimate and proper 

 trade. There is no need of any more sa- 

 loons. The place one fills would be better 

 left unfilled; but there is a field in honey 

 trade that is not filled; and the cheaper 

 package and more direct methods will fill 

 a long-felt want, and it will hurt no one — 

 no, not even the bottle trade. 



THE NEED AND USE OF STORAGE-TANKS. 



I have shown that the producer need not 

 invest a great sum of money in packages in 

 which to put up his honey for the retail 

 trade. Paper is cheap. The bulk, too, 

 while the goods are in the flat, is s^ trifling 

 that any ordinary bee-keeper can carry in 

 his arms enough bags to hold his crop, and 

 the storage room is insignificant, as is the 

 cost. Any bee-keeper can afford to have on 

 hand enough bags to provide for any possi- 

 ble crop; but it is a problem with many to 

 have tin or glass in stock for prospective 

 needs. But this is not the only saving. It 

 is customarj' with very many to put the crop 

 into five-gallon cans, or something similar, 

 holding in these until ready to put into 

 glass or whatever it is to be retailed in; 

 thus the honey is actually packed twice 

 where once is sufficient, and all the trouble 

 of melting and labor and fuel, as well as a 

 plant of some kind to liquefy, is saved. 

 Then there is usuallj- a honey trade at the 

 home or honey-house, and for this we must 

 have a tank of honey kept warm and limber 

 so it will run. This is drawn into custom- 

 ers' pails or whatever they bring for it. 



and this is a great annoyance too. Just 

 think how much easier it will be to hand 

 out a bag, or any number of bags, instead 

 of pouring out liquid honey! 



A part of any system of producing ex- 

 tracted honey is a storage-tank. This tank 

 should never be left out. It saves time, 

 helps to a better grade of honey, and for 

 good results is indispensable. I know there 

 are those who put the honey direct from the 

 extractor right into marketing-packages; 

 but I do not want such, nor does anybody 

 who knows what is best. Some run it into 

 a barrel or small tank, and from this to 

 small packages, putting through the tank 

 or barrel possibly a thousand pounds in a 

 day. Thus it is impossible that the honey 

 be settled at all. It ought never \.o be pack- 

 ed in retail packages without settling at 

 least 24 hours or more, and then many times 

 only from the bottom of the tank at that, 

 the upper third or fourth being held longer. 

 I know what it means to have unripe honey. 

 All should be thoroughly ripened; and not 

 only ripe, but should be settled long enough 

 so that all the air may rise to the surface, 

 and all particles of whatever may get in 

 may rise to the surface. 



Realizing some years ago the necessity of 

 a large tank, how it would enable me to 

 put out a better article of honey, and how 

 it would be such a convenience to have 

 storage room sufficient so that, if I had a 

 ton or two to run at one time, I would not 

 have to stop the extractor to draw off, and 

 how nice it would be to be able to leave off 

 ordering cans (that was before the present 

 system was adopted) until I had the honey 

 to put into them, I decided to get one that 

 would give me all these advantages. The 

 result was that I bought a five-ton galvan- 

 ized steel tank, although I had a tin one 

 that held 1100, another 600, and a third 

 400 lbs., and still another that held about 

 800. With the larger tank I can extract 

 without fear of its overflowing, even if I 

 run all day or two or three days. The ex- 

 tracting is done on the upper floor; the 

 strainer is in the floor, and delivers its 

 goods to the tank below. 



A notable feature of our honey out this 

 way is its readiness to candy. I have nev- 

 er had anj' remain liquid over four weeks 

 after extracting, and sometimes it is solid 

 in two to three weeks. This feature I 

 count as a valuable one, for it enables me 

 to put the honey into the retail package 

 and have it solid and ready to ship in very 

 short time. I let it remain in the big tank 

 until it is begining to granulate, just as 

 long as it will run. Sometimes it will be- 

 gin to granulate at the bottom before the 

 top shows any signs, probably because 

 that at the bottom was extracted first and 

 has been in longer, and probably in part 

 because the top is more thin and watery. 

 Then, too, it will surprise almost any one 

 how much scum and bits of wax will ac- 

 cumulate on top after weeks of settling. 

 This should be skimmed off; or if the tank 

 is not convenient for skimming it may be 



