194 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 1 



left as it is, just drawing- off until this is 

 brought to the bottom, then the skimmings 

 may be drawn out, and the whole warmed 

 and restrained or skimmed in some smaller 

 vessel. But in case the honey toward the 

 bottom is much more candied than the top, 

 better, if possible, skim before drawing; 

 then take a big hoe, or something suitable, 

 and stir and mix the whole tankful as 

 thoroughly as possible. The more it is 

 mixed, the better. It will be of more even 

 grade, and candy all the more rapidly. I 

 have, when I wanted some to candy quick- 

 ly, mixed some candied with the liquid, 

 and stirred them together. To do this I 

 take a can of candied, and warm it, stir- 

 ing so that it will get into a mush before it 

 is fully liquid, then stir in. This plan is 

 resorted to when m}' stock is out, and I 

 want some speedily to fill orders, say just 

 as the new honey comes and the last is ex- 

 hausted. 



You will possibly say that the big tank 

 is an expensive thing and can not be afford- 

 ed. Look at these figures: My tank holds 

 five tons, while it would take 83 cases of 

 60 lb. cans to hold as much, which would 

 cost, at 75 cents, $62 25. My tank cost $35, 

 though such goods are higher now, but tin 

 is high too. But the belter product, and 

 the convenience and saving of time, will 

 quickly pay for the tank, and it is a per- 

 manent thing. 



For the average producer I would not ad- 

 vise so large a tank, possibly two to three 

 tons, but always enough tank room to hold 

 the honey long enough to be well settled. 

 Five tons is a large amount of honey in a 

 body, and I doubt if it is wise to risk more 

 than that in one receptacle; for if a gate 

 should be misplaced it means a big loss. 

 However, for heavy producers I would not 

 recommend any smaller size. One does not 

 have to fill it full, yet in emergency the ex- 

 tra room is very handy. Have the gate 

 put in the bottom, coming out with an el- 

 bow in a pipe, if a common tank is used. 

 If I had my preference I should want it 

 fixed much as the extractor-cans, so that 

 the hone}' will all run out. 



Friend' Root, possibly you will think this 

 is a lot of talk about tanks and such things 

 in a consideration of paper bags in which 

 to sell hone}'. Perhaps it is; but it is im- 

 portant to the system. I have been unfor- 

 tunate enough to buy extracted honey that 

 would not do to put into tin, much less into 

 paper. Then, besides, the paper bag is 

 only a part of a system to enable the pro- 

 ducer to get something out of his crop in a 

 feasible way. Now I will tell you more 

 about bags. 



When figuring out what sizes I wanted, I 

 concluded that 2, SH, 5, and 10 lbs. would 

 be about right; but what dimensions would 

 be best for appearance and convenience? 



1 adopted the following, which I am quot- 

 ing from my original investigations: For 



2 lb. size, the bottom is2j4 inches square, 

 and when opened is 7j4 inches deep. The 

 3>2-lb. is 3 inches square and 9^4 deep. 



The 5-lb. is 3j4 by 10, and the 10-lb. 5 by 

 10^2 . These measurements, when containing 

 the amounts, leave enough top to the bag 

 to fold over the honey to keep out dust. I 

 have previously spoken of the square shape 

 of the bottoms. This is necessary unless 

 the bags are to be held in a form or mold 

 while hardening. With this bottom the bag 

 assumes the round form when filled. All 

 things considered, I believe the round bet- 

 ter than any other shape. If square, the 

 corners would be much more subject to 

 damage than a round surface, and then 

 there is no need of any mold or form. So 

 far I have just put the bags into boxes and 

 let them stand, the boxes piled on top of 

 each other. I plan, however, to make spe- 

 cial boxes or trays, these to be tight enough 

 to keep out dust and insects, as flies, but so 

 as to lie flat when not in use, so as to store 

 in small space, making each tray so that 

 the bottom of each is a cover for its neigh- 

 bor beneath. 



The bags must be paraffined or waxed. 

 I got the first lot without waxing, and the 

 majority of those used in experimenting 

 proved satisfactory; but I got one report, 

 and had one experience at home that show- 

 ed the need of waxing. I will say that my 

 experience with the bags in marketing is 

 as yet limited. It was but a year ago that 

 I undertook to use them for general market- 

 ing, and then I had a stock of lard-pails 

 that took the bulk of my 1901 crop. It was 

 in that year that I developed the bag ques- 

 tion to the point that I was satisfied to 

 adopt it, but did not get in the first order 

 for bags till in the winter of 1901 and 1902, 

 then I had to melt honey and repack; but I 

 did this, and put up enough to send ship- 

 ments to several customers, sold some to 

 peddlers, and some in home stores, f I 



A customer from another State reported 

 that he thought the honey would not keep in 

 his climate — it would melt. About the same 

 time, 1 had some bags standing where there 

 was a draft of damp air from the green- 

 house and cellar passing over it, and dur- 

 ing a few days of damp foggy weather I 

 found the bags drawing dampness so that 

 the honey just under the paper was getting 

 soft, and the bag sticky. But while this 

 was an unintentional test, it so happened 

 that there were both paraffined and unpar- 

 affined bags in that particular spot, and 

 the waxed was dry and in as good condi- 

 tion as ever, only the unwaxed being damp 

 and absorbing moisture. I was glad to 

 have that experience, for I was about to 

 buy many thousands to put up a big pros- 

 pective crop; but the new stock were order- 

 ed all paraffined, and it is of them that the 

 editor has samples. Experience teaches us 

 many lessons, :and I found two more as I 

 dealt with the new waxed bags. First, 

 the manufacturers packed the bags in 

 bundles wrapped in heavy paper, and tied 

 with cord, and in the long journey from 

 New York the wrappings were worn through 

 in some places, and torn in others by the 

 rough and tumble with other goods. In 



