AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



819 



sections. Mast these be banished from 

 the first grade ? 



An eighth group is in all particulars as 

 faultless as the best, only a few drops of 

 light amber honey being noticeable, on 

 close inspection, near the wood on one 

 side of the sections. Must these sections 

 take rank with dark, unsealed, half- 

 filled combs ? 



Must any or all of the above be put in 

 the second or third grades; and if so, 

 why? Certainly not because they can- 

 not be readily sold if placed in the first 

 grade. Not one fancy grocer in a hun- 

 dred will object to anyone of them. This 

 is not a mere assertion. Actual quan- 

 tity sales that I have made to hundreds 

 of leading grocers in many Western 

 cities, year after year, ought to be suffi- 

 cient proof of this assertion. 



Personally I have no cause of com- 

 plaint because of the rules in question, 

 as I have no trouble in disposing of many 

 times the 5,000 or 10,000 pounds that 

 my bees produce each season, at quite 

 satisfactory prices. 



As 1 buy largely, if such rules were in 

 force I would, in common with other 

 buyers, profit greatly at the expense of 

 producers. 



Have the purses of comb-honey pro- 

 ducers become so full as a result of the 

 last four remarkable seasons, and those 

 of middle-men so depleted, that the 

 former can afford to adopt a grading that 

 will, in many instances, virtually confer 

 a bounty of not less than 10 per cent of 

 their earnings on the latter ? 



Will it not be high time to adopt such 

 rules when there is good reason to be- 

 lieve that the best interests of producers, 

 as indicated by the demandsof the trade, 

 require them? 



If we are to adopt a set of rules, I 

 would suggest that not less than four 

 grades are required, which might be 

 designated as fancy, choice, fair and 

 common. Color could be distinguished 

 by the terms white, light amber, amber 

 and dark. 



Without going into details,'! would 

 suggest that sections having only one of 

 the defects above mentioned, should be 

 placed in the fancy goods ; those com- 

 bining all of them are good enough for 

 the second grade, to which also should 

 be admitted sections where entire comb 

 surfaces are but slightly soiled ; also 

 such combs as are only three-fourths 

 sealed on one side, or the equivalent of 

 one-fourth of the comb-surface of one 

 side unsealed on the two sides ; also 

 'sections having the same amount of 

 comb surface considerably discolored, as 

 well as those having the wood soiled, 



but still not very much discolored, and 

 those also having two or three cells of 

 bee-bread, but which would have other- 

 wise found a place in the first grade. 



Sections having the entire surface 

 considerably soiled, or the equivalent of 

 the surface of one side very much soiled, 

 or an equal amount of unsealed surface, 

 should be placed in a third grade; and 

 those whose entire comb surface is very 

 much soiled, and not sufficiently filled or 

 sealed, or too defective in other respects 

 for the third grade, but which contain 

 not less than half a pound of honey, 

 should constitute a fourth grade. As to 

 whether color shall be made a basis for 

 grading, is a matter of little import- 

 ance compared with the placing of first 

 grade honey where it will sell for third 

 grade prices. As it is proposed to adopt 

 rules for the Eastern States (where a 

 great deal of fancy buckwheat honey is 

 produced), as well as the West, where 

 such honey cuts but a slight figure, it 

 will perhaps be best to grade without 

 regard to color. But I fail to perceive 

 how certain prominent apiarists, who 

 were so fearful that a grading would be 

 adopted which would debar this Fall- 

 gathered amber honey from the first 

 grade can be satisfied with the rule 

 regarding soiled combs, for this rule will 

 inevitably put nearly, if not quite all of 

 it, in the third grade. 



CoiiTention IVotices. 



J^"The annual meeting of the Colorado 

 State Bee-Keepers' Association will be held in 

 Denver, Jan. 18 and 19. 1892. 



H. Knight, Sec, Littleton, Colo. 



||^"The Michigan State Bee-Keepers' Asso 

 elation will meet in Grand Rapids, Mich., on 

 Thursday, Dec. 31, 1891, and Friday, Jan. 1, 

 1892, Geo. E. Hilton, Sec, Fremont, Mich. 



2^" The Indiana State Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation will convene in the agricultural room 

 of the State House, at Indianapolis, Jan. 8. 

 1892. at 1 p.m. All bee-keepers are invited 

 to attend. 



Geo. C. Thompson. Sec, Southport, Ind. 



J^~ The annual meeting of the Ontario Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will be held in the City 

 Hall. London. Ont.. Jan. 5. 6 and 7, 1892. A 

 good programme is being prepared. The usual 

 reduced rates have been secured with the 

 Grand Trunk and Canadian Pacific railways. 

 Also special hotel rates at the Grigg House at 

 $1.50 per day. and at the City Hotel from 80 

 cents to $1.00 per day. All persons interested 

 in bee-keeping are cordially invited to attend. 

 W. CousE. Sec, Streetsville. Ont. 



il^"A special session of the California Bee- 

 Keepers' Association, in honor of the visit of 

 Prof. A. J. Cook and A. I. Root, will be held in 

 Los Angeles, Calif., at the Chamber of Com- 

 merce, Jan. 6 and 7, 1892. The California 

 permanent exhibit in an adjoining room, will 

 no doubt be of interest to all. 



C. W. Abbott, Prest. 



G. W. Bbodbeck, Sec 



