THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



161 



for comb honey. The second, of those for 

 extracted honey. 



The third, of those for rearing queens and 

 supplying winter stores for the whole apiary. 



The first two classes are then pushed for 

 all they are worth, and as the season pro- 

 gresses notes for future reference are taken 

 of the quality and quantity of their work. 



It is with the third class we are now most 

 concerned. It embraces the weaker and 

 poorer stocks. That part of those worked 

 for stores are furnished combs as fast as 

 they can use them, and these, as soon as 

 filled, are " storified " until the end of the 

 season, when they are placed where needed. 



The advantages of this system are, first, 

 that I can take all the honey from the stocks 

 worked for that purpose without regard to 

 winter supplies, and, second, I can place the 

 very best of winter stores just where I want 

 them. 



When I have a poor season I only have to 

 feed a very few colonies, which greatly les- 

 sens the labor. 



After their work is done these " commis- 

 sary " stocks are usually united with the 

 " regulars," as I term the first two classes. 



Such is the outline of my system. By it, I 

 have my forces always in liand, and no mat- 

 ter what the season may I)ring, I am always 

 in the best possible condition to meet it. 



Pkovidenoe, R. I., Sept. 4, 1890. 



Importance of Careful Grading and Packing 

 and Early Marketing. 



EABLE CLICKENGEK. 



MFTER reading your article in the Re- 

 view, and being requested to give our 

 idea as to the best method of market- 

 ing honey, we submit the following 

 to the criticisms of the readers of the Review. 



We would first state that we are bee keep- 

 ers ourselves, having been in tiie business 

 the past fifteen years, keeping from twenty- 

 five to one hundred colonies all the time. 



We are also in the commission business, 

 handling, last year, between forty and fifty 

 thousand pounds of honey. We have, in the 

 past five years, been headquarters for honey 

 or anything in the bee supply line. We have 

 handled honey for from one hundred and 

 fifty to two hundred different bee keepers. 

 Some among them were dissatisfied with the 

 returns, while the greater number were well 

 pleased. 



The retui-ns might have been good in every 

 case had the following instructions been 

 closely followed : 



1. Grade the honey, placing nothing but 

 first class goods together. 



2. Pack carefully in single tier cases. 

 Those weighing from twelve to fifteen 

 pounds always moving off first. 



3. Always ship by freight as it comes 

 through in better shape than by express. 



4. Place honey on the market early, as, in 

 our experience, the best price is realized 

 then. After Christmas prices drop and sales 

 are slow. 



We would again caution bee keepers 

 against carelessness in grading and packing 

 their honey. We have had consignments 



arrive fully two-thirds of the comb broken 

 down, caused mostly by poor packing. 



When nice white clover arrives on the 

 market in good condition it generally moves 

 off quickly at a good price. At present we 

 are getting eighteen cents for nice stock. 

 We have no doubt but that a better price is 

 realized by bee keepers in having their 

 honey marketed by responsible commission 

 men than by selling outright at a cash .figure 

 or peddling it themselves at home. We say 

 resjjonstble commission men as we are well 

 aware there are sharks in every community 

 who quote out high prices, and remit what- 

 ever they please. Alen who are in the busi- 

 ness to stay are liouud to treat shippers fairly 

 in order to have a continuance of their pat- 

 ronage. 



Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 11, 1890. 



What to do When There has Been a Failure 

 of the Honey Crop. 



J. A. GBEEN. 



f SUPPOSE this topic will suit most bee 

 keepers this year better than the disser- 

 tations on marketing that we have had, 

 as it seems that the early honey crop 

 this year has been a very general failure. 



It is very discouraging to be obliged to 

 pay o\it money to keep alive the bees which 

 you had hoped would bring you in a good 

 income, yet that is what many will have to 

 do this year. 



In the first place, if you have bees enough 

 to make it worth while to look after them, 

 do not rest too easily satisfied that the honey 

 crop is a failure. It may be that there is 

 honey only a few miles away. Do you live 

 on upland or prairie country ? Perhaps in 

 the river bottoms or in swamps not far away 

 your bees could gather abundant stores. 

 Any locality with a fiora different from that 

 of your neighborhood, even though it be but 

 three or four miles away, may furnish honey, 

 though at home your bees are starving. I 

 believe though that most of the plants which 

 yield much honey in autumn are those which 

 grow best in low and moist situations. 



After a failure of the honey crop the bees 

 are apt to be few in numbers as well as light 

 in stores. To winter well they should be 

 united, and this should be done early. All 

 feeding, if any is required, should also be 

 done early, in order that the bees may ar- 

 range their stores to their satisfaction. 

 While it may save some trouble to feed the 

 bees the honey in the extra frames, you will 

 probably find it much more profitable after 

 you have got the combs free of bees, to ex- 

 tract the honey, sell it and buy sugar with 

 the proceeds. Remember that sugar is not 

 only cheaper but better than most honey. 

 You should save a number of combs contain- 

 ing honey, if you can, to feed in the spring, 

 as at that season a comb of honey is better 

 than any feeder. 



If you cannot get honey enough to winter 

 the bees by uniting, and positively cannot 

 buy sugar enough to last them until spring 

 comes, then by all means kill a part of the 

 bees. 



