54 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



not necessary. 



Figure 3 shows one side of a case 

 of number one comb honey. This 

 honey is "lightly oflF in finish, but is 

 number one in all that the name im- 

 plies. 



Figure 4 shows one surface of a 

 case of number 2 comb honey. This 

 honey is marketable and includes 

 honey that, under Colorado rules, 

 would be called cull honey. Call 

 honey is not a commercial shipping 

 honey, while this honey that has 

 been classed as cull is worthy of the 

 market. In fact, such honey as this 

 number 2 is quickly picked up on the 

 big markets. Its ready sale is tes- 

 timony enough that it is not cull stock 

 and should not be so classed. 



The greater bulk of any one bee- 

 keeper's crop will be made up of fan- 

 cy. Number One and Number Two. 

 According to his expertness, will he 

 be able to reduce the number of cases 

 of Number 2 and increase the num- 

 bers of first grade and fancy. 



With the enactment of the Federal 

 net weight law, it will be necessary 

 to put sections of uniform weight to- 

 gether in cases, as the rules specify 

 this and the law makes it advisable. 

 In this way Fancy White, Fancy Light 

 Amber, Fancy Amber, etc., would 

 have each section stamped with the 

 weight, while on the end of the case 

 would be stamped the grade and color 

 and actual net weight, if desired, or 

 the heavy, medium, or light could be 

 used. 



The outstanding advantages of the 

 rules are that amber honey does not 

 have to be sold at a Number 2 price 

 if it is fancy in finish and quality. 



It is possible to secure the maxi- 

 mum value for each section of honey 

 if it is very near in finish, color and 

 weight to every other section in the 

 case. 



As beekeepers gain more knowledge 

 of the demands of the market and 

 become more careful in grading and 

 packing, the rules will be more fully 

 appreciated. It is not argued that 

 they are perfect. The writer thinks 

 there are some minor changes desir- 

 able, but the principle upon which 

 the rules are founded is correct. 



These rules do not give opportunity 

 to the buyer of a car of honey to 

 '•grade up" the lot by re-packing. For 

 this reason, it will be hard for some 

 beekeepers to make sales if grading 

 by these rules. One's market, of 

 course, must be studied and what is 

 best for each one followed. But the 

 trend will bo toward this careful dif- 

 ferentiation of different finishes, 

 weights and color of comb honey. 



There is a very important question 

 arises from the stamping of the mini- 

 mum net weight on sections of comb 

 honey. Take the number two honey 

 as an example. A section of number 

 two honey may weigh fifteen ounces 

 net and have sixty unsealed cells. If 

 it is put in with the number two grade 

 it will doubtless be stamped net 

 weight not less than nine ounces. 

 Why not stamp it net weight not less 

 than one ounce and so make the net 

 weight law of no eff'ect? That is 

 the partial result, anyway, by stamp- 

 ing a weight several ounces below 

 the actual net weight. The National 

 rules cover this matter more satis- 

 factorily than do the Colorado rules, 

 for the National rules specify that 

 each section shall represent the con 

 tents of the case in finish, color and 

 weight. If this ruling is followed 

 number two honey weighing fourteen 

 and fifteen ounces should not be 

 packed in the same case with ten and 

 eleven ounce honey. And the approx- 

 imate minimum net weight should 

 be given. 



Concerning Retail Prices 



By EUGENE S. MILLEll, Valparaiso, Iiul. 



Inasmuch as producers are retail- 

 ing honey in five and ten pound pails 

 and gallon cans at prices ranging 

 from ten cents to twenty-five cents 

 per pound, perhaps it might be feasi- 

 ble to arrange for a conference of 

 beemen to agree upon a rational 

 price basis. Possibly a committee 

 could be appointed at the next meet- 

 ing of the National Association to 



work out and to recommend a suita- 

 ble retail price based upon the whole- 

 sale price. Of course, the cost of 

 selling is greater in some localities 

 than in others and some modes of 

 distribution are more expensive than 

 others, but at present there seems to 

 be too much discrepancy in prices. 

 Much of the difficulty comes from the 

 small producers and some of the larg- 



