1877. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



269 



I have never found any one inclined to be at 

 all dilllcult, wluMi they were politely asled 

 for i)erniissi()ii to get our bees out of the 

 the trees. I do not wonder that people feel 

 cross when tlieir timber is mutilated by ro- 

 ving idlers, and I can scarcely blame them 

 for giving a wliolesome lesson now and then 

 just to remind us that we have laws in our 

 country for their protection. I hope my 

 readers will have no disposition to trespass 

 on tlie premises or riglits of any one, with- 

 out permission. The most dillicult and par- 

 ticular person in your neighl»orhood, will in 

 all itrobability, be found pleasant and ac- 

 commodating, if you go to liim in a pleasant 

 and neighborly way. 



B. 



BARZlISIiS. I would hardly advise 

 xising barrels for cond) honey, altliough it is 

 done to some extent I believe, in districts 

 where the old style of keeping bees in log 

 gums, prevails; but for liquid honey, we 

 shall probably never find a cheaper recep- 

 tacle that will stand the rough usage of 

 shipping honey, as well. It is true, we can 

 put our honey in tin cans, but these are 

 more expensive — the very cheapest, costing 

 at least one cent for every pound of honey 

 tliey will contain — and they cannot be ship- 

 ped safely, without first being crated. Be- 

 sides all this, a barrel of honey will be re- 

 ceived at a mucli lower rate of freight, than 

 any other kind of package it is possible to 

 make. If we are then all decided as to the 

 expediency of storing our honey in barrels, 

 we wish to decide upon the most profitable 

 size for these barrels. The regidar size of 

 about 31 or 32 gallons, is probably the cheap- 

 est size, but it has been objected to on ac- 

 count of the difficulty of handling so great 

 a weight as 3o0 to 400 lbs., which the barrel 

 and all woidd weigh. This however is no 

 great objection to one who knows how to 

 ''take tlie advantage" of a barrel, as my 

 father used to express it to " us boys," when 

 we were loading stone, and as economy of 

 money as well as '' traps," is quite an item 

 where we have tons of honey, I flunk we had 

 better have large barrels principally. For 

 the acconuiiDdation of customers who want a 

 smaller (juanlity, it may be well to have 

 some half barrels also, but these will cost 

 considerably more, in proportion to the 

 amount of honey they hold. Some very neat 

 small ones, holding about 140 lbs, cost about 

 SI. 7.5 each ; tliis woidd be at the rate of lie. 

 l)er lb. (;ur large barrels cost us $2.25, and 

 hold about 3oO lbs ; this is less than f c. per 



lb for the package. From tins it appears 

 that we shall have to charge a little more 

 for honey put ui) in half barrel packages. 



LEAKY ISAKUKLS. 



I hope you will feel as I ch) about it, that 

 it is bad enough to talk about having lioiiey 

 leak all round, without liaving any i)ractical 

 experience in the matter; and lain veiy 

 glad to be able to tell you how to entindy 

 avoid it. It may be well to remark that 

 honey has a funny way of expanding during 

 the candying process,— it will generally 

 candy as soon as the weather gets cold— and 

 if your barrels or cans do not give it room 

 to expand, it will be pretty sure to push out 

 the corks or bungs. Some kinds of honey, 

 expand more than others, and under some 

 circumstances, perfectly ripened honey, will 

 scarcely candy at all. If the bairels are left 

 not quite full, and then filled up completely 

 when ready to ship, there will be very little 

 trouble. 



We prefer barrels made of sound oak, but 

 I presume those made of other strong wood 

 will answer, if carefully waxed as we shall' 

 direct. The hoops should be of strong hoop 

 iron, for honey is very heavy compared with 

 most other liquids, and we wish them to 

 staiul safely the rough handling they are 

 likely to recieve on the cars, even if they 

 should be sent back and forth several times. 

 The hoops should be secured by large tacks, 

 if they show any tendency to slip. If you 

 have had the barrels made for your own use 

 and intend them to be returned when you 

 sell honey, it is a very good idea to have 

 them neatly painted. This will keep the 

 hooi)s in place, and will preserve the barrels 

 very materially. There is one objection to 

 this, however, and that is you are many 

 times luider the necessity of waiting for 

 your barrels to be emptied, and then they 

 are likely to be forgotten. We once waited 

 2 years for some we had sent away with 

 honey, and then succeeded in getting tlie 

 pay for them instead of the barrels, after 

 much imi)ortunity. 



waxino this barrels to prevent 

 lp:aking. 

 A good barrel carefully made of well sea- 

 soned timber, s/iowitZ noi leak, without any 

 waxing, I)ut as they often do, we think it 

 safest to have them all waxed. Tins is sim- 

 ply coating the entire inside with wax or 

 paratfine. The latter we consider better, as 

 well as cheaper. Wax is worth from 30 to 

 35c. per lb, but the i)araffine can be had for 

 20c. As the latter melts at a lower tempera- 

 ture, and is more limpid when melted, a 



