THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



11 



many claims with the R. R. compa- 

 nies, and am subjected to experiences 

 which enable me to write intelligently 

 upon this subject. 



I am informed by a railroad official 

 that the classification commitee de- 

 termine their classifications on an 

 average based upon the number of 

 laims and the amount of money ex- 

 pended for damages incurred en route 

 in the course of one year. Therefore, 

 it may plainly be seen that the shippers 

 are responsible for the exhorbitant 

 freight charges imposed upon them; 

 and lower rates need not be expected 

 until the losses paid by the transporta- 

 tion companies have reached the very 

 minimum. Consequently, we must //£'//• 

 ourselves, by learning //fz^/ to ship our 

 honey. Other industries have done it; 

 why not we ? Take, for example, the 

 packages used by the sugar refineries; 

 they are perfect, as well as those of the 

 coflFee importers, cereal manufacturers, 

 and countless others that I could men- 

 tion. They were compelled to work, 

 and work hard, in order to bring their 

 losses down to the minimum, and soon 

 discovered that it was absolutely neces- 

 sary to \x%& perfect packages and nothing 

 else. We now have the advantage of 

 lower freight rates, than the honey 

 shipper. 



In order to accomplish our aim to 

 secure lower rates, we must without 

 one exception, ship both comb and ex- 

 tracted honey in first class packages. 

 Brother bee keeper, if you are raising 

 comb honey for the market, by all 

 means use bottom as well as top starters 

 in your sections, so that the honey 

 c.mnot break loose at the bottom. 

 This is the first and a very important 

 step to be taken. Furthermore, be 

 sure to use the no-drip shipping case. 

 Wrap each case in paper, so that it 

 will be kept clean en route. Pack six 

 or eight cases into one carrjer well 

 supplied with straw in the bottom, a^nd 

 having handles that will extend from 

 ^our to six inches ])eyond the sjdes of 



same. Lastly, do not forget the usual 

 "Handle With Care" placard. Now 

 if every bee-keeper and shipper of 

 honey will follow the above instruc- 

 tions to the letter, that will tend to 

 introduce a method that is both simple 

 and practical, he will not only realize 

 a greater profit in his product, but 

 will also be assisting those who are 

 giving their time and lending their ex- 

 perience to secure lower freight rates 

 for you. 



The producers and shippers of car 

 loads of comb honey appreciate the 

 value and advantage in using bottom 

 as well as top starters. For instance, 

 last summer I received two car loads 

 of comb honey, from two diflferent ship- 

 pers. The one car contained 11/0 and 

 the other 1350 cases, and in the entire 

 lot, there was not one comb broken. 

 These shippers understand their busi- 

 ness. On the other hand, I received 

 quite a number of small shipments, 

 with here and there a broken comb, 

 frequently some badly damaged lots, 

 caused by the failure to use bottom 

 starters. These experiences are try- 

 ing and disgusting, and were the 

 shipper in question subjected to a few 

 of them, he would, without a doubt, 

 pay more attention to the manner in 

 which he raises his honey and his mode 

 of packing for shipment. These are 

 the shipments that are responsible for 

 the high rates. Do not misunderstand 

 me; there are many producers and 

 shippers of honey on a small scale, 

 who thoroughly understand this part of 

 the work, and we must give the credit 

 that is due them. 



A word regarding extracted honey: 

 The R. R. companies pay more 

 damage claims on account of poor 

 packages used for extracted honey 

 than thej' do for comb honey, and it 

 behooves us to ship our extracted honey 

 in new cans, if this style of package is 

 to be used, or if it be barrels, let them 

 be good ones, well coopered, ^J^^^ fr/^w 

 V} every respect, - •• 



