262 MARKETING THE HONEY CROP 
remains as yet to be demonstrated. Fear is expressed that they 
will not protect the fragile contents as well as the wooden case 
with paper lining. 
The use of the best possible protection to the honey shipped 
to market is cheap insurance and the risk of resulting loss will 
be sufficiently reduced to overbalance the greater expense. 
Care of Comb Honey.—Comb honey should be fully finished 
and ripened before taking from the hive, but should not be left 
until the appearance is spoiled by travel stain. 
As soon as it is removed it should be stored in a warm room. 
Care should be used that it does not freeze, as low temperatures 
hasten granulation and granulated comb honey is likely to be 
a “drug” on the market. While candied extracted honey can 
readily be liquefied, it is difficult to do anything with granulated 
comb honey. In this case “an ounce of prevention is worth 
a pound of cure.” Fortunately comb honey does not usually 
granulate quickly and there is usually ample time to dispose 
of it before it will begin to candy in the comb. 
The novice is likely to store his honev in the cellar, the worst 
possible place for it, thinking to keep it cool. The author some- 
times receives letters from bee-keepers who have spoiled a nice 
lot of honey by storing it in a cold, damp place, wishing to know 
what can be done to restore it. If it is merely candied the situa- 
tion is not so bad, but honey stored in a cold, damp cellar gets 
weepy and sour so that it is of little use for any purpose with 
which the author is familiar, unless it be for making vinegar. 
A warm and dry place is the best storeroom for honey. It 
should by all means be dry. Well ripened honeys are much 
less likely to granulate and for this reason the honey gathered 
early in the season gives much less trouble than that gathered 
late in summer. The source from which the nectar is gathered 
makes some difference also, as some honeys are much more likely 
to candy than others subjected to the same conditions. 
Early Sales.—<As a rule the early market is best and the man 
who depends on the general market instead of establishing a 
