MARKETING EXTRACTED HONEY * 



^Fbed. B. Loucks, Lowville, IST. Y. 



The selling of extracted honey like that of many other com- 

 modities, is a trade by itself. Extracted honey is one of the 

 articles of diet not generally called for, hut must ever be kept 

 before the public and given a sightly place on the shelves or 

 counters. Other articles of this class are thoroughly advertised, 

 which tends to keep the public thinking, and once the attention 

 is turned toward honey, it is usually comparatively easy to make 

 a sale. 



First, your honey must merit or your trade will be short lived. 

 What I mean by merit is that it must be of good flavor, possessed 

 of a heavy body and fairly well colored. Extracted honey that is 

 not cured by the bees will not hold trade. If you are determined 

 to produce that kind of honey, you will be obliged to look up new 

 customers each season. 



Honey cured by hot air and ventilation has lost its most delicate 

 qualities — that something which tickles the palate and makes a 

 customer for all time. There is but one trade that will take this 

 class of honey regularly and that is the baking trade, and of course 

 at a lower price. In fact I can not imagine what would become of 

 us as beekeepers without the baking trade, for this is where we 

 dispose of the lower grades. 



But as to the table trade, the people who eat the honey and who 

 pay a higher price, how are we to reach them ? I should say that 

 would depend on conditions and circumstances. To bottle honey 

 and do it economically one must have quite an outfit or the ex- 

 pense is too great. I am convinced that one-half of the people who 

 bottle are doing it at a loss. 



If a man is naturally a good salesman and he has time and 

 inclination, I should advise him to sell his own honey; but few 

 people are so qualified. A salesman must be able to talk freely 

 on any phase of the business which he represents. He must be 

 able to read from the face and general deportment of his would-be 



Delivered at Watertown Bee Keepers' Institute. 



[1507] 



