FOURTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART IX. 651 



12Lli, warm and still; bcos flying strong; snow went down to about 

 6 or 8 inches. Scale siiowed an increase of 2 pounds. Will take that 

 scale out and test it as soon as the snow is off. 



13th. Weather still and warm; snow settled to 4 or 5 inches. I had 

 begun to look around to find out what they were doing by this time. Bees 

 working on soft maple and scale shows gain of 2 pounds. 



14th. Weather fine; opened 12 hives and found, an average of three 

 frames of brood in all stages and 1 Hoffman frame of new honey or 

 nectar p:atherecl during these four days, when the snow covered the 

 ground from 2 to 18 inches deep. 



I consider this the most wonderful thing that I have ever encountered 

 in the 50 years I have kept bees. 



At the time 1 thought I would report it to our bee journals, but later 

 changed my mind. I was afraid some of the older boys would call me 

 names and I would not be there to defend myself. 



Now gentlemen such experiences as this and the flow from dandelion 

 I have just mentioned is what gives older boys a relapse of that disease 

 we call bee fever, and I had it bad last spring. In fact it ihas stayed with 

 me all summer. 



There is one matter we should consider before we decide on whether 

 we produce comb or extract honey. 



If you want to produce a crop of honey ^.fith. the least amount of 

 labor and expense, and receive for your crop one-half wbat the con- 

 sumer eventually pays for it, then produce extracted and after you have 

 harvested that crop put it up in 60 pound cans or barrels and send it 

 to some commission man in our large cities. This is the easiest and 

 cheapest way to handle a crop, hut you will find when you receive your 

 returns from that commission man that it will be still easier to spend 

 your summer's wages. 



Again, if you want to produce a crop of honey witli the maximum 

 amount of labor and expense produce extracted honey and put it up, 

 in up-to-date packages of from 6 to 24 ounces to the package, and go out 

 and sell it to some man who will in turn sell to the consumer, thereby 

 receiving the full retail price, less one commission. 



This will double your bank account, but it will mean lots of good 

 hard work, and a large expense account. 



But if you want to produce a crop of Ihoney at a medium amount of 

 expense and labor and receive the maximum amount of money for your 

 crop, my advice is, produce comb honey. 



But you will ask, to whom will we sell our crop; we have not the time 

 nor inclination to go out and peddle from house to house. 



Let me answer that question by asking you a few questions. Who is 

 it that our wives, mothers, or housekeepers, in our towns and cities, 

 phone to regularly every morning for the necessary provisions to supply 

 our tables each day? Who sells to us as consumers nine-tent)his of all 

 the food products we consume? 



Why, it is the retail groceryman. 



Then he is the man I would cater to in disposing of a crop of honey. 



Did you ever co into a first class grocery store and take notice of 

 the stock of goods as displayed along the shelves? 



Do you see any honey among these goods? 



