(!OMB HONEY 



VAO 



CX)MB HONKV. 



We have saiil that couiuiissioii men sliould 

 be strictly lionest; but some of tliem yield 

 to the temptation of quoting a higher price 

 in the Itee-journals than they are actu- 

 ally realizing in every-day sales. The bee- 

 keeper complains when he receives his re- 

 turns, and he is met with the statement that 

 his honey was of poor quality, and had to be 

 sold for less money, or that the honey came 

 badly broken, and had to be lumped off as 

 cliunk honey; or he may be told that the 

 ■'market suddenly fell'' (which may be true), 

 and it was not, therefore, possible for the 

 house to realize quotations given in the bee- 

 journals. It is a connnon trick on the part 

 of dishonest commission men to quote high 

 jirices if Ihey can get their names in the bee- 

 journals, tlien sell for lower prices in order 

 to " move off stock." But we've had reason 

 to believe that sometimes, from complaints 

 tliat have come in, and from certain evidence 

 placed in our hands, honey has actually sold 

 at several cents higher per i)Ound than was 

 shown by the account of sales rendered to a 

 bee-keeper, and on which commission was 

 based. In this way commission men prac- 

 tically take two connnissions. Say, for in- 

 stance, the honey sold for 12 cents. He 

 makes retiu-ns to the bee-keeper of 10 cents, 

 and then charges 10 per cent commission on 

 this 10 cents. He thus makes the 2 cents 

 which he actually steals, and then the 10 per 

 cent which is rightfully his. 



In the foregoing we've endeavored to set 

 forth some of the tricks that are practiced 

 by some of the imscrupulous commission 

 iiouses. But we are glad to say that all, or 

 nearly all, of the men who quote prices in 

 the bee-journals are responsible and honest 

 men ; for no commission man can hold his 

 name in the advertising columns of the av- 

 erage bee-journal to-day if there are com- 

 idaints entered by bee-keepers against him. 

 And right in this connection we wish to say 

 that the mere fact that your bank says a 

 certain commission house has good tinancial 

 rating should not be considered as evidence 

 that the house is also honest, we would 

 rather trust the man who is honest and not 

 responsible than the one who is financially 

 good and yet ''up to the tricks of the 

 trade." 



At the time you make shipment, send bill 

 of lading to tlie commission house, and name 

 price helow ivliich the homy must not be sold. 

 A commission house has no right to sell at a 

 lower figure until you give instructions. Be- 

 fore the honey is packed it should be care- 

 fully weighed so that you will know exactly 



how much honey you have sent. Do not 

 send large shipments at first. If in any 

 case you send honey, and the commission 

 house fails to make returns, or refuses to do 

 so, it is a criminal act. Such house has no 

 right to appropriate your money without 

 rendering to you some sort of returns ; but 

 never take a note in payment from an irre- 

 sponsible firm or individual : if you do you 

 will be powerless to help yourself ; for legal- 

 ly a note is a settlement. 



SELLING FOR CASH. 



If you can sell for casli, and the party is 

 responsible, by all means do so, providing 

 you can get market prices. Look out for 

 firms wanting to buy for cash with no rat- 

 ing, in Dun's or Bradstreefs commercial 

 agencies. To make yoiu'self secure ship the 

 honey to your name at the point of destina- 

 tion, and then send bill of lading to some 

 bank in the city with instructions to turn 

 over bill of lading to purchaser on receipt of 

 cash. Banks will charge you a small fee for 

 doing the business, but you will be safe. 

 The law gives the producer greater protec- 

 tion when his honey is sold on commission 

 than when sold for cash, providing money 

 is not received before honey is turned over. 

 We wish to reiterate the point again: Never 

 deliver honey to a firm on an outright sale 

 or deal till the banks say your man is entire- 

 ly responsible ; then if every thing is in writ- 

 ing you are able to collect by due process of 

 law ; but if he is irresponsible you will be 

 throwing aw^ay good money in trying to do 

 any thing with him in a legal way. 



KEEPING COMB HONEY. 



It is sometimes desirable to keep comb 

 honey for a better market, or that we may 

 have a supply the year round, etc. Well, to ' 

 keep it with unimpaired flavor it must not 

 be subjected to dampness. If water con- 

 denses on the surface of the comb it soon / 

 dilutes the honey, and then it sours, etc. On|^ 

 this account the honey should never be put! 

 into a cellar or other damp room. Better) 

 put it upstairs; and that there may be a free 

 circulation of air, without admitting bees 

 or flies, the windows should be covered 

 with painted wire cloth. We are accustom- 

 ed to keeping comb honey the year round, 

 and rarely have it deteriorate in the least. 

 The same remarks will, in the main, apply 

 to keeping extracted honey. During damp 

 and rainy weather, the doors and windows 

 to the honey-room or honey-house should be 

 closed, and opened again when the air is 

 dry. 



