ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



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the honey to get the bottle and, finding 

 the honey very good, would come back 

 later to buy the bottle to get the honey. 



It seems every one wants one or 

 more of these bottles for other pur- 

 poses. About 95 per cent of our honey 

 will be sold in these two sizes "^hd 

 style of packages; the gallon size is in 

 the lead two to one. 



On one occasion we took forty of 

 these bottles, half of each size, to a 

 city of 3,000, just out of our county, 

 found the leading grocer. He said he 

 had no call for extracted honey and 

 could not sell it no matter how it was 

 put up. We spent an hour in his store 

 before he would even consider or con- 

 sent to have us leave the honey in 

 his store; he consented to having us 

 leave the honey in his ^ore with the 

 understanding that he would pay us 

 after it was sold. 



Before we had the honey unloaded, 

 several bottles were sold at the price 

 suggested by us that he should ask; 

 75 cents for the half gallon, six pounds 

 net weight, and $1.35 for the gallon, 

 twelve pounds net weight. 



Now the grocer was becoming in- 

 terested and wrote out a check in our 

 favor for half of the money. 



We suggested that he make a 

 window display of the honey, which he 

 did, and it did not take him long to 

 realize that he must raise the price, 

 it was going too fast. He raised the 

 price five cents on each. 



Seven days later we received a long 

 distance call from him; he wanted an- 

 other load of honey, the first was all 

 sold. 



It seems there was very little ex- 

 tracted honey produced in that local- 

 ity, and explains why it was so easy 

 to get a higher price for the honey. 

 When asking the same price here, peo- 

 ple would not buy unless they wanted 

 the bottles very bad, and did not have 

 any. Anyhow the bottles are a win- 

 ner in either case. 



One gentleman was offered five cents 

 for the bottle after it was empty; he 

 replied that he would not take thirty- 

 five cents for it. 



Most people naturally handle glass 

 with care. We have had only four 

 cases that came to our knowledge of 

 bottles being broken while filled with 

 honey, and these were broken either 

 through carelessness or accidentally. 



These bottles are very easily washed 

 and of course do not rust, and as a 



return package are ideaU It seems 

 much easier to make a sale by asking 

 so much for the honey and so much 

 for the bottle and buying the bottle 

 back; but of course not until more 

 honey is wanted and then the full one 

 is simply exchanged for the empty one 

 and so much credit allowed on same. 



By the gross the gallon size cost 9% 

 cents each with the freight from Chi- 

 cago to Greenville, Wis. 



The half gallon .size with freight, 

 also by the gross, cost 7% cents each. 



This year we asked ten cents for 

 the bottles and allowed ten cents credit 

 for same when the next order was 

 delivered. Up to the present time only 

 about three hundred of the bottles have 

 been offered in exchange. 



Until everybody has one or more of 

 these bottles we cannot expect to get 

 many in return. Of all our local 

 customers who formerly bought honey 

 of us in the five gallon tin cans, every 

 one of them prefers to buy the same 

 amount in five one gallon bottles at 

 five cents extra for the bottles. It is 

 so much easier to handle than in the 

 60 pound tins. Everyone is your agent 

 without knowing it, and you are not 

 obliged to pay him; it is so easy and 

 no trouble whatever for them to let 

 friends and relatives have a gallon or 

 two; and, when the five gallons are 

 gone, another five are ordered. We 

 have had this experience again and 

 again. 



The Illinois Glass Company, with 

 factory at Alton, 111., make these 

 bottles. They advise us that the price 

 has advanced again, and to enter 

 orders subject to a delay of several 

 months. By the gross the bottles are 

 packed in open slatted crates; two 

 and three dozen in a crate with heavy 

 sheets of paper between the bottles. 

 This same paper is used again when 

 packing the bottles of honey in the 

 auto when delivering. 



When people come for their honey, 

 a sheet of this paper is wrapped 

 around the bottle as tight as possible 

 and fastened with a pin at the top. 

 The bottle may be carried by the 

 handle and the paper will not slip 

 off, and is as safe as it would be in 

 a corrugated paper carton. 



Outagamie County has three agricul- 

 tural fairs annually. 



At two of these we had an exhibit 

 of bees and honey. It was the first 



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