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160 



SIXTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



exhibits of bees and honey at those 

 State Fairs. 



The people will come first and look 

 at the bees, and they will talk about 

 them, and see the honey, and they 

 ask: "Do you sell honey here?" 



There is a large quantity of honey 

 sold — but not until their attention is 

 called to it by the bees, and the honey 

 that is on display. I know from ob- 

 servation that it works. 



Mr. Root — I might say, Mr. Chair- 

 man, we have had considerable ex- 

 perience along that line. In order to 

 make this live bee display satisfac- 

 tory, the bees must be fresh; the 

 combs must be clean; the bees must 

 not be confined more than a week; 

 if they are confined longer the bees 

 begin to worry; will soil the glass, and 

 then the exhibit is anything but an 

 advertisement for honey. 



The usual plan is to have the dis- 

 play about one week; we have the bees 

 shipped back, to us, put in the hive 

 and allowed to fly. We may send 

 them out again, but we have bees that 

 will not live over until next winter 

 and they have got to be replaced so 

 we utilize these bees; put them up in 

 packages and send them out, case and 

 all, with instructions to return them. 



There must be ventilation at the 

 bottom because if the glass is too hot 

 it will kill them. 



Instruct the grocer not to put them 

 in the window where the sun is shin- 

 ing. 



We find that the grocers are fighting 

 with each other seeking to have the 

 display. 



If you have a product you want to 

 advertise and you will find some one 

 w^ho is a good talker, put a girl in 

 with your display, you can draw as 

 big a crowd with bees as anything 

 else — but the bees must be put up in 

 nice shape. 



Find out where the finest drug store 

 is, and the finest grocery store, and 

 endeavor to have a display in their 

 window. Speak of its value as a food; 

 if you sell honey for its food value 

 you will sell more of it than if you 

 sold it for its medicinal worth; peo- 

 ple will buy it in larger quantities. 



You will find that the grocers will 

 want your displays and want your 

 honey. 



Usually you cannot send out your 

 bees more than once or twice and they 



are superannuated. We do not ever 

 intend to have our window display 

 where the bees die in the glass. 



We try to have the display fresh 

 and nice so that it will attract atten- 

 tion. 



In San Francisco the bees have an 

 exit and can fly back and forth. 



In the city of Cleveland, and vari- 

 ous cities in New York, we have had 

 the streets so jammed that the police 

 said: "Quit that display, because 

 crowds cannot get through." 



When they are jamming and crowd- 

 ing, looking at honey— then is the time 

 to push the sales. 



Mr. Moe — Be sure to have Dadant's 

 beautiful label — "Eat Honey" and, also, 

 another one something about "If 

 your sweet tooth is a wisdom tooth, 

 eat honey." 



Dadants will furnish the Root people 

 those cards, and don't forget to use 

 them in connection with your adver- 

 tising. 



If I may have a minute or two; in 

 regard to honey and advertising — Mr. 

 Root has told you about these great 

 institutions and houses. I might add 

 a little, because it seems that every 

 season changes; no two years do I 

 find I can do business in the same way. 



Last summer my comb honey sold 

 for fifteen and sixteen cents. Now, 

 what was the reason? The high price 

 of butter; people would buy honey in 

 place of butter; another thing, the 

 scarcity of fruit. Repeatedly I went 

 to get fruit and could not get it. Fruit 

 last summer was in poor shape and 

 it was expensive; it could not be kept 

 in intense hot weather. 



One store sold three cases of honey 

 in a very short time. I discontinued 

 shipping to larger markets because I 

 could get a great deal more right at 

 home than otherwise. 



I want to mention a peculiarity be- 

 tween two cities close together; in one 

 place I could sell readily and at the 

 other place I could not sell anything. 

 Some bee-keeper had brought honey 

 in. One store I used to deal with had 

 it advertised in their window for 

 thirteen cents. You can imagine what 

 he paid for it and see what effect it 

 would have on some of us. 



President Miller — I have had the 

 same experience in advertising in local 

 papers. I find there is a great dif- 

 ference in the advertising you put in; 



