ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



123 



agent or a beggar. If I happen to have 

 enquiries, it gives me a little courage, 

 but, just as soon as I meet a refusal or 

 a doubt of the quality or purity of my 

 product, I want to be a hundred miles 

 away, as soon as possible." 



There is too much truth in that state- 

 ment for the good of honey marketing. 

 The only remedy for that bashfulness 

 is the securing of a good talker, or 

 thorough advertising. However, with 

 a little self-reliance, a man can get 

 a start and, if he succeeds, he becomes 

 encouraged. 



I cannot, too much, urge the selling 

 of our crop or as much of it as possi- 

 ble, in our own vicinity. Personally, 

 we have sold our own crops usually 

 without difficulty and we now sell 

 three or four times as much as we 

 produce. But, even with all the ad? 

 vertising that we do, every now and 

 then we find that other honey has been 

 supplied where we could have fur- 

 nished it, had we more thoroughly cov- 

 ered the ground. 



This essay is already longer than I 

 intended to write. So let me resume 

 my views. 



Cheap sweets, which can in no way 

 be true' substitutes for honey, are the 

 greatest hindrances to its sale, since 

 they apparently fill the demand, 

 through the positive ignorance of the 

 masses concerning the differences in 

 food value and healthfulness. 



So we must openly and unrelentingly 

 fight the cheap sweets. We should 

 demand the help of our agricultural 

 officials and colleges in this fight. 



To "Eat Honey" should be ceaseless- 

 ly urged upon the public. Those little 

 stickers are now offered by several 

 parties. They cost but a trifle and 

 ought to be posted wherever people 

 can see them. That they do an im- 

 mense amount of good cannot be 

 doubted. "We have received quite a 

 number of statements to this effect. Of 

 course larger methods of advertising 

 should be used whenever practicable. 

 I must here commend the A. I. Root 

 Co., for the wholesale advertising that 

 they have done. These things are for 

 the' common good of us all. If Mr. Root 

 is present at your meeting, I would, by 

 all means, ask him to say something 

 on the subject, for he knows a dozen 

 different inexpensive ways for bee- 

 keepers to push their product, without 

 taking the risk of being mistaken for 

 book agents or tramps. 



C. P. DADANT. 



While we are on this subject of mar- 

 keting and boosting honey — one, who 

 was connected whole soul and body 

 with our bee-keeping fraternity and 

 who has had a good deal to do with 

 the holding together of our National 

 Association, and who has volunteered 

 to get before us his idea of marketing 

 to the extent that he is going finan- 

 cially into his own pocket, is here with 

 us now, and we will hear from Mr. 

 Williams at this time; he can add to 

 this subject: 



TEACHING THE FOOD VALUE OF 

 HONEY. 



George W. Williams, Redkey, Ind. 



I was a little bit at a loss to know 

 how to get at this paper. I had a little 

 intimation there was going to be a lot 

 of school ma'rms here, and they are 

 not bee-keepers, and so I came loaded 

 both ways, but I see I will have to 

 stick to the text that has been laid 

 down — 



Ladies and gentlemen, I have one 

 apology to make for this paper: I have 

 been on the run for two weeks; I 

 started to typewrite it and my car 

 came along and I had to go; I can 

 read my own writing immediately 

 after I have written it, but not when 

 it gets cold. 



I entitled this: "Teaching the Food 

 Value of Honey." 



It is not my purpose at this time and 

 in this paper to enter into a scientific 

 discussion and analysis of the exact 

 food value of honey. It has a food value 

 of an exceptionally high order, placing 

 it in the front rank of all foods, both 

 prepared and otherwise. These values 

 have been exactly determined by scien- 

 tific men and are really attainable. 



My object in presenting this paper 

 is to consider ways and means by 

 which this knowledge can be given to 

 the general public through channels 

 that will be efficient, and still be within 

 the financial limits of the bee-keepers. 



I will endeavor, however, to give an 

 outline of the problem, for it is a prob- 

 lem and a vexing one for their consid- 

 eration. 



Honey has ever been recognized as 

 a standard of excellence and luscious 

 sweetness, among all the delicate and 

 satisfying good things to eat. It is held 

 in the highest esteem, all down the 

 centuries, even to the times of our 

 grandfathers, who regarded it as a 

 necessity for sweetening, and a deli- 



