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AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL 



Jan. 31, 1901. 



THE HONBST SUFFER BECAUSE OF THE DISHONEST. 



I have carefully considered the letter by "Colorado." 

 It would appear that he has had bad work unloaded on him, 

 and had to put up with it as it was. Has he ever dealt 

 with firms that have given perfect satisfaction in quality 

 and workmanship ? If so, why has he not stood by them ? 

 This question is for customers in general. 



The fact of the matter is, that a large proportion of 

 bee-keepers are always looking for the cheapest, and they 

 always get it. A customer of mine bought nothing of 

 me last season until September. I find he had bought else- 

 where at a less price, but admits that my goods were best, 

 and again orders of me at 7ny price, without making a sin- 

 gle objection, as " Colorado " does. 



Every supply dealer and manufacturer should be able 

 to establish a character beyond any question, by the best of 

 reference. I deal with hundreds of customers every year — 

 it is an easy matter for every one of them to get my stand- 

 ing within a week, but it is an utter impossibility for me to 

 find out the character and standing of all my customers. 

 If every bee-keeper were honest and fair, then it would be 

 perfectly safe and right for any reliable firm to submit 

 goods for inspection before payment. But it is a melan- 

 choly fact that bee-keepers have their regular proportion of 

 people that are dishonest, unfair, and cranky, as every 

 dealer knows. We must protect ourselves against this 

 class by " cash with the order," and the honest must suffer 

 for it. until after having establisht a character with a 

 firm, we sometimes make exceptions. But this does not 

 protect us against losing customers, and we are forced to 

 do the right thing to keep the business going. 



Why should /, as a " manufacturer and dealer," "con- 

 tribute any brains to make a general rule of business that 

 will protect both buyer and seller ? " Why should I contrib- 

 ute to make it perfectly safe for my customers to order of 

 my competitor ? If I have given them satisfaction and no 

 cause to complain, let them keep on buying of me, and if 

 they want to try the other man let them take their chance, 

 and not ask me to make it safe for them to try him. 



If it were a rule to ship goods on approval, we would be 

 at the mercy of dishonest people. What is to hinder a 

 man from ordering from several concerns and selecting 

 the best as he sees it, and refuse the others on some pre- 

 text ? We would never know, and if we did would have no 

 redress. Or what protection would we have against a 

 chronic crank and fault-finder ? 



Such conditions as Colorado complains of, while they 

 are liable to happen to any firm, and in fact do happen, 

 are exceptions. Where they are a rule, they will soon es- 

 tablish a reputation as being unreliable. For the few ex- 

 ceptions that happen to good firms, it is hardly worth con- 

 sidering a general rule as proposed. 



Let each firm do business on a principle that will sat- 

 isfy their customers. Let each make it a rule for them- 

 selves. Instead of forcing the dishonest and unreliable to 

 do right, let it be a " survival of the fittest." Let honest 

 and legitimate competition alone force a man to do right, 

 and be careful and considerate in dealing with his custo- 

 mers. Let him command their confidence, and let them 

 freely give it. It is only those that mistrust everybody else 

 that we ever have any trouble with. 



I have for a number of years shipt all of my honey to 

 one firm, for the reason that I have confidence in their hon- 

 esty, and I let good enough alone. 



The only general rule should be with the publishers. 

 Hold them responsible for the character of their advertis- 

 ers. It is an easy thing for them to do, and they can afford 

 it considering what we have to pay. Let it be understood, 

 that the appearance of an advertisement is a guaranty for 

 the character of the firm. Gus Dittmer. 



Later. — I had thought that perhaps I had been a little 

 too hard on " Colorado. " I have just read the editorial on 

 "A Dishonest Honey-Shipper," on page 691 (19001, and I 

 am more than ever confirmed in the position I have taken. 

 We must protect ourselves against that class of bee-keep- 

 ers, and the honest must suffer in consequence. G. D. 



Please send us Names of Bee-Keepers v^ho do not now 

 get the American Bee Journal, and we will send them sam- 

 ple copies. Then you can very likely afterward get their 

 subscriptions, for which work we offer valuable premiums 

 in nearly every number of this journal. You can aid much 

 by sending in the names and addresses when writing us on 

 other matters. 



Honey-Dew— Extracted-Honey Question. 



BY C. P. DADAXT. 



I HAVE received the following to be answered in the 

 American Bee Journal: 



Mr. C. p. D.idaxt: — Would you be kind enough to answer a few 

 iiuestions on the production of extracted honej' '. 



1. In our locality we have an occasional flow of the so-called 

 "honey-dew." Is there any danger of this being carried up into the 

 extracting-frames, or will it be used up for brood-rearing before the 

 white clover honey-flow ' The honey-dew flow comes in early spring 

 when the oaks are leafing. What I want to know is. Will it injiu'e the 

 grade of the white clover honey * 



2. Do you put your honey, as soon as extracted, into cans or into 

 a tank '. 



3. How do you clean extraoting-eombs after the honey-flow is 

 over '. 



4. Is it best to leave them on the hives from spring lUitil fall ? — 

 Carholl Co., Il.T.. 



1. Honey-dew is harvested and carried into the supers 

 just like any other crop. In the extracting supers, and when 

 there is no other honey harvested at the same time, it is all 

 right, for it can be taken out and sold separatelj-. It is cer- 

 tainly not good honey, but it is a " sweet," and much bet- 

 ter than no crop at all. In 1890 or 1891 (I do not remember 

 which), we harvested some 30 barrels of almost pure honey- 

 dew, and in fact there was little else. This was sold by us 

 at five cents per pound for baking purposes, and I believe 

 also for the use of tobacconists. We have used it ourselves 

 in wine-making and found it quite as efficient as any other 

 grade of honey. But its taste, for consumption as honey, is 

 not a recommendation. Some people call it '• bug-juice,"' 

 and seem to abhor it. Some of it, probably the bulk of it, 

 is certainly a production of aphides, but undoubtedlj' also 

 some honey-dew is an exudation from the tree, especially 

 that which is gathered around the acorns. 



The fact that honey-dew is the product of aphides 

 should not condemn it for all purposes. If aphides are 

 "bugs," so are bees ; they are all insects, and the fact that 

 one product is unpalatable does not make it entirely useless 

 or worthless. And in the matter of edibles, much depends 

 how we consider things. What we call cheese is called by 

 the Chinese "rotten milk," but we think cheese a greater 

 dainty than the young dogs that the Chinaman roasts as a 

 delicacy. 



One consolation is that honey-dew does not usually 

 prove very plentiful in times of a great clover honey-flow. 

 Then, the bees do not like it as well as clover honey, and 

 they do not always gather it when there is a good flow of 

 the better nectar. Yet there are times when clover and 

 honey-dew are harvested together. This is unfortunate for 

 the clover crop, for it does not take much of the poorer ar- 

 ticle to stain it in color, and to spoil the flavor. The only 

 remedy is to sell the mixture at a lower price. But we 

 must avoid keeping it for winter food, for there is not the 

 slightest doubt that it is not as healthy as white honey, 

 probably because it does not contain as much saccharine 

 ■substance, or because it contains more foreign matter, 

 which amounts to the same thing. 



2. We have always practiced putting our honey, as soon 

 as harvested, into barrels. Our reason for doing so is, that, 

 with the large crops we harvest, tanks would be very cum- 

 brous and very expensive. Then, we have never had any 

 trouble with barrels, tho we see that many people complain 

 of them. It is probably because we have always taken 

 pains to secure first-class, dry barrels, such as have been 

 used for alcohol or syrups, that are usually coated with 

 some sort of glue on the inside, which makes them honey- 

 tight. Too many people imagine that they can take a 

 leaky barrel and soak it with water, as they would for wine 

 or cider, and make it do for honey. This is a grave error. 

 Honey absorbs moisture to such an extent that it will 

 readily "drink up "the water contained in the wood, and 

 thus will dry up the wood and leave the barrel leaky as be- 

 fore. We found, at our expense, that if you take and melt 

 a lot of honey, and put it while hot, into even a very sound 

 barrel, the heat of the honey will dry up the wood enough 

 to cause it to leak at once, when it would not have done so 

 if cold honey had been put into it. We prefer barrels to 

 cans because we can handle the honey and draw it oft' into 

 any kind of a receptacle when ready to retail it. 



But we do not wish to speak against the honey-tank. 

 Any apiarist who has sufficient room and can secure a good, 

 big tank can place the honey in this and probably have it 

 continue to ripen, after it is' harvested, if the tank is kept 

 in a warm, dry place. Such a tank should be made of gal- 

 vanized iron or heavy tin, and placed where the honey may 



