Sept. 5, 1901. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



565 



Briefly stated, there are three essentials for 

 success in bottling- honey : 



1. Best quality of well-ripened honey. . 



2. Neat, attractive package, useful when empty. 



3. Ag-gressive selling methods. 

 You might have the very finest honey, but if it 



is not put up attractively, it will not sell. You 

 might have a poor article put up in a showy, gaudy, 

 labeled package, but no one will buy a second time. 

 Again, you may have a fine article of heavy body 

 and fine flavor, put up in the right kind of package ; 

 but if you leave it at home, what good will it do ? 

 Be up-to-date ; be agressive ; talk honey everywhere 

 you go. I built up an enormous trade in the fall 

 of 1894 with a well-ripened crop of honey from dry- 

 weather vine and fall flowers. I controlled at that 

 time a large portion of the drug trade in Evans- 

 ville, and probably half of the grocery trade. I 

 bought 5 barrels of Root's No. 25 1-pound jars, and 

 one gross each of the 5-oz. and 8-oz. square flint 

 Muth jars, and S gross of l-pound, and 3 gross of 

 2-pound Muth jars, all at one time. I had every 

 kind of package to please the most fastidious. I 

 sold both the 1-pound square and round jars at $2.00 

 per dozen, to retail at 20 cents. The 5 barrels of 

 Root's No. 25 jars were gone in a jifFy, while I have 

 nearly all the 5 and 8 oz. jars yet. These I use at 

 fairs to give away as samples. I often sold a dozen 

 of the round jars to housewives who wanted a set 

 for jelly, etc., but never sold more than one or two 

 of the square jars at one time to any lady. They 

 are considered worthless when empty, although my 

 wife likes them for small pickles and catsup. I use 

 the No. 50 label, costing $1.75 per 1000, for both 

 round and square 1-pound jars. This label is 

 showy, and will not soil easily in fly-time. I find 

 the 2-pound square jar an easy seller to parties who 

 mix their own cough medicine every winter. 



I have now dwelt at length on the merits of various I 

 packages, as I think it a very important item to help sell 

 our honey. I forgot to say my worst-selling package was 

 the tin lard-bucket, Mr. R. C. Aikin notwithstanding. 

 They might be all right to sell to old customers ; but the 

 main objection is that people can not see the contents 

 unless it is opened. To get new customers to buy your 

 honey, invest 5 cents in a " glass show-case." As honey is 

 not a staple, instruct the grocer to place conspicuously, and 

 you will have the pleasure of selling both " show-case " 

 and honey at the same time. 



HOW TO UQUEFY ; HOW TO WASH THE BOTTLES. 



We will now proceed to the process of bottling. Have 

 your honey liquefied, if candied, holding the same at ISO 

 degrees for two or three hours. By using a gasoline stove 

 you can regulate to a degree, almost. Be sure not to over- 

 heat it. It will stand 170 to 180 for a short time, but I pre- 

 fer not to risk losing the aroma and injuring the delicate 

 flavor. If you are compelled to buy honey, always buy in 

 60-pound tin cans, as they are more convenient to handle. 

 While you are liquefying your honey, wash your bottles, 

 using clear, soft water with sal-soda and shot to remove 

 dirt and particles of glass if new. Then rinse in clear 

 water, and place bottom upward in racks to drain. This 

 will make flint jars clear and sparkling. I did use a ten- 

 gallon filling-can, bought of Mr. Muth, but now prefer to 

 use my extractor (with cross-arm and basket removed), 

 raised to a convenient height. I prefer to bottle honey 

 hot, as it runs quicker, retains its aroma, and will stay 

 liquid longer than if bottled cold. 



Have the rack containing empty jars at your left. 

 Place the pan under the honey -gate to catch any drippings. 

 You will soon learn how to cut oft' the flow just right the 

 first time. Pass the jar to an assistant at the right, who 

 presses the cork (cost 75 cents per gross) in the mouth, then 

 dips the jar into melted wax and paraftine, half of each. 

 A second assistant puts on the tinfoil (costs 75 cents per 

 gross) in place ; winds a capping-strap around the jar with 

 the right hand ; then holds the jar with the left hand, run- 

 ning the head up and down on the strap until the cap is 

 nicely smoothed down. A pasteboard, about 12x20, cov- 

 ered with dextrine (costs ten cents per pound), is covered 

 with labels in front of the operator. She lays the jar down 

 flat, deftly catches the label by the corner, removes it from 

 the board, attaches it to the center of the jar, smoothing it 

 out with a soft cloth ; then she places the jar in the case at 

 the right, holding a dozen each. 



After a little practice, three persons can easily fill, cork, 



No. 2. — FILLING THE .lARS. AND CAPPING. 



wax, tinfoil, label, and pack 800 pounds a day, and not spill 

 a drop of honey, by this method. The corks used for 

 honey-jars are seconds, and ought to be covered with wax 

 to effect an air-tight sealing while the honey is hot. 



HOW TO SELL THE BOTTLED GOODS. 



Now, then, we are ready to sell. Tog up a bit ; for if 

 you will notice you will see that all successful salesmen are 

 well dressed and well groomed. Take a sample jar of each 

 kind, and go to your grocer. If he is busy, see if he has 

 any honey in sight. Don't attempt to sell to him while he 

 is busy. If he is not, tell him you have a fine article of 

 honey, fine flavor, and good body ; that the crop of honey 

 is very short this year, and you will not have very much to 

 sell. If you tell him you have five tons he will expect to 

 get it for nothing. Hold your jar to the light ; turn it 

 upside down to show how thick it is ; talk honey, talk busi- 

 ness, and stick right to him. Have one price for every- 

 body. It will pay you to allow a good margin of profit, 

 and he will then try to make more sales than if he made a 

 very small percenf of profit. But be sure to have your 

 honey placed where every one can see it on entering the 

 store, as people hardly ever ask for honey unless they see it. 



Remember, in conclusion, that he who tooteth not his 

 own horn, the same shall not be tooted. 



LIQUEFYING-APPARATUS — SEE FIG. 1. 



In presenting a photo of ray liquefying-apparatus I 

 have tried to make it conform as nearly as possible to the 

 requirements of the average bee-keeper. Although I usu- 

 ally liquefy on a gasoline range, the cut shows 500 pounds 

 of candied honey liquefying, without interfering with the 

 preparation of meals. Two 60-pound cans are placed in 

 two common wash-boilers, then filled with water, and 

 heated gradually. After all the honey in the can is lique- 

 fied it is drawn off into an extractor-can (with the baskets 

 and crank removed), by means of a rubber hose, the can 

 being covered to prevent foreign substances lodging 

 therein. I had a Muth ten-gallon filling-can, but I like the 

 extractor better, as it has a much larger honey-gate, which 

 is very essential in rapid filling. If the honey is cold, the 

 flow can not be cut off a third as fast ; therefore with honey 

 at about 140 to 150 degrees Fahr., and a large honey-gate, 

 we attain the maximum of rapidity in filling. Besides, X 

 found, at least in my experience, that, in filling with cold 

 honey, a large number of air-bubbles formed, thus prevent- 

 ing our getting the desired amount in the bottles. It would 

 also run over the sides when heated to the right degree. 



Of course, no one would attempt to seal until the 



