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THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



so-called, and can we expect those who 

 have been buying cheap honey to pay at 

 once high prices for the best grades of 

 honey? They may, and doubtless will, 

 take our cheaper grades of honey, and 

 thus relieve our market from such un- 

 desirable competition. I doubt if the 

 new laws will at once raise the prices 

 of honey, although I expect they will 

 after a time. 



I have been watching with a good 

 deal of interest to see what effect the 

 new pure food law has upon maple sugar 

 and syrup. Maple sweets have prob- 

 ably been adulterated even more than 

 honey. Vermont is one of the largest 

 producers of maple sweets. The 1st of 

 April, • when it looked as though there 

 would be a short crop, the price went up 

 higher than I ever knew it to go, but a 

 month later, when it had been found 

 that a large crop had been secured, the 

 price dropped even below that of the past 

 two years; and, I am told, would have 

 gone even lower, but for the fact that 

 much of it was contracted early in the 

 season. It seems to be a question of 

 supply and demand. I believe that, 

 eventually, the price of such sugar and 

 syrup will be much higher as a result 

 of our new laws, but it comes slow. 



In 1869 the wholesale price of choice 

 white honey in New York was 50 cents 

 a pound, but the amount of such honey 

 in that market was very small, and the 

 prices of most things were higher in those 

 days. Tons of honey are now sent to 

 our larger towns where formerly hun- 

 dreds were sent. The honey crop now- 

 a-days is estimated by the number of 

 car loads each state can ship out. 



1 believe the true way and the best 

 way is to increase the consumption in 

 every legitimate way, even if we have to 

 take low prices, or even give it away at 

 first; and with increased demand will 

 come better prices. Let us have the 

 demand and the prices will come with- 

 out our worrying about it. An active 

 market is of even more importance than 

 high prices. Let us work for that. 



I am reminded in this connection of a 

 story that the late D. W. Quinby of New 

 York (Brother of Moses Quinby) once 

 told me. some thirty years ago. He ran 

 a commission store, and was a shrewd 

 but strictly honest man of the old style. 

 He said that once on Thanksgiving week 

 there was a large amount of turkeys 

 consigned to the various houses. The 

 poultry arrived on Monday. On Tuesday 

 they were ready for trade. Most of the 

 houses held their turkeys at 26 cents. 

 Instead of asking this price, he put the 

 price on his consignments at 18 cents, 

 with the result that at noon his turkeys 

 were all sold, and he spent the afternoon 

 making out returns to his shippers. The 

 next day it rained. The next day was 

 Thanksgiving day. A day later no one 

 wanted turkeys, and those who were 

 asking 26 cents on Tuesday were glad 

 to get 6 cents— at least, some of them. 

 "I knowed" Mr. Quinby used to say, in a 

 very knowing way, as he would light his 

 pipe with a parlor match, take a whiff or 

 two, and then talk till it went out and 

 then light up again. And he "knowed"' 

 that the price goods would command 

 depended very much upon the amount 

 to be sold and he did business in that 

 way. 



MiDDLEBURY, Vt. July 26, 1910. 



[Considering that the Review is striv- 

 ing to help its readers to dispose of their 

 honey crops to the best advantage, it 

 may surprise some of them that it should 

 make room for an article expressing 

 such views as those found in the fore- 

 going article; but the Review is always 

 ready to give all sides a hearing, and to 

 consider all factors having a bearing 

 upon the problem to be solved. Not 

 only this, but 1 believe there is much 

 truth in the views as set forth by Mr. 

 Crane. When the price of a luxury, like 

 honey, is forced upward until consump- 

 tion is curtailed, there is, eventually, loss 

 instead of gain. Mr. Crane truly says 

 that a brisk market at a fair price is 

 more desirable than a slow market at a 

 high price. Particularly is this true with 



