336 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



co-operative effort on the part of the 

 producer. Bee keepers are not so much 

 to blame as at first appears. They are 

 doing- the best they know how in a 

 majority of cases, but the trouble is that 

 they know not what to do. The average 

 bee keeper does not produce honey enough 

 to pay to advertise. He is generally 

 located in the country, or in a small 

 town, and when a good yield comes, he 

 has the competition of all the farmer 

 bee keepers around. Their honey is 

 dumped on his market in any condition, 

 at any price. If he decides to ship to 

 the city, the chances are that he knows 

 not where to ship. He instinctively turns 

 to the bee journals and reads the ad- 

 vertisements of the honey buyers. These 

 buyers hear from hundreds of other bee 

 keepers, who, like himself, do not know 

 the condition of the city markets, and the 

 buyer is thus able to buy at a close 

 figure. The bee keeper cannot say "I 

 will take so much," but does say "'what 

 will you give?" 



Then we have the bee keeper who is 

 developing a home trade in a retail way. 

 The chances are that he will place his 

 price too low, adopt the wrong package, 

 or use poor selling methods. I believe 

 there are hundreds of bee keepers selling 

 honey in a retail way at a wholesale 

 price. I have done it myself and con- 

 gratulated myself on the business I was 

 doing. Today I can do better: but what 

 about that new bee keeper who enters 

 the ranks, and spoils my market through 

 ignorance? 1 say he should not be 

 criticised, but helped. He should be in- 

 structed how to put up his honey, where 

 to sell, and what price he should get. It 

 IS poor salesmanship to ask "what will 

 you pay?" instead of saying "the price 

 on this is so much." 



Then we come to the advertising ques- 

 tion. Many times it has been said that 

 honey should be advertised. But hov/? 

 The individual bee keeper can not ad- 

 vertise in a general way. Associations 

 have tried it with but poor success. Let 

 us suppose that we have an association 



that is able to spend several thousands 

 of dollars annually in advertising honey. 

 We will say that I am a city resident 

 with no knowledge of honey. 1 read the 

 advertisement and am convinced. I go 

 out to buy honey. Let us suppose that I 

 buy some of the stuff that is sometimes 

 put up by packers. Do you suppose that 

 I will believe that advertisement again? 

 Again, suppose that I am satisfied with 

 the first purchase, how much chance 

 have I of getting the same thing again? 

 Don't you see where we stand, brother 

 bee keeper? 



The value of the honey we produce 

 amounts to a great deal more than the 

 supplies we use. Now pick up your 

 bee journal and see the advertisements 

 of bee keepers' supplies. Now tell me, 

 if you can, where I will find any such 

 amount of advertising in the interest of 

 the man who produces the honey? 

 Something is certainly wrong, brother. 



The bee keeper and the farmer stand 

 in about the same boat. He produces 

 the crop, and then he says "what will 

 you give?" He gets his money and then 

 wants to buy his supplies and he says 

 "What will you take?" Rather a jug 

 handled affair is it not? 



But it is also true that he and he alone 

 is most to blame. No business could be 

 conducted long if conducted as the bee 

 keeper and farmer conduct theirs. The 

 fact that he succeeds at all is proof that 

 he has a business of great possibilities, 

 if conducted along true business princi- 

 ples. He knows how to produce the 

 article; he does not know how to sell it. 



The remedy for all this is the proper 

 organization of the producing class. An 

 association of several thousand bee 

 keepers, each paying only one dollar per 

 year, would furnish capital which could 

 hire at least one man to work for them. 

 Markets could be developed; advertising 

 done and the new bee keeper educated. 



Some are probably thinking as they 

 read this, that I said that an association 

 could not successfully advertise honey. 

 So I did, if i*-. is done as so far tried. But 



