46 



THE BEE-KEEPERS" REVIEW 



located inside of one square mile, and 

 run for comb honey, and these bees have 

 often equaled, yes, surpassed my yields. 

 If these 500 colonies were all gathered 

 into one yard, and put in charge of one 

 good bee keeper, would they be good 



money makers? Yes sir! 1 have been 

 watching that mile of bees for some 

 time, and when it beats my four apiaries 

 that are widely scattered, it sets me to 



thinking. 



Delmar. Iowa, Dec. 16, 1910. 



«%^-^^ 



Help from a Committee on Prices. Don't Consign; 

 and Don't Cut Prices; but Advertise. 



0. L. HERSHISER. 



T AST year a 

 •'^1 dealer wrote 

 a producer of 

 honey in Cana- 

 da, asking for a 

 quotation on his 

 iancy honey. A 

 price was named 

 which was the 

 same as advis- 

 ed by the crop 

 committee of the 

 Ontario bee keepers' association. (That 

 such price was reasonable is evidenced by 

 the fact that practically all of Ontario's 

 crop of honey went out of the producers' 

 hands before the first of January, at the 

 prices recommended by the committee.) 

 The dealer replied that he thought that 

 figure too high and offered 1 ^i cts. less, 

 with the promise that if he had to pay 

 others more he would do the same by 

 the producer in question. This producer, 

 being a little wise to the ways of dealers, 

 declined the bait. He rightly reasoned 

 that a dealer with a large list of pro- 

 ducers would write the same sort of 

 letter to each, and would place himself 

 under no obligation to pay more than the 

 lowest price offered, as out of a large 

 number of producers, he would succeed 

 in purchasing of at least a few at his 

 own figures. 



It is no trouble for Canadian bee keep- 

 ers to sell their honey at committee's 

 prices. 



And, by the way, this crop committee 



of the Ontario bee keepers' association is 

 one of the best things that ever happened 

 to Canadian bee keepers. This com- 

 mittee meets immediately after the white 

 honey harvest, and after considering 

 the reports of the amount and quality of 

 the crop, as furnished by members of the 

 association; the condition of the times, 

 whether good or bad; the fruit crop as 

 it may influence the price of honey; the 

 condition of the farmers, whether their 

 crops are abundant and the prices ob- 

 tainable; the condition of the laboring 

 c'asses, whether well employed or other- 

 wise; — after taking all these and any 

 other influences into consideration, the 

 committee advises the members of the 

 association what the price of white honey 

 ought to be. A later meeting of the 

 committee is held to deal with the crop 

 of buckwheat honey, at which time the 

 first report may be revised if it seems 

 best so to do. Ontario bee keepers are 

 thus advised of the true value of their 

 honey, and dealers are gradually gaining 

 respect for the committee's recommenda- 

 tions. Instead of so much quibbing over 

 prices, they are purchasing at producers' 

 quotations, well knowing that nearly 

 every large bee keeper has the same 

 story to tell as to the price of honey. 

 The dealer is learning that the honey 

 producer has reliable sources of informa- 

 tion as to the crop, and thus business is 

 transacted without so much "off side 

 play;" and that old game of "bluff" is 

 on the rapid decline, so far as Canadian 



