January, igii. 



American Hee Joarnal 



be the better plan for him if he is not 

 a business man, able to handle the 

 business end of disposing of his crop 

 in a business-like way, in which he 

 may meet with serious losses that 

 would amount to much more than the 

 difference in the price obtained. 



So we have many bee-keepers, some 

 who have not enough honey to warrant 

 them shipping it out, while others are 

 extensive producers who prefer to de- 

 vote all their time to honey-production, 

 who sell their entire crops to a large 

 dealer who re-ships the honey out, 

 making a certain margin of profit on it. 



On the other hand, there are those 

 who combine the entire business, not 

 only making honey-production alone a 

 specialty, but devoting their time also 

 to the real business end of the business, 

 that of disposing the crop to the best 

 advantage. And to this class nearly all 

 of our foremost bee-keepers belong. 

 Although the time was when very few 

 of them did this — selling their product 

 to larger dealers as above mentioned — 

 the number of real business bee-keep- 

 ers is on the increase, and the number 

 of these is quite large at present. 



The most general method employed 

 is to send out each year, just before 

 the honey crop is ready to harvest, an 

 annual price-list of names of firms and 

 persons who buy honey, obtained in 

 various ways. These are not neces- 

 sarily dealers of any kind alone, 

 although many of the honey orders 

 come from them ; but there are num- 

 bers of customers who buy their sup- 

 ply of honey for their own private use 

 direct from the producer. Some of 

 these buy their honey every year in this 

 way, quite a number having bought 

 from me for more than a dozen years. 

 As time goes on, therefore, the lists 

 increase in number of names, espe- 

 cially if the producer is careful to make 

 a reputation for his honey by sending 

 out nothing but that which is first-class 

 in every respect. In this way the honey 

 will advertise itself, adding annually 

 new customers to the list. 



There are also various ways of send- 

 ing out these price-lists. One of these 

 is to write to each person or firm 

 something like the following, for which 

 circular letters, either printed or 

 copied, may be used to advantage : 



Dear Sir foR Sirs):— We are sending yoii 

 our prices of honey. The crop over the 

 State is short this year on account of the 

 drouth, but our honey is of the most excel- 

 lent quality and flavor. A trial order will 

 convince you. 



On account of the short crop the price is 

 slightly higher, and for this reason it is an 

 advantage to buy your honey direct from the 

 producer in case lots, and save all the mid- 

 dlemen's profits. 



We guarantee personally every pound of 

 honey that we ship out. under the State and 

 the National Pure Food Laws, as being ab- 

 solutely pure honey. Our prices are f. o. b. 

 our shipping points here: 



Comb Honey. 

 6o-lb. cans with 8-in. screw caps. 2 in a 



case, per lb iic 



12-lb. friction-top pails. lo in a case, per 



lb ii'Ac 



6-lb. friction-top pails, lo in a case, per 



lb I2C 



lb. friction-top pails. lo in a case, per 

 lb I2iiC 



Kxtracted honey in the same sizes of cases 

 and cans 2 cents per pound less. 



Our terms are sight-draft attached to the 

 bill of lading. 



Trusting that we may hear from you if you 

 are in need of some good honey, we arc. 

 Yours very truly. 



The Louis H. Schoi.i, Aimakif.s. 



The letters are to be on the pro- 

 ducer's regular stationery, which bears 

 the letter-head of his business at the 

 top, and is thus an additional advertise- 

 ment for him and his goods. 



Another way that we often employ is 

 to write the letter separately from the 

 price-list, often writing a personal let- 

 ter to an old customer or a reliable 

 firm, and then inclosing a printed price- 

 list reading as follows : 



Comb and E.xtracted Honey. 



We are prepared to make prompt ship- 

 ments of both Comb and Extracted Honey 

 of superior quality and flavor. Sample upon 

 request. Prices f. o. b. New Braunfels. Tex. 



E.XTRACTED Honey. 



60-lb. cans with i^s-in. screw caps, 2 in 



case, per lb qc 



12-lb. friction-top pails. 10 in case, per 



lb gj^c 



6-lb. friction-top pails. 10 in case, per 



lb IOC 



3-lb. friction-top pails. 20 in case, per 



lb lo'Ac 



Comb Honey. 

 60-lb. cans with 8-in. screw caps. 2 in 



case, per lb iic 



12-lb. friction-top pails. 10 in case, per 



,1b.,....., , ii^c 



6-lb. friction-top pails, 10 m case, per 



lb I2C 



3-lb. friction-top pails. 20 in case, per 



lb I2}ic 



Terms :-Sight-draft, bill of lading at- 

 tached, subject to examination. 

 Soliciting your early favors, we are. 

 Respectfully yours. 



The Louis H. Scholl Apiaries. 

 New Braunfels. Tex. 



This same price-list is also often 

 simply enclosed with letters of general 

 correspondence to various persons, 

 often bringing orders from those that 

 it is least suspected. It has often hap- 

 pened that we were requested to send 

 a lot of these lists to certain persons 

 who had enquiries for honey, and the 

 results have always been very satisfac- 

 tory, indeed. 



I have found that it is the cheapest 

 way of advertising my honey, and I 

 have always been able to sell more 

 honey than I could produce, often hav- 

 ing to resort to buying a great deal 

 more from other reliable producers to 

 help fill the demand. This method of 

 advertising is by far better than adver- 

 tising in newspapers and other periodi- 

 cals, although these may also be used 

 at times. But this is more expensive, 

 and the results are not always as cer- 

 tain as the letter idea, so I have never 

 used that method. 



After a producer gets started with a 

 long list of customers, whether they all 

 buy from him every year or not — and 

 he strives constantly to give the best 

 of satisfaction, furnishes the very best 

 of honey, so that it will advertise itself 

 from place to place — he will not have 

 any great trouble about disposing of 

 his annual crop of honey, and at a 

 good price. 



Convention <^ Proceedings 



The Pecos Valley Convention. 



The Pecos Valley Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation, comprising the counties of 

 Chaves and Eddy, met in Roswell, N. 

 M., Oct. 5 and «, ]!11(). Pres. R. B. 

 Slease, of Roswell, called the meeting 

 to order at 9 :;50 a.m. the first day. 

 There were over ;50 bee-keepers pres- 

 ent during the convention. 



The minutes of the previous meeting, 

 held June 20, llllO, at which time the 

 organization of bee-men was effectetj, 

 were read and approved. 



The bee-men of the Valley ship sev- 

 eral cars of honey to the market an- 

 nually, but owing to the exorbitant 

 freight-rates charged they are not able 

 to compete successfully with honey- 

 producers in other parts of the country 

 In the endeavor to overcome this con 

 dition the following petition was ap- 

 proved : 



PETITION. 



To the Hon. ./. lirinkcr . General Freight Agent 

 of the Eastern Rail-u'oy of New Mexico: 



At a convention of the Pecos Valley Bee- 

 Keepers' Association held in Roswell, N. M.. 

 Oct. 5. loio: 



We respectfully petition you for your aid 

 in securing for us a lower rate on honey from 

 the towns of Roswell. Dexter, Hagerman. 

 Artesia. and Carlsbad, in the Valley, to Chi- 

 cago. III., and Kansas City. Mo. We have 

 now much more honey than we can sell at 

 home, and we can easily increase our pro- 

 duct, and desire to do so. We wish in the 

 future to be sureof selling all the honey we 

 can produce, and we feel compelled to ask 

 for lower rates to the large honey markets 

 of Chicago and Kansas City. 



Among our Western honey-producing 

 States, Colorado takes first rank, and we 



would come in competition with its im- 

 mense honey product. 



We understand that the distance from 

 Denver to Kansas City and Chicago over the 

 Santa Ke railroad is virtually the same dis- 

 tance as those cities are from Roswell. 



The carload rate from Denver to Chicago' 

 on "comb honey in boxes with glass fronts" 

 is 07 cents, and on "extracted honey in tin 

 cans boxed." is 75 cents per 100 pounds. 



We earnestly desire to obtain theg7-cent 

 rate to Chicago that Denver honey shippers 

 pay on comb honey in boxes with glass 

 fronts. 



We also ask for a 6655 cent rate to Chicago 

 on extracted honey, that being S200 per car- 

 load of 30.000 pounds, which is about two- 

 thirds of the rate that we have asked yon to 

 make on our comb honey, and it is about, 

 and perhaps above, the average proportional 

 rate from other States. For example, the 

 California rate on extracted honey is just 

 one-half as much as its rale on comb honey. 

 This we have just learned from the Santa 

 Fe railroad office in Chicago. 



Another reason why we desire a lower 

 rate on extracted honey is. for some reason 

 unknown to us, honey is darker in color here 

 than the Colorado honey, and though equal 

 in quality the price is invariably cut down 

 from 1 to ij4 cents per pound on account of 

 this amber color. 



Another package mentioned in the West- 

 ern Classification on which we would like 

 Eroportional rates, is on " comb honey in 

 oxes." no glass. 



We further desire rates to Kansas City 

 that would be about proportional to what 

 we have asked for Chicago. 



It would be desirable, frequently, to send 

 both comb and extracted honey in the same 

 car to make up a full carload. This is done 

 elsewhere, and each kind is billed out at its 

 own rate, and we ask that this feature shall 

 be arranged to accommodate us. We have 

 been assured that you have taken a kindly 

 interest in helping out various industries of 

 the Pecos Valley, and now that wu arc in 

 need of help we come to you for assistance, 

 and will be ever thankful for such aid as 

 you can give us. 



On behalf of the convention. 

 R. B. Si, EASE, Pres. Henry C. Barron, Sec. 



