ul.EA^;l^■Gs in bee cuetuue 



SkI'T. 1 



last fall, for not one pound of honey was 

 taken from the five stands, and a little poor 

 honey-dew was all the summer alTorded. 

 ("ome and see; or if any of your friends can 

 duplicate this performance I should like to 

 correspond with them. 

 Seven Mile, < )hio. 



[If our correspondent were not the cele- 

 brated "corn-man " we should most certain- 

 ly doubt his veracity. The case is indeed 

 remarkable, and we believe Mr. Hunter 

 holds the record. — Ed.] 



SELLING HONEY IN CITY MARKETS. 



Stalls in Market Places Preferable to Grocery 

 Stores. 



BY ELMER J. WEAVEK. 



There have recently been several articles 

 on the subject of marketing honey, each of 

 which has been of value, since the exjieri- 

 ence of many in dilTerent sections of the 

 country, describing methods of selling at 

 good prices in local markets without shij)- 

 ])ing to large centers, is a great help toward 

 liolding the market firm. Honey is not 

 considered a necessity b^^ the majority of 

 citizens, like vegetables, etc.; but it is from 

 the vegetable-market standpoint that I wish 

 to treat the subject. 



My chief occupation is growing carnations 

 tor cut flowers during winter. During the 

 spring, each season, a large lot of tomato- 

 plants are set out among the carnations. 

 These ripen four to six weeks earlier than 

 outdoors in this section. The marketing of 

 tomatoes in Lancaster, a city of about 

 oO,000, at a i)rice ranging from eight to four- 

 teen cents per pound, in competition with 

 tomatoes from Florida and Mississippi, has 

 given me a good opjiortunity to study the 

 markets, as it requires a wide distribution 

 to hold these prices and dispose of a ton or 

 more each week. Being very much inter- 

 ested in bees and bee-keeping I have been 

 watching the marketing of honey also. 

 Nearly all the vegetables sold in Lancaster 

 are ])roduced by farmers and truck-garden- 

 ers living within hauling distance of the 

 city, the produce being taken to the various 

 markets, of which there are six. Stalls are 

 rented all winter to each farmer, who sells 

 his produce direct to the customer. These 

 same conditions probably prevail in many 

 cities of the United States. Instead of mak- 

 ing an effort to retail my tomato crop, which 

 requires a low jirice to dispose of any quan- 

 tity at one or two markets, I distribute them 

 among eighteen to twenty stall-holders in 

 the various markets, and also among the best 

 grocers in the city. In this manner I can 

 realize the i)rice mentioned above, and the 

 retailer easily makes a good commission. I 

 find that the grocers in Lancaster sell very 

 little honey. The leading one usually has 

 honey in tifie store; but a customer has to 

 inquire for it in order to know whether there 



is any in stock. On several occasions I liave 

 asked him how honey sells, and he has re- 

 l^lied that goo<l extracted honey sells fairly 

 well in jelly-glasses, though not so readily 

 in special honey-jars, as the outlay is less, 

 for one reason, and then the jelly-glasses 

 can be used for a variety of purposes. At 

 this store a limited amount of comb honey 

 is sold, though it is rarely displayed in an 

 attractive manner. 



I consider the nuirket the best place to 

 dispose of honey, there being several parties 

 that I know who sell quite a quantity at 

 good i)rices. To one of these 1 have sold ex- 

 tracted honey at 10 cts. a pound in lard-cans, 

 and he furnished the cans. He sells the 

 honey almost exclusively in jelly-glasses, as 

 his customers prefer it that way. This same 

 man sells over a ton of comb honey each 

 .season at 20 cts., the price of extracted be- 

 ing usually 12 cts. a glass, the same as the 

 tomatoes mentioned above. The stall-hold- 

 er in the market has more chance to display 

 honey conspicuously than the ordinary gro- 

 cer has, as the variety of goods offered for 

 sale is infinitely less than in the grocery. 



Customers going to the grocery store usu- 

 ally have a list of goods that they want: 

 and unless they are regular consumers of 

 honey they never think of buying any, as 

 the grocer usually has a lot of new goods to 

 offer when the regular list is purchased. 

 When going to a grocery store myself I ha\ e 

 never known a clerk to make an effort to 

 sell me honey. Then many o| the best cus- 

 tomers do not go to the store themselves, 

 but use the telephone almost exclusively. 

 These same people, on the other hand, go to 

 markets several times weekly, and usually 

 have their special stands to which they go 

 for butter, eggs, vegetables, etc. If honey 

 were disj^layed attractively, and the sales- 

 man, having but a few different kinds of 

 goods to sell, used a little pressure, he could 

 build up a good trade, as evidenced by the 

 one man mentioned above, who realizes 20 

 cts. a pound for comb honey. 



It may take some time for a bee-keeper to 

 build up a trade in this manner; but I think 

 that, with perseverance, a fine business 

 could eventually be established if the goods 

 are attractive. The majority of salesmen in 

 the markets are glad to sell any thing on 

 which they can make a fair commission. I 

 have found that extracted honey sells readi- 

 ly also in pint and quart Mason jars, at 45 

 to 50 cts. a quart, about 4 cts. being allowed 

 for the empty jar if the purchaser cares to 

 return it. 



A small proportion of farmers around the 

 country here keep bees, mainly in box hives, 

 and produce .some dirty-looking crooked 

 honey in -IX square sections without sejja- 

 rators or starters. Yet in spite of the ap- 

 pearance they market it at about 20 cts. a 

 pound, (irocers could not sell the same 

 apology for honey for half the price. This 

 only shows what can be done by bringing 

 honey, even if of a very inferior quality, to 

 the direct attention of the consumer. 



The same salesman in the market could 



