August, 10 IC. 



-■'^>i5i^^=^ 



203 



American Hee Journal 



which I had to pay, reduced the net 

 returns to such low figures that a proht 

 above actual cost was out of the ques- 

 tion. But what else could I do .'' the 

 surrounding country was too sparsely 

 settled to make selling from house to 

 house a profitable undertaking, and no 

 city market being within easy reach, 1 

 had to submit to these unfavorable 

 conditions. The very best of my bass- 

 wood honey, which was in no way 

 inferior to the fancy white clover 1 

 produce in my present location, seldom 

 netted me over 12 cents, and frequently 



less 



I had reason to believe that that same 

 honey sold at that time to the con- 

 sumer at from 22 to 24 cents, when 1 

 had to be satisfied with about one-halt 

 of those figures. I wondered many 

 times why we producers could not cut 

 out some of these intermediate expen- 

 ses, and at the same time stimulate the 

 use of honey by furnishing our goods 

 direct to the consumer at a less price. 

 I could account for some of these out- 

 goes. The express company charged 

 $1 25 per hundred and the commission 

 firms 10 percent for their service, cov- 

 ering together about 3 cents per pound 

 But what about the remaining 8 or 9 

 cents? Did they go into the retailer s 

 till as his profit ? If so, he received too 

 big a share. 



Since I have moved to my present 

 home, some 14 or 15 years ago, I have 

 changed the foregoing program ma- 

 terially. Present conditions enable me 

 to deal direct with consumers and 

 retailers, and by doing so save all my 

 former commission and express ex- 

 penses. Of course, I have to spend my 

 time on the road; but during the latter 

 part of the honey season, when the hurry- 

 ing work of the bee-yard is out of the 

 way and when the early honey is ready 

 for the market, a couple of days each 

 week on the road pay me ample travel- 

 ing fees. 



At first I started to sell from house 

 to house. Although I did quite well 

 under the circumstances, it did not 

 not agree with my nature. Being nat- 

 urally bashful and adverse to making 

 friends with strangers, it is th; hardest 

 work I can do to enter a house and 

 introduce myself and my business 

 where I am not already known. This 

 natural inclination, or rather disincli- 



nation opened up a new outlet for my 

 product. I am within easy reach of 

 two city markets, one four and the 

 other six miles from my home, and to 

 escape the embarrassing feature of 

 calling at private homes, I made a trial 

 trip to one of them. The result was 

 surprisingly satisfactory. There I could 

 sell more honey in two hours than I 

 could sell in two or three days on the 

 road. This discovery induced me to 

 change my former tactics of selling 

 from house to house to making regular 

 weekly visits to these two markets, 

 where, by close attention and fair deal 

 I have established a home market that 

 furnishes a ready outlet for all the 

 honey I can raise. 



If my crops should be counted by the 

 25 and 50 tons, I would probably have 

 to look for another market. But I am 

 a small beekeeper. The few tons I 

 produce at present I can easily dispose 

 of at fairly good prices at these home 

 markets. My advanced age compels 

 me, as Dr. Miller says, to long for less 

 work. My ambition does not run so 



much for the greatest number of colo- 

 nies I can keep as for the greatest 

 average amount of surplus honey I can 

 take from my bees. If with better 

 methods and less labor I can take the 

 same amount of honey from one-half 

 of the bees it formerly took under 

 common management, I am the gainer 

 in more than one respect, and in this I 

 have been successful beyond my most 

 sanguine expectations. 

 La Salle, N. Y. 



Selling the Honey. — A good crop, in 

 some places a record-breaking crop, 

 has been harvested in the central and 

 northern States. 



When you establish your prices for 

 honey, bear in mind that sugar is high 

 in price this season and that honey 

 should sell and usually sells at better 

 prices than sugar. On the other hand 

 it is a mistake to ask exorbitant prices. 

 Honey cannot be a staple unless the 



G. C. GREINER IN HIS WELL KEPT APIARY 



HOFMANS OUTDOOR FEEDER AT THE HOME .APIARY 



families of limited means can afford to 

 buy it. 



Avoid shipping your crop to the 

 large centers, from whence it will be 

 shipped back to your local retailers 

 and country stores. Work your locality 

 thoroughly, exhibiting samples to pro- 

 spective customers, or hire some com- 

 petent salesman to do it for you. It 

 will pay better than shipping your 

 honey away for an unknown price. 



There is nothing so attractive as 

 honey, in the entire line of country 

 produce, and consumers are easily 

 secured if the honey is properly put up 

 and well presented. The United States, 

 with a little effort on the part of the 

 honey producer, can consume readily 

 twice as much honey as has ever been 

 put upon its markets. 



