1917 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



17 



from Fig. 96, and appear in April and 

 May. The panicles are sometimes a 

 foot long. According to the notes 

 furnished by Air. Buchanan the honey 

 has a strong, distinctive flavor and is 

 light amber in color. 



The wood is heavy and hard and 

 yields a yellow dye. It is known also 

 as Kentucky yellow wood and gopher 

 wood. 



TULIP TREE OR YELLOW POl'LAR. 



The tulip tree, Liriodendron tidififera, 

 also known as yellow poplar, is a very 

 large tree often growing to a height of 

 from 100 to 140 feet and a diameter of 

 six to nine feet. It is found from 

 southern New England west to south- 

 ern Michigan and south to the Gulf 

 States, east of the Mississippi. It is 

 also found to a limited extent in south- 

 eastern Missouri and eastern Arkansas. 

 It blooms in April and May and pro- 

 duces a light amber honey of good 

 flavor. 



According to Buchanan the honey 

 yield from this source is heavy and the 

 tree is an important addition to the 



nectar-secreting flora of Tennessee 

 and nearby States. The showy flowers 

 are shown at Fig. 07. 



Atlantic, Iowa. 

 CopyriKht: 1917. by Frank C. Pellett. 



Selling Honey by Automobile 

 in Montana 



BY GEORGE W. YORK. 



THERE have been many ways of 

 disposing of the honey produced 

 by beekeepers, but perhaps not 

 many have, as yet, used the automobile 

 to the extent that Mr. and Mrs. Arthur 

 Sires have done the past year or two. 



They found that as Washington was 

 a good bee-country, and beekeepers in- 

 creased in numbers, it brought more 

 honey on the market, for which a place 

 must be found. As the smaller pro- 

 ducers did not launch out, it was left 

 for the larger ones, like the Sires 

 brothers, to take hold and find a more 

 extensive market. So they figured. 



FIG. 97. -BLOSSOMS OF THE TULIP TREE 



They found it almost impossible to 

 get grocers to handle honey to any 

 advantage by pushing the sales along, 

 and for several reasons. One was that 

 they were not interested; another, they 

 were not capable of explaining the 

 many uses of honey, as they had not 

 used it themselves. Some think it is to 

 be used only on the table, and call it a 

 luxury. But not so, for honey can be 

 used in many ways. Therefore, as the 

 Sires brothers had the honey, they de- 

 cided to find a market for it. But as 

 they could not reach the main honey- 

 eaters (the farmers) by railroad, they 

 bought an automobile, and had it fixed 

 up in proper shape for selling honey, as 

 shown in the illustration herewith. 



It took some fine figuring, as they 

 wanted to carry their " hotel " with 

 them, for many times they found it 

 hard to get a place to stop over night, 

 although the farmers, as a rule, are the 

 most free-hearted and generous peo- 

 ple one can meet. 



After getting things all arranged, 

 Arthur Sires and his hustling helpmeet 

 started out. October 26, 1915, they left 

 their home in Wapato, Wash., and 

 after traveling over 3600 miles they 

 landed at Ryegate, Mont, where they 

 made a short visit with a sister of Mr. 

 Sires, a Mrs. Gregg. This was July 14, 

 1916. During that time they disposed 

 of over 47,800 pounds of honey, mostly 

 at retail. 



They followed the railroad mainly, 

 so as to take in each town. They would 

 usually drive up to the post-office and 

 meet many who were coming in for 

 their mail. Some of them would buy 

 honey, while others would stand 

 around and ask questions, which were 

 gladly answered, as far as Mr. and Mrs. 

 Sires were able to do. 



When they found they had been "on 

 exhibition" long enough, they would 

 make a house-to-house canvass, where 

 they found many who were glad to 

 listen to the explanations of the real 

 value of honey as a food, and the many 

 ways in which it could be used, .such as 

 making cakes, cookies, gems, putting 

 up fruit, preserves and jellies. Mrs. 

 Sires being along, she would speak 

 from personal experience, which helped 

 greatly. 



They also had 1000 recipe books ex- 

 plaining how extracting is done, and 

 the numerous ways in which honey is 

 used in cooking and otherwise. They 

 found so many who were ignorant of 

 the real value of honey, that there was 

 need to explain, and also leave litera- 

 ture for them to read. 



Mr. Sires now has an order in for 

 5000 recipe books, which they expect 

 to hand out to those who are inter- 

 ested. They may never hear again 

 from some of those people they saw, 

 and to whom they sold honey, but Mr! 

 and Mrs. Sires feel that the seed has' 

 been sown on good ground, and some 

 one will reap the reward some day. 



Another thing they did in the way of 

 advertising that is well worth mention- 

 ing, was the putting up of small 

 printed wooden sign-boards on fences 

 along the way, telling where honey 

 could be bought of the Sires brothers. 

 Mr. Sires said it was surprising how 

 many orders they got through those 

 signboards. 



Mr. and Mrs. Sires are now located 

 at Great Falls, Mont., with a branch 

 house. They find Montana a good 



