682 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 15 



As this is gross weight, we find by a little fig- 

 uring that about 55 cents per 100 lbs. is what 

 the freight will cost, and the cartage will 

 bring it up to 60 cents. Quotations during 

 the months of July and August are generally 

 little more than nominal ; but from them we 

 will guess that fancy honey will bring from 

 13 to 15 cents this year. But unless your 

 honey is exceptionally fine I should not put 

 it above 14. Then as most commission men 

 charge 10 per cent for selling, we have $1.40 

 as the cost of selling 100 lbs. This, added to 

 the 60 cents freight and cartage, makes a cost 

 of about 2 cents per pound to get our product 

 to market, and the cash for it in our posses- 

 sion, so that, on the basis of these figures, if 

 you can not sell the honey you have in Skan- 

 eateles and surrounding towns at 12 cents per 

 pound, you had better send it to New York." 

 " Well, I had never thought of reasoning it 

 out in that way. I thought I ought to have 

 13 cts. for it, or only one cent less than New 

 York quotations." 



"It is an old saying, that 'a nimble six- 

 pence is better than a slow shilling; ' and I 

 fear you will find that your honey will go 

 very slow at 13 cts., while it would sell rapid- 

 ly at 12 cts. Then there is a possibility that, 

 when the market comes to be established this 

 fall, honey may go still lower than the nom- 

 inal prices we have used, in which case it 

 would be better to move it off rapidly by put- 

 ting the price at 11>^, where a party would 

 take a whole crate. But there are some other 

 things I wish to talk about a little." 

 " What are they?" 



"You said, the last time I saw you, that 

 you had thought you would have three or four 

 thousand pounds of white comb honey." 



"Yes, and upon getting it crated I find I 

 have nearly 4700 pounds." 



"You do not think you can dispose of all 

 of that in the towns about you, or in the 

 ' home market ' as it is called ? " 



" No, probably not more than 1000 pounds." 

 " Well, what are you going to do with the 

 rest?" 



" I thought I might sell it to some dealer, if 

 I could get the price I asked for it." 



" And what were you going to ask for it? " 

 "I had calculated to ask 13, the same as 

 in my home market. Would not this be 

 right?" 



" After getting at the real value of my crop, 

 as nearly as I can by the line of figuring we 

 have been using, I have always placed the 

 selling price, at my nearest railroad station, 

 at one cent per pound less than I thought it 

 would bring when sold on commission." 

 " What is that for ? " 



" My reasons for so doing have been that 

 there is some risk always in shipping on com- 

 mission, which risk yoii do not have to run 

 when you sell for cash. Then in selling out- 

 right I have the money at my disposal and 

 can often invest it so as to make more than 

 the penny a pound would amount to before a 

 return was made from the commission men, 

 because this selling on commission sometimes 

 proves to be a slow process of disposing of 

 our product." 



" But can you always get cash at the rail- 

 road ? ' ' 



" No, not always, and I might say not often; 

 and this is the reason why I have not oftener 

 sold my product, instead of shipping on com- 

 mission being the rule. I always demand 

 cash at the railroad, when sending to a per- 

 son I do not know ; and if I spoke my mind 

 freely I should say that this is best always, as 

 right wrongs no man. I much prefer to wait 

 a few weeks or months on the commission 

 men to waiting a few years, or never getting 

 any pay of a dishonest buyer." 



' ' Did you ever have any experience with 

 dishonest buyers ? " 



" Years ago I not only sold my own crop to 

 a buyer in Philadelphia, but bought several 

 thousand pounds from neighboring bee-keep- 

 ers for the same party, and was foolish enough 

 to let it go with the promise to pay on its ar- 

 rival at Philadelphia, but ' arrival ' proved to 

 mean five years, and I got it then only through 

 strenuous efforts. Thus I learned a lesson 

 which I have tried to profit by." 



" I am very glad to have had this talk with 

 you, and I will try to profit by your experi- 

 ence also." 



" Before you go, allow me to sum up a lit- 

 tle : I would say always, put up your honey 

 in the most attractive shape possible, grading 

 each kind of honey into at least three grades, 

 and sell as much in the home market as pos- 

 sible at from 2 to 2^ cents less than reliable 

 market quotations from the large cities. If 

 you have more than can be disposed of in this 

 way, sell the rest for cash if you can obtain as 

 much for it into a cent a pound as you think 

 it will bring you when shipped on commis- 

 sion. If you can not thus sell what you have 

 above what your home market will take, ship 

 on commission to reliable parties." 



QUESTIONS ON SWARMING. 



Mr. Root: — Will you please publish the full 

 law on bees in the State of New York ? 



1. What is the reason bees cluster out on the 

 front of an old hive, as mine have been doing 

 for the last week ? 



2. Is there any way of telling from which 

 hive a swarm issues if you do not see it come 

 out of the hive ? 



3. What is the cause of swarms leaving the 

 hive after they have been hived ? They have 

 been hived three times within three days, and 

 each time left. 



4. What is the cause of water on top of su- 

 per of sections in summer, as the roof doesn't 

 leak? It is one of those ventilated gable 

 roofs, with an air-space ; and in the winter, 

 when the snow is blowing, it will collect in 

 the air-space, and stay there until there comes 

 a warm day ; then it will melt, and run down 

 through the bottom of the roof and on to the 



