1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



181 



If the crop were a small one I would send it all to 

 one, in accordance with the proverb that says, 

 "Don't make two bites of a cherry." Were the 

 crop large I would send some to each, in accordance 

 with the proverb that says, " Don't put all your 

 eggs in one basket." Too many men in the honey- 

 trade tends toward cutting under in prices. Too 

 few men in the honey trade tends toward an im- 

 perfect cultivation of the market. E. E. Hasty. 



I would ship all to one firm. By so doing, the one 

 who gets your consignment will feel better toward 

 you than if you divided it. There are reasons both 

 ways as regards the action of the commission mer- 

 chant; but it is much less trouble to make one deal 

 than two. We country people are too much prone 

 to suspect the action of business houses in the city. 

 In many cases we make ourselves ridiculous in 

 that way. James Heddon. 



That's a tough one. I've practiced both ways. I 

 would ship to one firm alone, because it would be 

 less trouble; and if small shipments, a little less ex- 

 pense; the firm would have a more friendly inter- 

 est in my sales knowing they had all my shipments, 

 and my honey would not be in competition with it- 

 self. 



I would ship to both, so each would try to outdo 

 the other in getting me a good price, and to find 

 which one would do best for me, and because each 

 may have his own customers. C. C. Miller. 



Of late years I have never shipped more than 500 

 pounds of honey to any one commission house, and 

 have found that I obtain better prices than I for- 

 merly did. The principle seems to be, that there 

 are more parties that want only from three to five 

 hundred pounds of honey than there are who want 

 larger lots; and where one sale will dispose of a 

 whole lot at one time, the commission merchant 

 prefers it that way, to the breaking-up of a large 

 lot. If the commission merchant is honest and re- 

 liable, he should work to your advantage, whether 

 he knows that he has your whole lot or otherwise. 

 G. M. Doolittle. 



I think I should ship all to one firm. I have had 

 no experience in sending honey to commission 

 men; but if they all feel as do the commission men 

 here in Toledo in regard to other kinds of consign- 

 ments, it would be much better to send all to one 

 firm. There are two good reasons for doing so. 

 One is, that the commission man is more interested 

 in the disposal of the consignments of parties who 

 give him all their trade. Another reason is, that it 

 tends to raise the price. If one has consignments 

 and the other has none, he will feel like offering an 

 advance in price, in order to secure a consignment. 



Dr. A. B. Mason. 



I would do as 1 thought right and best. The rea- 

 son is, that, if your venture proves a bad one, you 

 can say to your wife or other guardian that you 

 did it for the best, etc. 1. I would send an equal 

 quantity to each, with the understanding that the 

 one who makes the best returns shall have a prize- 

 either a chromo or a mouth-organ. 2. I would send 

 all my honey to one; for if you let them both have 

 it, the first thing they will do will be to run down 

 the price; Jones will come in and say, "I can get 

 Smith's honey over at the other shop for 10 cents a 

 pound." Shopkeeper No. 2 will say that he will sell 

 you Smith's honey for 9 cents. In a short time the 

 price will be away down below the cost of furnishing 



—another illustration of overproduction, and that 

 prices are regulated by supply and demand, and not 

 by trusts, monopolies, combinations, strikes, and 

 tariff. 3. I should not send any thing to either of 

 these men, but I would sell to the man who offered 

 me a reasonable cash price. This is the only good 

 way to establish a satisfactory honey-market. When 

 nine-tenths of our honey-producers do this, we shall 

 have a satisfactory honey-market, and not before. 

 If you send no honey to either of these men, you 

 will probably know enough to keep away from that 

 town, as " they watch arrivals." P. H. Elwood. 



Ship to only one commission firm in the same 

 city, if you know that one to be reliable, otherwise 

 there is likely to be competition and underbidding. 

 This is especially the case if there is any difference 

 between the two lots. Call one commission man A 

 and the other B. Jones ships No. 1 honey to A, 

 and some not quite so good to B. A's judgment is, 

 that he can get 16 cts. for his lot of honey, while B 

 puts a price of 15 cts. on that consigned to him. 

 Smith, a sharp unscrupulous buyer, goes to B, in- 

 quires the price of that lot of honey, and is told 15 

 cts. He moves on to A, and prices Jones' honey. 

 " What, 16 cts.? Why, I can get just the same hon- 

 ey down at B's for 15." A doesn't want to be un- 

 dersold, so he probably replies that he will sell hon- 

 ey as cheap as B. Perhaps, to make a trade, he of- 

 fers it at half a cent less. Back goes Smith to B, 

 and says, "See here; A is selling honey at H l A cts. 

 that is a good deal nicer than this, worth fully two 

 cents a pound more. If you'll come down to a rea- 

 sonable figure, I'll take five cases of this; but if you 

 can't, I'll go somewhere else." The result is, that 

 Jones's honey, in competition with itself, lowers its 

 own price. James. A. Green. 



I do not know who asked the above ques- 

 tion, but I suspect it was somebody who felt 

 a little sore over some transaction, and 

 wanted to see whether we as a crowd were 

 sharp enough to pick out all the points in 

 the case ; and it is those who have had a 

 rich and ripe experience who see difficulties 

 first. For instance, our good friend Muth 

 is the first one to see the danger that your 

 stock of honey will be running against itself. 

 Friends Elwood and Green develop this 

 state of affairs still further. Friend Hasty 

 tersely puts it by directing attention to the 

 two dangers by referring to two opposite 

 proverbs. Friend Heddon closes with a 

 grand truth. We country people are too 

 prone to suspect the action of business men 

 in the cities. Wholesale denunciation of 

 commission men is one of the saddest blun- 

 ders a body of bee-keepers ever fell into. 



Question 111.— Which will make the better work- 

 ing colonies during the working season— that is, secure 

 the most honey— those that require from 20 to 25 pounds 

 to carry them through, or those that will get along on 

 from 5 to 10 pounds while in winter quarters! 



I think as a rule, such as consume the lesser 

 quantity are the better. L. C. Root. 



A strong colony always consumes more honey 

 than a weak one, and a strong colony always se- 

 cures the most honey. Chas. F. Muth. 



I suppose this question has reference to large or 

 small colonies; if so, I should say the large one. 



