16 



GLEANINGS LN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 



I had a chance to talk houey to some that night. I 

 told them I should retail the honey myself, in the 

 morning-, at 10 cts. per lb. The merchant who had 

 been selling, charged 15 cents, he giving me 8 cents, 

 and was not satisfied with his profits at that. In the 

 morning I hitched up to peddle houey over the 

 town. My wife went along to hold the horses and 

 see the town; but just as I was hitching on my 

 •wagon, a young man about 20 years old came to me 

 and proposed to me to go along and help me sell 

 honey. He said he was a carpenter s son, and that 

 they lived in that house, pointing to a big new house 

 on a little hill. His business haa leeu, going to 

 school and raising berries to sell in town. He knew 

 everybody in town, and they aU knew him. I told 

 him, " AU right, come on." So I left my wife at the 

 hotel. The young man ran home to change his 

 clothes a little; and while he was gone I inquired 

 about his standing lor honesty, and found him first 

 class. All whom I asked about him said he was 

 honest. He was soon back, and we started out. I 

 gave him the lines and told him to choose his own 

 customei'S. He drove to the doctor's house first; 

 sold some honey; then to the houses of merchants 

 and lawyers. Everybody knew and respected him. 

 In a very short time our 300 lbs. of houey was gone. 

 I saved a 5-lb. pailful of honey and gave it to him. 

 I told him to go over the whole town and take or- 

 ders with the sample, and I would send him by rail 

 all the honey he could sell. He was to sell at 10 

 cents, and pay me 7, and send me my part of the 

 money when the honey was sold. He was also to 

 send me back the empty barrels. He agreed to that 

 and I left him. Then the good wife and I drove 

 home. In two days 1 got an order from him for a 

 barrel of honey. I sent it (370 lbs.). In less than a 

 week he sent the money, and ordered another bar- 

 rel, one 100-lb. keg and two 50-lb. kegs. We sent the 

 honey as ordered. In about another week he sent 

 pay, and ordered another barrel. He said he had 

 the town pretty well sweetened up, and was going 

 to sell to the farmers. He soon sent cash for all he 

 had and ordered his fourth barrel, which we sent 

 him. Now to sum up: This young man sold over 

 1300 lbs. of honey in about 3 weeks. His commission 

 was over $36.00, and that in the same town where 

 the merchant sold last year only 100 lbs., and growl- 

 ed like a dog with a sore head about there being no 

 profit in selling honey. 



We have a man in a lai-ge western town who be- 

 gan to buy of us in 1S84. He sold the first year, four 

 or five barrels; last j'ear he sold 18 barrels, which he 

 bought of us. This year he expects to sell 20 or 

 35 barrels of honey. He has already had 13 barrels, 

 and we are holding as much more subject to his 

 orders. He is a bee-keeper too. Several other reg- 

 ular customers are buying less quantities to sell, 

 and the most of them are increasing their sales. 

 We find no trouble to sell all our best grades of hon- 

 ey, third and fourth extracting. Of the best grades 

 wo never have enough. But our dark grades, first 

 and second extracting, which we have always had a 

 good trade in for manufacturing purposes, goes 

 slow this j-ear. There has been a flood of dark hon- 

 ey-dew honey this year, and it is so poor that it has 

 played the mischief with the dark - honey trade. 

 Some of it has been sold, I am told, as low as 3 cents 

 a pound. We have no honey-dew honey, and I am 

 glad of it. We have some dark honey, gathered iu 

 the spring from dandelions and fruit - blossoms, 

 which we have been selling at 5 and 6 cents by the 



barrel. We never sold our darkest honey for less 

 than 6 cents before this year. Next year perhaps 

 we shall be asked to give the honey, paj- freight, 

 and throw in barrels. Houey is getting lower every 

 year— poor time for beginners to set in now. 

 Platteville, Wis. K. Fkanuk. 



Friend F., the facts you give us in tlie 

 above are very valuable, and no doubt 

 hundreds of our readers will i>iolit by them. 

 The point yon strike on, that so many gro- 

 cerymen never show goods till people in- 

 quire for them, is a sad fact. Even in our 

 ov/n lunch-room, over and over again I find 

 certain articles I supposed would have a 

 good sale, put under the counters, or upon 

 the shelves, comparatively out of sight. 

 When I inquire about them I <im told there 

 has not been any call for tliem. Now. I 

 don't suppose there would be a call for 

 strawberries, or, at least, not very much, if 

 the groceryman should put them under the 

 counter as soon as they are brought in. I 

 suppose, however, we should endeavor to 

 make the best of humanity we can, and not 

 grumble or find fault. Your twenty-year- 

 old lad who learned his trade by peddling 

 honey is the sort of chap we want. Why. 

 it just makes me feel happy to come across 

 one of these young fellows who love work 

 of this kind. The fact that he knew every- 

 body in tlie town was greatly in his favor. 

 —Friend F., I want to take you to task a 

 little for your concluding words. You 

 have no cause to complain--that is, if you 

 are complaining. I think you may thank 

 God also, for giving you a" queen of your 

 household who enjoys going with you on a 

 peddling-trip. No wonder you are a big 

 bee-man. Don't worry about low prices. 

 God has always provided for us. and I am 

 sure he will to the end. 



A SIMPLICITY HIVE MTITH BOTTOM- 

 BAR SHORTEK THAN TOP-BAR. 



THF, ADVANTAGES OF .i HIVE MADE TO HOLD SUCH 

 A FR.\ME. 



fHREE years ago I invented a bee-hive which 

 • I then thought was "the hive for the South." 

 After three years of thorough test I am now 

 prepared to explain the hive and its merits. 

 It is nothing more than the standard Sim- 

 plicity with but a little simple change, and yet this 

 little change makes a wonderful improvement in 

 its manipulations and usefulness. The whole thing 

 is easily described. The little simple change re- 

 ferred to consists in shortening the bottom-bar of 

 the frame so that the hive in which the frame is to 

 fit will be just 141.1 inches square at the bottom, in- 

 side measure, while the top of the hive and frame 

 remains the same size as the Simplicity. The 

 frame is shaped thus: 



/ 



ITS ADVANTAOES. 



Any one who has ever kept bees in the South 

 knows something about the trouble caused by the 

 combs melting down, even with wired frames. It 

 was to obviate this that I constructed the new 

 hive; and any one will see at a glance, that it is 

 practically a great improvement, as, when the 



