.lULY 1, 1913 



543 



Two characteriai.f views of the honeybee on white clover, the first showing the bee in the air about to 

 alight on the blossom: and the second, taking the nectar from the outside. Note the path or motion of the 

 wings in the first piciure^ — wings at rest in the second. 



tailing I consider that I am entitled to the 

 profits. Of course, my expenses are not as 

 heavy as the city bottler and retailer, so I 

 can split the difference with my customers, 

 giving them more honey for their money. 

 There is a more important reason for charg- 

 ing the price I do. 



" If you are going to cater to a family 

 trade you must be able to supply it every 

 year and all the year. You cannot supply 

 it when you have a crop, and let them go 

 when you have a failure. Where would I 

 have been this year if I had been retailing 

 at wholesale prices? I did not harvest one 

 pound of honey; and when I should have 

 been piling on supers I was feeding from 

 tliree to four hundred pounds of sugar to 

 keep the bees alive, and living in hopes that 

 the fall flow would put them in condition 

 for winter. Last season was a bumper 

 crop, and I had quite a lot left over, but 

 not nearly enough to supply my trade. 



" Now you see where the bottler and re- 

 tailers' profits come in, don't you? They 

 put me in a position whei'e I can buy and 

 sell at a profit, and hold my trade too. 



" Now, Bill, you have been telling me of 

 things you don't understand, so here is one 

 for you. When my honey began getting 

 low I sat down and wrote to sixteen bee- 

 keepers who were advertising honey for 

 sale. I asked them to quote their price on 

 honey delivered at their station, the sale to 

 be cash with the order. 



" I received twelve replies, and every one 

 of them asked from IVo to 2^/^ cents per 



pound more than the market price. What 

 kind of business do you call that ? " 



" Well, I should say it was mighty poor 

 business, with the emphasis on the poor; 

 but where did you get the honey you are 

 selling now? " 



" I get it from a packer. It is very nice 

 too. It's a blend, but it just suits my trade 

 because that is what they are used to." 



'' Don't you suppose I could sell quite a 

 little honey where I live? If you can buy 

 and sell at a profit, why can't I ? " he que- 

 ried. 



" How doth the little busy bee 

 Improve each shining hour! " 



