AIGURT 15, 1915 



669 



Poorly built stone road over-grown ^\ith white sweet clover self-seeded irwu that 

 ide. — I'hoto by Kakl ,Ii;nks, Medina, Ohio. 



;ro\ving by the road- 



Ill doubtful sanitary condition cannot hope 

 to compete with the canned glucose (covn 

 syrnp), apple-butter, and maple syrup, 

 which the householder may buy instead of 

 honey. 



When the shopper looks over the rows of 

 wares on a grocery shelf, which is she most 

 likely to select — peanut butter in a glass 

 tumbler neatly labeled with a picture of a 

 beechnut with its suggestion of crisp frosty 

 air and autuinu woods, or honey in a foggy 

 fruit-jar, sticky with finger-prints'/ Should 

 that honey come into competition with an- 

 other brand of the same product put up in 

 clear bottles and trade-marked, the price 

 difference will have to be great indeed to 

 induce the modern housewife to select a 

 more commonplace product. 



Comb honey put up in a dust-proof car- 

 ton suggests delicacy and sanitation more 

 than that displayed in a glass showcase. 

 While llie conditions within the case may 

 '>e ideal, what may not liave happened to 

 the honey exposed on a dusty road, or ca- 

 re.-i^ed in the hands of the grocer boy? 



The public taste lor the article suggesting 

 absolute purity you may descnbe as cap- 

 tious or discriminating, according to your 

 own temper; but it does no good to call it 

 names. The mood will pei-sist. It is the 

 result of a quarter of a centui-y's agitation 

 by the food scientists, chemists, editors, the 



national Governm.ent, and progressive man- 

 ufacturers. 



Nor is the use of trade-marking goods by 

 the consumer necessarily a step away from 

 real economy. This may be true in partic- 

 ular cases; but in such articles as whole- 

 wheat biscuits the price and the amount 

 purchased are universal and constant. 

 Where the same things are sold in bulk the 

 ))urchaser may pay a few cents less; but he 

 Iniys articles which may be dirty or exposed 

 to the moisture of the air or short in weight. 

 Competition between dealers in the same 

 food, or ill foods which compete with one 

 another, like "corn syrup" and houej', keeps 

 the price as low as compatible with cleanli- 

 ness and reasonable profit. A constant price 

 and a standard weight are substituted for 

 a price the dealer thinks he can get, and a 

 weight which may or may not be accurate, 

 according as the state inspects his measures 

 or scales. 



To preserve the superiority of a canned 

 and cartoned article over the same tiling in 

 bulk, and at the same time to help lower the 

 cost of living, some manufacturers are put- 

 ting out what is known as the " family con- 

 tainer." Honey distributors are finding it 

 successful with extracted honey. The can 

 will hold five or ten pounds, and in some 

 ••ases is returnable when empty, with a 

 slight rebate. The price can be held at only 



