190H 



(CLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



1049 



warrant holding for better prices than those men- 

 tioned in the circular of Aug. 10. General 

 Manager France is usually right; but in this case 

 we believe he has made the figures too low. — En.] 



Editorial 



By E. R. Root. 



Mr. Louis F. Wahl and bride, of Chili Cen- 

 ter, N. Y., spent a day at "The Home of the 

 Honey-bees " on their wedding-trip. Mr. Wahl 

 has done cDnsiderable in the way of bottling 

 honey, and he was once one of W. L. Cogg- 

 shall's " lightning operators. " Since he has ta- 

 ken unto himself a " better half" he will doubt- 

 less make things hum. 



We wish the couple long life and happiness. 



OUR SPECIAL ISSUE. 



As promised we take pleasure in presenting 

 this our special issue for September, containing 

 articles on preparing honey for market, includ- 

 ing the general subject of bottling extracted, 

 and scraping and grading comb honey, etc. 

 The suggestions contained herein for disposing 

 nf the crop and preventing a glut at any one 

 point should be given careful consideJetion. 

 There are some articles on preparing for winter; 

 why some bee-cellars do not give good results, 

 etc., that will be seasonable. 



SELLING BY SAMPLE. 



Perhaps nothing is more exasperating to one 

 than to buy a lot of honey, and then discover 

 that the shipment is far below the quality of the 

 sample. If he has paid cash in advance the mat- 

 ter is made more complicated. A controversy 

 immediately ensues — if not an ugly quarrel. It 

 is sometimes difficult to make an adjustment un- 

 der such circumstances. Buyers should clearly 

 specify that the goods are to be fully equal to 

 sample or they will refuse to accept them. There 

 is nothing like having a clean-cut understanding 

 in black and white before the honev is delivered. 



THE PURE-FOOD LAW AND ITS RELATION TO 

 HONEY LABELS. 



Those who are doing a business of bottling 

 honey, provided they bottle more than they pro- 

 duce, should avoid the use of the term "from the 

 apiary of" and substitute therefor the terms "bot- 

 tled by" or "packed by John Jones, of Honey- 

 ville, O. " Some bottlers use the term "put up 

 by;" but in the opinion of the Pure-food Com- 

 mission this term would not pass muster. Noth- 

 ing definite could be ascertained until a suit were 

 tried and the matter finally settled by the courts. 

 For that reason we advise the use of the terms 

 "bottled by" or "packed by" as being safer. 



BOTTLING HONEY; A SCHEME TO PREVENT A 



GLUT ON THE MARKET AND AT THE SAME 



TIME HOLD UP PRICES. 



Now that the season is practically closed, it is 

 generally admitted on all sides that there has been 

 a good crop of white clover throughout most' of 



the clover belt. Through some sections of it, of 

 course, there has been little or no honey, but 

 this does not alter the fact that a large crop has 

 been secured. It would be folly to send all of 

 this honey to the big markets, thus glutting 

 them. With a little intelligent effort much can 

 be done in the way of selling honey around home. 



As mentioned" elsewhere in this issue, Mr. E. 

 E. Coveyou, Mr. Chalon Fowls, and some few- 

 others, are doing the producers a distinct service 

 in that they not only sell their own honey local- 

 ly, but are able to take a large amount from oth- 

 ers, for which they also find a good market at 

 good prices. But the trouble is, the number of 

 honey-bottlers among bee-keepers is very small. 

 They can not and do not pretend to take more 

 than a small portion of the table extracted honey 

 that is produced in this country, especially this 

 year. 



Mr. Coveyou, Mr. Fowls, Mr. Pouder, and 

 the rest have done much in creating a local de- 

 mand for extracted honey in small packages; 

 and what they have done, others can do for their 

 respective localities. It is highly important 

 that this year there be more local sales to con- 

 sumers direct and to the trade. 



The article by Mr. Coveyou, in this journal, 

 and in other papers, explains many secrets of the 

 art of putting honey in small packages. Then 

 there is a chapter or two in the ABC and X Y Z 

 of Bee Culture, under the head of "Extracted 

 Honey," sub-head of "BottlingHoney," tjiat gives 

 many important details on this important branch 

 of our industry. 



The point we wish to emphasize is this: Do 

 not rush your honey to the large cities — at least, 

 not after they are oversupplied. Study the art of 

 bottling your extracted, and put up your comb 

 honey in neat attractive cases. The sections 

 should be nicely cleaned and scraped, and care- 

 fully graded. The poor ones containing uneven 

 combs should be sold around home in the form 

 of chunk honey. 



Place your best goods on sale at your leading 

 groceries, agreeing to take off their hands all that 

 candies, and replace it, as does Mr. Fowls, with 

 fresh goods. Try to make cash sales; but in 

 case you fail to do this, get the grocer to take it 

 on consignment. Charge him with so much 

 honey as if you had sold it to him, and then give 

 him credit for that which he does not sell, and 

 which you will take ofT his hands. 



In the country districts it may be advisable to 

 sell comb honey in the bulk form at so much a 

 pound or quart. Call on the farmer's wife and 

 give her a free sample of your honey to taste; and, 

 while you are about it, do not forget to treat the 

 children. Sell for cash if you can; but if she has 

 not any ready money, take eggs or butter if you 

 can use them. Every opportunity should be 

 made to prevent honey from glutting the big 

 markets.. 



It may cost a little something to work up a 

 trade, but it is worth going after. 



It is very important that those who bottle hon- 

 ey, or sell it to the local trade, be careful that 

 they do not overlap each other's territory. What 

 is a fine business for one man is practically good 

 for nothing for two. This country is so large 

 there is no reason why bee-keepers can not spread 

 out. 



