1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



433 



^■s.^ 



THE RASPBERRY HONEV OF NORTHERN MICHIGAN. 

 - - -. Northern Michitran, the 



home of the huckleberry and 

 tlie speckled trout; where the 

 ^^(, .,^^ wild deer drinks deep from 



/^^ ^N- little sparkling- lakes with 



/ ^ pebbly beaches; where for- 



( H ests of mai,'niticeiit beech and 



g^ •^fe V maple stretch :iway for miles 



^^ " unbroken; where still lintrers 



. ' some of nature's wildness— 



here is a region fast becom- 

 iner a veritable paradise for 

 the bee-keeper. As the lum- 

 berman cuts away the trrand 

 old forests, the wild red rasp- 

 berries sprintr up in myriads, 

 the blossoms of which fur- 

 nish bee pasture that is sim- 

 ply incomparable. The hon- 

 ey is thick and heavy, white in color, and has a deli- 

 cious flavor all its own — a flavor that smacks of the 

 wild raspberry of the woods. 



A brother and myself have five apiaries in this re- 

 trion, he devotintr his entire time to the business, and 

 we are makinsr a specialty of produciner the finest ta- 

 ble honey that it is possible to obtain. The honey is 

 not taken oil" the hives until it is thoroughly ripened 

 and all sealed over, thus securing a product that is 

 thick, rich, and delicious — as far superior to ordinary 

 honey as ripe fruit is more palatable than green. 



E.XTRACTED HONEV. 



This honey is not sold in the comb, but in the liquid 



form — " extract- 

 ed honey" it is 

 called, because it 

 out of 

 with a 

 called a 



:,_ -. ^ .. ractor, 



jz--\^~ "•^•v. "^ 1) _^ herewith shown. 



•^ l'''*!S< *!^^3! To those who are 



,/\___.i= — ~~^±Jji not bee-keepers 



called, beca 



.g,'-^'^ — -^i«jJ3li!iK) is thrown o 



^^^^^^li^y'^^»i')^Jl Ihe comb w 



^*°"=*=jL-^wt-w5Ssi .^M' machine cal 



____^r-A i^ ^^^•>_^-"- \\ honey-extra 



I would explain 

 that large frames 

 filled with combs 

 of honey are ta- 

 ken from thebee- 

 hives, the cap- 

 pings of wax all 

 shaved off with a 

 long sharp knife, 

 then the uncap- 

 ped combs are 

 hung in wire- 

 cloth baskets that 

 are made to re- 

 volve quite rap- 

 idly inside of a 

 large tin - can. 

 Centrifugal force 



iiONiv KVTi'M IMP throwsthe honey 



iinNL\-i..\iKA( KiK. fj,Q^ the sides of 



the combs on the outside, next to the walls of the can, 

 where it runs down to the bottom, and is drawn off 

 through a faucet. When the combs have been emp- 



HOW PACKED FOR SHIPMENT. 



tied on one side the baskets are reversed, bringing the 

 other sides out, when the motion is again applied, thus 

 leaving the combs entirely empty, to be returned to 

 the hives, where they are refille'd by the bees. As the 



bees have no combs to build, they can store more 

 honey; hence it can be sold at a lower price. Extract- 

 ed honey must not be confounded with the old-fash- 

 ioned "strained" honey, in which the combs (bee- 

 bread and allt were mashed up, and hung in a muslin 

 bag before the fire to drain or "strain." Extracted 

 honey is simply the pure honey thrown out of the 

 combs, as has been explained, and is free from impu- 

 rities. 



This honey is put up in five-gallon square tin cans 

 containing 60 lbs., and boxed, either one or two in a 

 case. The two-can cases are iron-bound at the ends, 

 and we guarantee all shipments to reach their destina- 

 tion in perfect condition. We are often asked if we 

 do not furnish smaller packages. Small packages are 

 all right for a retail trade near home; but it would cost 

 too much in proportion to their value to ship them 

 long distances. Freight on 25 lbs. would be as much 

 as on 200 lbs. If a customer does not care for as much 

 as 60 lbs., an excellent plan is to get some acquaint- 

 ance or friend to join in and take part of it. 



W. Z. HUTCHINSON, Flint, Mich. 



Reference, Citizens' Commercial and Savings Bank. 



The foregoing circular was printed upon 

 the finest cameo plate paper, of a sepia tint. 



There was some little hesitation as to the 

 advisability of using the portrait; but there 

 is quite a little satisfaction in seeing what 

 kind of looking person you are patronizing. 

 It helps to remove that feeling of dealing 

 with a stranger, and replaces it with confi- 

 dence and a feeling ef acquaintanceship. 



APPEALING TO THE "FANCY." 



A picture was given of one of the beautiful 

 little lakes of Northern Michigan, of the 

 magnificent forests of maple that are made 

 to give place to the raspberries, also of one 

 of the apiaries in the northern wilds. These 

 illustrations and the accompanying reading- 

 matter help to strengthen in the reader's 

 mind the romantic picture that he has al- 

 ready formed of Northern Michigan and her 

 honey resources. This, too, may seem like 

 a small point; but we are all more or less in- 

 fluenced in our purchases by what might be 

 termed "fanciful reasons." Honey from 

 the wild red raspberries of Northern Michi- 

 gan is quite different from just ordinary 

 "honey." But, friends, it would be possible 

 to take clover honey, or basswood, or any 

 first-class honey, and by illustration and de- 

 scription hold it up to the purchaser in a 

 very attractive light. 



Then by word and picture the production 

 of extracted honey was made clear, and the 

 manner of packing it for shipment was treat- 

 ed in a similar manner. 



As prices are likely to fluctuate, they were 

 not given in the descriptive circular, but 

 printed separately on a small slip, and en- 

 closed with the circular. 



There is one more point that it might have 

 been well to mention in the circular; but we 

 wished to avoid confusing customers at first 

 with too many details, and that is the candy- 

 ing of honey; but here is what we did: At- 

 tached to each package is the following 

 sticker: 



In short, every effort was made to please 

 customers — not only from a desire to please, 

 but that these customers might return year 

 after year. 



We had about 20,000 pounds of honey, ^nd 

 at least half of it was sold as the result of 

 this one advertisement, and the proper han- 

 dling of the replies that came in response. 



