1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



489 



crop. In Texas the yield has been good in 

 some localities and indifferent in others. 



PRK'ES FOR li)0!). 



In a <2;eneral way we may say that there 

 will be a o;ood supply of altalfa honey and a 

 fair yield of California sage. This will have 

 a tendency to ease up prices somewhat in 

 the West." 



F^or the Eastern section of the country it 

 seems to be now reasonably certain that the 

 crop of strictly pure clover, or clover and 

 basswood mixed — that is, honey without 

 honey-dew — will be light. During Septem- 

 ber, October, and November, prices on such 

 honey should be considerably in excess of 

 what they were last year, providing the in- 

 flux of Western goods does not have too 

 strong an effect. 



There will be considerable clover honey, 

 or clover and basswood with a little honey- 

 dew in it — not enough, however, to affect 

 materially the flavor or color. This ought 

 to have a fair market, and bring fair prices 

 for table use. 



Where honey-dew is very plainly present 

 we advise selling it for bakers' use, or for 

 stimulating for next spring. It should not 

 be used for wintering. It sold it must go 

 under the name of "honey-dew honey" — 

 don't forget that, or Uncle Sam may exact a 

 heavy penalty for misbranding. 



DO NOT SHIP HONEY WITHOUT FIRST SEND- 

 ING A SAMPLE AND GETTING PRICES. 



Nearly every year we hear of small pro- 

 ducers who every now and then send a con- 

 signment to a ccmmission house without 

 first learning whether there is a market for 

 it. A few days ago a bee-keeper sent us a 

 small shipment of comb honey which he 

 thought was very nice, and on which he be- 

 lieved he ought to realize 13 cts. per section, 

 since it was nicely filled out, and the sections 

 were 4v5. An examination showed that 

 some of it was almost pure honey-dew, very 

 inferior in quality, and dark in color. Some 

 of it was largely honey-dew and clover mix- 

 ed with it, and the rest of fair quality of 

 clover. 



We wrote back, saying that, so far from 

 realizing 13 cents on that which was pure 

 honey-dew, or largely such, that we hardly 

 knew what to do with it but to melt it up 

 and give him credit for the wax, and the 

 honey at a price which he would not accept. 



We very much fear, that, if producers go 

 to shipping this abominable stuff in sections, 

 no matter how well they may be filled out, 

 the market will become demoralized. Keep 

 it at home. The average commission man 

 can not afford to go to the expense of melt- 

 ing up such honey; and even if he does, the 

 cost of doing so with such appliances as he 

 may have, will very nearly equal the value of 

 the honey and wax after they are separated. 



If an mtelligent consumer bought such 

 honey he would be pretty apt to say that it 

 was not pure, and he would be right, for, al- 

 though it is gathei'ed by the bees, // is not 

 honey. No such consumer could be blamed 



for being afraid to buy honey again after 

 having once bought honey-dew. 



SELLING FOR CASH OR ON COMMISSION; A 

 WORD OF CAUTION TO THE UNINITIATED. 



For the benefit of our newer readers we 

 find it necessary about this time to put in a 

 word of caution about selling honey to irre- 

 sponsible persons, or selling to commission 

 houses which, in times past, have treated 

 some of their patrons unfairly, not to say 

 dishonestly. 



As a general thing, we consider reliable 

 those who quote prices regularly in our Hon- 

 ey Column. It sometimes happens that a new 

 commission man will get hold of your name 

 and make you a private quotation far above 

 the general market, saying he will give you 

 prompt service, and guarantee you a large 

 commission. 



Look out for such a party. He may be 

 honest. If he is not, and once gets your 

 consignment, he may write back and tell you 

 that the honey was badly broken in shipping, 

 and that the best he can do will be to give 

 you about half the original quotation. You 

 have no means of knowing whether the hon- 

 ey is broken or not, and if it is not smashed 

 or damaged, and you accept his statement, 

 he can sell the honey at as high a price as 

 he pleases, and give you only half price, or 

 less than that, as he will take out his com- 

 mission. 



Another fact that it is well to bear in mind 

 is that, if you sell your honey outright, be 

 sure that the buyer is responsible. If he is 

 not, you practically have no recourse in law. 

 Better sell on commission to such person, 

 because you can then compel him to make 

 some sort of return. If he keeps both your 

 honey and your money he is liable for em- 

 bezzlement. 



If, on the other hand, you contract to sell 

 him outright at a certain figure, and he 

 makes a sale to a third party, and fails to 

 make returns, there is nothing you can do 

 if he is not responsible. If he is collectable 

 you can bring suit, but that will cost more 

 than the value of the honey if the shipment 

 is small. 



■ So whatever you do, be careful with whom 

 you are dealing. If the party is not respon- 

 sible, or if you can not find out any thing 

 about him, send the honey to yourself at the 

 point of destination, and the bill of lading to 

 some bank with instructions to turn over 

 the bill of lading to consignee as soon as he 

 pays for the honey. Where a firm is known 

 to be responsible, and has a fair reputation 

 for square dealing, such procedure is not 

 necessary. 



In a general way we would say it is moi'e 

 satisfactory to sell for cash, although it some- 

 times happens that an honest firm will really 

 secure a higher |)rice when it takes honey 

 on commission. In that case the producer 

 shares the risk of the price not going up, or, 

 worse yet, going down; while if the honey 

 is sold outright at a definite figure the buyer 

 takes all the chances of possible advance or 

 slump in price. 



