JULY 1, 1913 



THE CASHEEXS IX A. I. ROOT'S FLORIDA HOME ABOUT APRIL 1. 



The above picture was taken by one of our beekeepers who happened along at our place — Mr. H. T. 

 Gibson, Wilmore, Ky. The dasheens shown in the picture were those sent me by the Department at Washing- 

 ton. They were planted about Jan. 1, but did not show above ground much until about Feb. 1. Tlie tubers 

 are somewhat slow about starting, and the plant itself does not make very rapid growth until settled warm 

 weather, for it is a tropical plant. I hope to be able to give another picture, more up to date, in the near 

 future. — A. I. Root. 



In building up a mail-order business for 

 honey, great care should be taken to please 

 the customer. All prices should be plain, 

 freight prepaid if possible, and instructions 

 inclosed to all buyers to pay all overcharges 

 of freight, if any, and that you will refund 

 the same, which should be clone at once on 

 receipt of freight bills. If the above rules 

 are not carried out, in many cases the cus- 

 tomer Avill refuse goods because of small 

 extra freight charges demanded by the rail- 

 road company. 



All honey should be put up in a very 

 attractive package, wdiich means half the 

 sale, as customers are always willing to pay 

 a little more for goods put ui) under an at- 

 tractive label. 



Many beemen in this vicinity claim that 

 the advertising of honey is not a poor man's 

 proposition. This is where they are in 

 error. If the honey has the quality behind 

 it, it can be advertised in a small way at 

 first, and in a very short time create a good 

 demand. Look at some of the leading 

 brands of food products that are to-day 

 advertised, and millions of dollars' worth 

 sold each year at fancy prices. Why ? Sim- 

 ply because the manufacturer has produced 



a first-class article and created a demand 

 for his goods. He has made the customer 

 want his goods and come to him for them. 

 There is no question in selling honej^ but 

 that, if every beeman or even one-fourth of 

 the leading producers would get together 

 and spend ten cents per hive every year in 

 advertising and creating a demand for the 

 honey, sales would increase as well as the 

 price, and it would be a very profitable 

 investment for all. In co-operation there 

 is streng-th, and there has never been an 

 advertising cam.paign of education of as 

 good an article as honey that has failed 

 where properly managed. 



Most beekeepers figure on a wrong basis 

 for money spent for advertising. If a bee- 

 keeper produces, say, ten tons of honey a 

 year on an average, which he sells for $140 

 per ton, suppose he spends $100 per year 

 in advertising the honey and sells it at $150 

 per ton net to him, he will figure that he 

 has got his advertising money back, but has 

 done the Avork for nothing, wlueh will be 

 true for the first year, while the second year 

 he will continue to get orders; and by 

 spending $50 he wall sell more honey than 

 he did in the first vear. Thus the business 



