754 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.. 



PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



Twenty-Fifth Annual Meeting 



OF THE 



NORTH AMERICAS 



BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION. 



BY FRANK BENTON, SEC. 



[Continued from page 726.] 

 Second Day — Forenoon Session. 



The Association met at 9 a.m., and 

 President Abbott appointed the follow- 

 ing committees: 



Committee on Revision of Constitution 

 —George W. York, A. I. Root, W. Z. 

 Hutchinson, Dr. C. C. Miller and Frank 

 Benton. 



Committee on Resolutions — Dr. F. L. 

 Pelro, George W. York and L. D. Stilson. 



Committee of Reception — R. F. Holter- 

 mann, Mrs. J. M. Null, Dr. F. L. Peiro, 

 E. Whitcomb and A. I. Root. 



Auditing Committee — W. Z. Hutchin- 

 son, C. P. Dadant and E. Whitcomb. 



Committee on Exhibits — H. J. New- 

 berry, E. C. L. Larch and E. L. Carring- 

 ton. 



On motion of Mr. C. P. Dadant, the 

 time for the selection of place of meet- 

 ing for 1895 and the election of olBcers 

 was changed from Oct. 12 to the after- 

 noon of Oct. 11. 



A place on the program had been re- 

 quested for a meeting of the Missouri 

 State Bee-Keepers' Association, but as 

 that society failed to fill it, the follow- 

 ing essay by Mr. George W. York was 

 listened to: 



Disposing of the Honey Crop. 



Page upon page has been written on 

 the subject of marketing honey, for all 

 realize that unless it is well sold, there 

 is no profit or just remuneration for the 

 labor and skill involved in its produc- 

 tion. 



A successful marketing of honey pre- 

 supposes its good quality, and suitable 

 condition for proper and satisfactory 

 handling. Possessing these two very 

 important factors, the honey is then 

 ready to seek the much-desired customer. 



Upon what market shall it be placed? 

 Aye, that's the question ! Shall it be 

 disposed of in the home market — prob- 

 ably among the producer's friends and 



neighbors — or shall it be shipped to the 

 nearest large city to find purchasers ? 

 Both ways have their advantages, as 

 well as disadvantages. So much de- 

 pends upon the producer himself, that 

 what might be best for one bee-keeper 

 would be all wrong for another equally 

 successful in honey-production. 



Each producer, of course, desires to 

 realize the most money possible for his 

 crop. Upon that point all will agree. 

 But how about the city market for such 

 an object ? The city honey commission 

 merchant, as a rule, if he does any busi- 

 ness at all, is an overworked or over- 

 crowded man. Imagine, if you please, 

 100 different lots of honey, being ship- 

 ped to him from various parts of the 

 country, in different conditions, and all 

 coming so as to be in stock at the same 

 time. Now it will be utterly impossible 

 for him to give to each shipment equal 

 attention, and some of them must of 

 necessity be neglected, or await their 

 turns. In the meantime, some of the 

 shippers may notify him to hold their 

 honey for a certain price. Then, of 

 course, the honey of those who do not 

 give any definite instructions as to price 

 will be sold first, and probably at a lower 

 figure. By that time the market is 

 practically supplied, and the balance of 

 the honey in the commission merchant's 

 hands must be held, or the price lowered 

 in order to at all effect sales. Thus it 

 will be readily seen that at best selling 

 through a city commission firm must 

 often be quite unsatisfactory, especially 

 as there is so much to risk in shipping 

 honey, lest the combs be broken down 

 and thus be ruined, or the extracted 

 honey packages may leak, and in that 

 way cause loss. 



I fully believe that the best solution 

 of the question will be found in the home 

 market, where the producer can per- 

 sonally look after the details of the 

 work ; and although unable to do the 

 actual retailing himself, he can so super- 

 vise it as to realize the largest proceeds 

 from the sale of his crop of honey. 



Of course, it requires a good talker to 

 sell honey, as well as anything else that 

 has merit which needs to be shown to 

 the desired purchasers. But as nearly 

 everybody likes to eat honey, it should 

 not be such a difficult task to dispose of 

 some in nearly every home visited. 



As to the price to be asked, certainly 

 the city market quotations should not 

 govern, for, as I have shown, that mar- 

 ket may have become overstocked, and 

 for the time being the price lowered to 

 such an extent that there could be no 

 profit whatever to the producer. 



