758 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



J^ov. 26, 



of this age, or a little older, supply the royal jelly for the 

 queen-cells, which is the same, I think, as the food given to 

 the very small larv;e. Just before the larvae of the worker- 

 bees and drones are sealed up, they are fed on a coarser and 

 less perfectly digested mixture of honey and pollen." 



Prof. Cook says : "The food is composed of pollen and 

 honey — certainly of pollen, for as I have repeatedly proven, 

 without pollen no brood will be reared." Again he says: 

 "The function of bee-bread is to help furnish the brood with 

 proper food. In fact, brood-rearing would be impossible with- 

 out it." 



Quinby says : " How this food is prepared is mere con- 

 jecture. The supposition is, that it is chiefly composed of 

 pollen. This is strongly indicated by the quantity which ac- 

 cumulates in colonies that lose their queens and rear no 

 brood." 



E. Gallup says : " Every bee-keeper ought to know that 

 bees do not feed pollen directly to their young ; but it is elab- 

 orated in the stomach of the bees into chyme to feed the 

 young on." 



Kirby says: " With this pollen, after it has undergone a 

 conversion into a sort of whitish jelly by being received into 

 the bee's stomach, where it is mixed with honey and regurgi- 

 tated, the young brood, immediately upon their exclusion, and 

 until their change into nymphs, are diligently fed by other 

 bees, which anxiously attend them, and several times a day 

 afford a fresh supply." 



Neighbour says : "A portion of this pollen is taken at 

 once by the nursing-bees, which are supposed to subject it to 

 some change before offering it to the larvte." 



Gundelach says : "The larvas is immediately fed by the 

 workers with a pellucid jelly prepared in the chyle-stomachs 

 by the digestion of honey and pollen mixed with water." 



Thus it will be seen that all agree, that pollen enters 

 largely into the food of the larval bee, and I think that it must 

 be conclusive to all but the most skeptical that this is right. 



Onondaga Co., N. Y. 



Peddling Honey— Getting People to Buy. 



BY F. A. SNELL. 



I have found from experience that much more honey, 

 especially extracted, can be sold by going from house to house, 

 and allowing the people to sample the honey, than will be sold 

 when left with the grocers on sale. Getting the people to 

 sample the honey goes quite a way in the making of a sale or 

 sales. Even if some desire to buy honey they forget it when 

 in town trading, and so perhaps go without it for some time. 

 When I desire to peddle honey I put a little comb honey up in 

 crates holding -I, S, or 12 boxes each. The extracted I now 

 put up in 10-pound cans, mostly ; but a few 5-pounds are put 

 In so that, if a sale of a 10-pound can cannot be made, the 5- 

 pound can may be just what is wanted by a customer. 



A quantity of honey in the different packages is loaded 

 into my buggy, and the start is made. I meet Mr. A., who 

 lives about three miles from my home. I stop, take a can of 

 honey, and loosen the screw-cap, and he samples it. I tell 

 him I am out selling, and ask him if he doesn't want a can. 

 The can is bought and paid for, and I drive on. 



I slop at the next house, take in a can, and inquire if they 

 are not ready for more honey. I am told that they yet have 

 some of my honey on hand. I bid them good-day, and drive 

 to the next place, at which I have sold honey for many years. 

 A sale of one 10-pound can is made. We chat a little while, 

 and I take my leave. 



The next call is made. Mrs. D. does not desire to buy, 

 but desires me to learn of Mr. D. as to the purchase, as he is 

 from home. A few days later I see him, and he takes a can of 

 10 pounds. I next see Mr. E., have him sample my honey, 

 and he takes a can. I next ask Mr. P. to sample my honey. 

 He does so. I ask if he would not like a can of 10 pounds. 

 He buys, and I deliver the can at his house. After a pleasant 

 good-morning I state that Mr. F. bought a can of honey of me 

 which I deliver. Mrs. F. is surprised, and says that she 

 doesn't care much for honey, and her husband would have it 

 to eat, and states they had some comb honey on hand, but did 

 not eat any of it, and she had thrown it out. Some ten days 

 later I saw Mr. P., and asked how the honey was going, and I 

 stated what his wife had said. He laughed and said that she 

 seemed to manage her share all right at least. He engaged 

 the second can, to be bought later. In due time it was de- 

 livered. Mrs. P. said that she liked that honey well, and 

 thought it very nice, and made no protest this time. The 

 honey, I will say, was well ripened and very thick. 



There is very much in properly caring for honey after its 

 removal from the hives. 



I next see Mr. G.; get him to sample my honey, and I sell 

 hlra a 10-pound can. 



Mr. H. is next seen. My honey is sampled, but he would 

 wish only 5 pounds, and I sell him a 5-pound can. 



I next call at the home of Mr. I. Mrs. I. samples the 

 honey, and is pleased with it; inquires if I have 5-pound 

 cans, stating that she would not care to buy so much as lO 

 pounds. I inform her that I have a few of the 5-pound cans, 

 and will get one from the buggy. I do so, and receive pay for 

 it. The price is 10 cents per pound for all extracted honey 

 retailed. 



Then two or three calls are made and no sales effected. 

 The next sale made is of comb honey, that being preferred. I 

 make the effort to sell 10 pounds at each sale, hence take the 

 cans of that size when making my calls. Having the smaller 

 cans, and some comb honey, I am prepared to suit the wish of 

 all as to quantity. Very seldom do any wish less than 5 

 pounds; but if any will not use that amount I sell them 2)^ 

 or 3 pounds. A honey-leaflet is left with any new customers, 

 which is helpful. 



The bee-keeper can, when not busy with other work, take 

 a load of principally extracted honey and sell it, when per- 

 haps he would not be otherwise employed, and thus earn 

 something more toward the keeping of the family. Any 

 leisure time, be it half a day at a time only, and during au- 

 tumn, I sell quite a nice lot of honey; or if, having business 

 with some one several miles from home, several cans may be 

 thus sold. On such a trip I called at the different families. 

 To the family first called on I sold one 10-pound can ; at the 

 second place I took in a can, asked them to give me a sauce- 

 dish so that I might let them sample the honey I had. The 

 honey was tried, and seemed to please. The lady remarked 

 that she had intended to get some at the store, but forgot it 

 when in town, so they had been going without. They bought 

 a 10-pound can, and, after a few minutes' chat, I took my 

 leave. At the next place the family were from home. I called 

 at the next house, and after sampling the honey, the people 

 bought two cans, or 20 pounds. I was informed that they 

 were short of change, but would leave the pay for the honey 

 with our postmaster in a short time, which was satisfactory to 

 me, as I well knew these people to be reliable. I next called 

 at the place of my destination, and before leaving sold a 10- 

 pound can and received my pay. 



Thus five cans, or 50 pounds, were sold, bringing me 

 $5.00. The cans were returned, as I arranged to have them 

 back when the sales are made near home. If the buyers neg- 

 lect to return the cans, I call for them when passing that way. 

 So it will be seen that the net price of the honey is 10 cents 

 per pound when thus sold, the buyer retaining the cans until 

 emptied. The extra time consumed in selling the 50 pounds 

 on this trip did not exceed one hour, and my horse did not 

 object to the short rests on the way in the least. 



Many times I have taken along a few cans when going 

 on similar trips, and sold from two to four or five cans on the 

 way, at times going one road and returning by another, mak- 

 ing stops both ways. 



In peddling honey one must not be easily discouraged, for 

 sometimes a number of calls may be made and no sales 

 effected ; and then, again, it is quite the reverse, and honey 

 will be sold at nearly every point at which a stop is made. 

 One must start out with full faith in his honey as being of fine 

 quality, and cheerful in spirit, and a determination to sell to 

 every family possible, even if only two or three pounds, leav- 

 ing a leaflet at each place, and his honey-label on each can, 

 with name and address, which should mention the candying 

 of honey in cool weather, and how to liquefy. 



I cannot agree with some bee-keepers who advise the sell- 

 ing of the poorer grades of extracted honey at home or in the 

 home market. I believe a poor grade of this honey should 

 never be sold at home, but sent off to be used in the packing 

 of meats, or in factories where cheaper sweets are used. If 

 this grade of honey be sent to a commission house, the apiarist 

 should advise the firm of the shipment, grade of the honey, 

 and the company to whom the honey is shipped will know at 

 once where to place it in selling. 



The selling of inferior extracted honey, or of a low grade, 

 has, when sold for family use, done a great deal to injure the 

 sale of honey, and is, I think, very unwise on the part of the 

 apiarist who wishes to build up a good trade in honey, or hold 

 one already obtained. One season the quality of our honey 

 was very much injured by a mixture of so-called honey-dew. I 

 offered no extracted honey for sale at home that season ; and 

 when asked by old customers if I had honey to sell, I Informed 

 them that I had no honey that I had extracted which was fit 

 to eat, as it was mixed with so-called honey-dew, and dark 

 and rank in flavor. Of our comb honey that season, the bet- 



