Sept. 13, 1900. 



AMERICAN BEE JOUFNAi. 



581 



this opportunity of bring-ing- this matter up. I can't say 

 more than bid you God-speed along the line of your work. 

 Whatever you want us to do, we will try to do the best we 

 can. I thank you very much for this opportunity. 



Rev. E. T. Abbott— Perhaps I owe the gentleman who 

 just left the platform, and the convention, an apology. I 

 am not feeling very well, did not sleep any last night, and 

 I went to the hotel'to take a nap and just waked up. I am 

 not in the habit of going to sleep on duty, but I promist the 

 gentleman to meet him before the Association had their 

 meeting, and for that reason I did not do it. I just discov- 

 ered a little while ago it was time to commence. There was 

 appointed at Philadelphia just such a committee as we need 

 now, consisting of our chairman, Mr. Root, Mr. Marks, of 

 New York, and Mr. York, of Chicago, Mr. Selser, of Penn- 

 sylvania, and Mr. Hershiser, of Buffalo, who is right on the 

 ground. I do not know as it is necessary for us to make a 

 motion, or for me to make a motion that that committee go 

 on and do their duty and make such arrangement as they 

 deem necessary, but I think they will without discussing 

 the matter further. I know Mr. Root will look after the 

 matter. It had been overlookt by him and a number of us 

 that that committee was appointed, but Mr. York remem- 

 bered it, however, and on investigating the files, we find 

 such a committee was appointed, and I do not think we 

 could better it. So far as I am concerned, I think we would 

 better leave it just there. 



Dr. Mason— A few weeks ago, as Secretary of this As- 

 sociation, I received a letter from Mr. Converse in regard to 

 this matter, and we have been corresponding in regard to it 

 since. He is here by my invitation to-night, being in the 

 city. I think we ought to put our influence with Mr. Con- 

 verse to make such an exhibit as will be creditable to our 

 fraternity, to us as bee-keepers. 



Pres. Root— What instructions, if any, do you wish to 

 give to this committee at this time ? 

 Dr. Mason — Not any. 



Hon. R. L. Taylor— I move that that be made a subject 

 for consideration at the first hour, Thursday morning. (Sec- 

 onded and carried.) 



Mr. Converse — I would like to say just one word and 

 that is regarding our present plan, so far as it is mapt out, 

 that is, to have this bee-exhibit a representative exhibit 

 from States, and each exhibitor won't lose his identity. 

 That is, if one man comes from Colorado, we shall expect 

 his exhibit to be a part of the Colorado exhibit in the 

 apiarian display, and whatever awards go to that exhibit, 

 of course will go to the individual who makes the exhibit ; 

 and if any of you people don't know who your State com- 

 mission are, if you will correspond with me, I will put you 

 in touch with the man who has charge of this particular 

 part of the State exhibit, if the commission has designated 

 such a man ; I will be glad to render you any assistance I 

 can. You can get m3' name from the Secretary. I shall be 

 glad to receive letters from you and receive suggestions 

 along the line of State Exhibits. 



Then followed a paper on " How to Sell Honey," writ- 

 ten by Mr. S. A. Niver, of New York, but read by Mr. York, 

 as Mr. Niver was not present. The paper is as follows : 



HOW TO SELL HONEY. 



When our genial secretary propounded to me the co- 

 nundrum, " How to Sell Honey," for a solution to be given 

 to the National Bee-Keepers' Association, I said to Editor 

 York, " That's too easy ; just offer your customer a better 

 bargain than your neighbor does, either in quality or price, 

 and, as a matter of course, you will sell your honey, and 

 j'our neighbor can — well, perhaps eat his." 



Thinking the subject over in the light of giving direc- 

 tions "How to Sell Honey," to a convention of bee-keepers, 

 it would appear to be necessary to give that neighbor a hint 

 how to proceed after Dr. Mason had filled his market full 

 " forninst " him ; and here the subject began to look com- 

 plicated, so, as is customary, I put it off until a more con- 

 venient season. 



A short time ago W. L. Coggshall askt me if I was 

 going to attend the Chicago convention of the National 

 Bee-Keepers' Association, I replied, "No; but I have a 

 conutidrum for you. Can you tell ' How to Sell Honey ?' " 



" I can't ; haven't any to sell," was his reply. That was 

 like the old recipe for cooking hare—" First catch your 

 hare." 



Then I lookt up the authorities, the writings of the vet- 

 erans, and found all harping on the same string— sell in 

 your home market after getting the crop in the most at- 

 tractive condition possible. The results of this line of ad- 

 vice is familiar to all. Polisht and sand-papered sections. 



nice shipping-cases, fancy labels and cartons, bleacht 

 combs, and extra-filled sections (" stuff prophets," Morton 

 used to call them) obtained by crowding bees for room in 

 the surplus department, at the expense of shortened crops, 

 much extra time and labor, extra annoyance from swarm- 

 ing, and crowding out the queen in the brood-chamber. 



After all this, when we come to market with our honey 

 we find our neighbor has been busy at precisely the same 

 thing, and has beaten us by a day, or has sold some inferior 

 honey at a low price, which is about as bad. 



This line of advice, carefully followed by all, will result 

 in a greater consumption of honey, without doubt, for nice 

 looking, clean looking goods sell much more rapidly, but it 

 makes a comb-honey producer work on Dr. Miller's 8-hour 

 system— 8 hours in the forenoon and 8 hours in the after- 

 noon—and every year get less for the crop than he did the 

 year before, other things being equal. 



David Harum's golden rule, " Do to the other feller 

 just what he's tryin to do to you, but du it fust," pithily 

 sums up the anti-moral, anti-Christian, anti-common-sense 

 methods now in vogue, but which will endure until dis- 

 placed by something better. 



Shipping honey to the city commission merchant is an- 

 other method which has so many drawbacks that the veter- 

 ans give about the same advice in regard to it that " Puck " 

 gave to those about to be married — "Don't." And in a 

 stage whisper let me say that the commission man has 

 troubles of his own, which Mr. Burnett may tell us more 

 about before this meeting is over. 



Six years ago, a number of honey-producers of Groton, 

 N. Y., believing it better to combine than to compete, 

 pooled their interests, and sent the writer of this article, 

 "armed and equipt as the law-directs," with sample case 

 and power of attorney, to the grocers in cities reacht by our 

 one line of railroad, to sell and collect for all, and divide 

 the expenses in proportion to amount sold for each member. 

 This arrangement workt so satisfactorily that it has been 

 followed each year since, with growing acquaintance, and 

 mutual dependence between our customers and ourselves. 

 True, there are some drawbacks to this method, such as bad 

 debts', much book-keeping, owing to large number of small 

 sales, and length of time it takes to get collections in and 

 distributed, but the net results in price and security have, 

 on the whole, been very satisfactory. 



Fellow honey-producers, isn't the key to Dr. Mason s 

 conundrum to be found in that experiment of ours, with its 

 basic principle of combination as opposed to competition ? 

 An adoption of some such general method would put the 

 honey-producer abreast of the times, in harmony with the 

 spirit of the age. 



The trusts have taught us that success must be lookt 

 for chiefly by eliminating unnecessary expenses and losses. 

 Our old cut-throat system can only change for the worse. 

 There can be no patching or doctoring that will effectually 

 improve it. 



At the outset we are confronted with the utter impossi- 

 bility of combining the interests of such a vast number of 

 individuals, scattered over such vast areas, and the great 

 variety in quality, color, flavor, and demand for just the 

 particular kind the customer has been educated to prefer ; 

 but isn't it within the range of the possible, for the buck- 

 wheat honey-producers of New York State, for instance, to 

 organize, and give the method a trial ? In numbers, area 

 of production, and area of effective markets, there are pre- 

 sented no difficulties which rightfully should discourage as 

 energetic and intelligent a body of men as the New York 

 State buckwheaters are known to be, in a matter so vitally 

 interesting. With a thoro knowledge of the amount to sell, 

 and a common agreement as to a minimum price to be ac- 

 cepted of anybody except the representative of the combi- 

 nation, who will take all unsold honey at a fixt date, and 

 dispose of it to the best advantage possible, the York State 

 buckwheater would have a chance to be less conspicuous by 

 his absence at the next meeting of the National Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association. 



Mr. Chairman, it is said that " a jvord to the wise is 

 sufficient," and I hope this crude outline of a plan may 

 prove to be the right " word," which will reach the ears of 

 the " wise," and result in a better condition of affairs. If 

 the secretary had only worded his conundrum, " Hovt- not to 

 sell honey,"' I could have described the prevailing methods 

 in detail, and felt that my answer had been nearly correct. 



In conclusion, I hope that the convention will turn the 

 search-light on this subject, and evolve a practical plan, 

 which shall benefit the apiarist in this all-important branch 

 of his beloved pursuit. S. A. Nivkk. 



• (Continued next week.) 



