THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



51 



pass them, as this article is already- 

 long, and I have not yet touched on 

 the remedy. 



It is easier to diagnose diseases than 

 to prescribe an effective cure. But if 

 we will ever place honey in its proper 

 place in the markets of the world, the 

 first great step is UNITY among the 

 producers of it. Before we can do any- 

 thing we must become thoroughly or- 

 ganized. After which, I would suggest, 

 that the country be divided into sev- 

 eral districts; a head agent to be ap- 

 pointed for each district; one in whom 

 the bee-keepers of the district have 

 perfect confidence as to honesty and 

 business ability. The head agent to be 

 located in the chief city of his district, 

 and have sub-agents under his control 

 in the smaller cities and towns of the 

 district. The head agent must be mi- 

 nutely informed of all the honey for 

 sale in his district, over and above 

 what each bee-keeper can dispose of in 

 his home market, which must not be 

 neglected under any consideration. 



The head agent being located in the 

 chief city, it will be his duty to act as 

 wholesaler of honey for that city, 

 handling nothing but honey in whole- 

 sale way. He will be able, with a lit- 

 tle help, to supply a large city. It will 

 be his duty to keep honey out of the 

 hands of commission men and dealers, 

 except those who buy the honey out- 

 right. It will be his duty to furnish 

 the price of honey for the market col- 

 umns of the papers; and his duty to set 

 the price that his sub-agents through- 

 out the districts must sell by. These 

 men, having control of all the honey in 

 the district, and the different districts 

 of all in the country, there can be no 

 competition, and it being to their in- 

 terests not to overload the market, 

 there is no reason why the price of 

 honey could not be steadily raised to 

 where it ought to be. 



These men should receive a reason- 

 able commission for their services. 

 Having control of all the honey in the 

 country, a reasonable commission 



would make the business a very re- 

 munerative one for them, and they, in 

 turn, would make bee-keeping a very 

 profitable employment. 



There being an honest agent in every 

 market in control of the honey, the 

 adulterator of honey would be out of a 

 job. If there should be any of it done 

 there would be a man on the ground to 

 look after him. 



When the bee-keepers of the country 

 thoroughly wake up to their own in- 

 terests and become thoroughly organ- 

 ized, the adulterators of honey will not 

 find the smooth sailing to which they 

 have been accustomed. The ban of oui 

 product will have disappeared behind 

 us in the past. The United States Bee- 

 Keepers' Union will have so much 

 money on hand that every now an.I 

 then they will be compelled to declare 

 a dividend in favor of the members 

 instead of as now, appealing with out- 

 stretched hands for just money enough 

 to make an example of one adulterator 

 of honey. 



Neat and attractive packages, to- 

 gether with increased confidence in the 

 purity of honey, and fair dealing, will 

 in a great measure overcome the cheap 

 sweets that honey has to compete with. 



The quantity of honey consumed will 

 be greatly increased by its even and 

 systematic distribution. 



Franklin, Pa. 



Olden Time Bee-keeping. 



WiiUenfor The American Bee-Keeper, 



BY G. M. UOOLrn-LE. 



^ijh[U; CORRESPONDENT wishes mo 

 fQ^\S to tell the readers of the Am- 

 ^'^- erican Bee-Keeper something 

 of my beginning in the bee business, 

 thinking the same may be inter- 

 esting to many of the readers of 

 this paper. As this beginning hap- 

 pened at a time when the old systems 

 were in vogue, I am led to say a few 

 words along the line of my boyhood 

 days. When I was quite small, father 

 "took" a colony of bees of a neighbor 

 living about a mile distant, to keep on 



