i;h I 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



17i) 



test tlieii- value sdmc tjiuo in The fu- 

 ture. What rt'adei- o,^ tli(> American 

 Bee-Keeper can jiive us any deiinite 

 facts? Speak out. lu-otliers. and don't 

 hide .ViHir liiiiit. 



I have a lot of questions 1 wish to 

 fire at you. and if the answers woulil 

 interest tlie readers of the American 

 Bee-Keeper please yive them in tlie 

 columns of your valuable journal. Has 

 any one in Florida devised any ar- 

 ranu'iMuent for evajioratinix honey 

 either by the sun or any other heat? 

 What is the season for black mansj^rove 

 to bloom? Is it capricious as regards 

 secretins" nectar? Is it of value in the 

 tropics. A gentleman at Key West 

 who had ob.served its behavior at Cape 

 Sable and other places came to the 

 conclusion that it was of little value 

 south of the Indian river. It was of 

 no value Avhatever here last season. 

 and has only just showed signs of 

 bloom this season June 19. Our best 

 honey seems to come from the bloom 

 of a tree called "Poisonwood." Who 

 can ,aive me a better name for this 

 tree — one that will not frighten eaters 

 of honey? Will honey cA'aporate oi* 

 grow thinner kept in open barrels in 

 Florida? I think this is enough for 

 this time. WaitI You just tell Broth- 

 er ropi)leton if I ever find out when 

 he passes High Mangroves again 

 without calling on his old Iowa neigh- 

 boi- I Avill put a snag in his way just 

 opposite the landing at Hig-h Man- 

 groves. 



Key West. Fla.. .Tune 23. lOO?,. 



[Mr. W. S. Hart, of this State, has 

 one of the most eflficient evaporating 

 devices for extracted honey to be 

 found in the countr.v. Such an ar- 

 rangement, however, is practicable 

 onl.v for the bee-keeper permaneutly 

 located. 



Tlie season of black mangrove bloom 

 extends over a period from May. on 

 the Ke.vs. to August on Indian river 

 north. In the vicinity of Indian river 

 the first bloom usually appears about 

 June 1, and continues through July. 



Though it is not considered a very 

 certain source of nectar supply, under 

 favoral)le weather conditions, it is 

 probaldy as * reliable as most other 

 forage trees. 



As to its habits in tropical countries. 

 we would refer our correspondent to 

 recent items in the Bee-Keeper from 

 our friend "Pat." and a contriltution 

 in this issue from Mr. Sommerford of 

 Cuba. 



We regret our inability to supjily the 

 proper name for tli<» ''poisonwood'' 

 tree, at present. 



As a rule hone.v will become thinner 

 by exi)osure to the atmosphere of Flor- 

 ida : especially is this true of the man- 

 grove season. — Editor.] 



SELLING HONEY. 



Som Excellent ugeestio s to the Beginner. 



(Arthur C. Miller.i 



PItODT'CIXG a lot of honey is but 

 half the battle, and to many 

 the easier half, while selling it 

 to the best advantage it often far from 

 easy. Salesmen are born, not made, 

 but even if one is not born a salesman 

 tlie.v may. b.v foretliought, care and 

 persevei'ance succeed far be.vond their 

 expectations. 



When I first liegan to produce more 

 honey than could be consumed at 

 home I sold it to tlie neighbors. I just 

 M'ent about among them and sold it 

 as I liad sold berries when a small boy. 

 I knew them and they knew me: if 

 they liked honey they bought. That 

 was simple, but a little later, when I 

 sought a city market -I found very 

 different conditions. The merchants 

 were prejudiced against "straiined" 

 honey. All sorts of mixtures had been 

 dumped upon them and their custom- 

 ers declined to be dosed any more. 

 Each store visited only added to the 

 seeming hopelessness of the case. At 

 last I went to a grocer I knew well 

 and got him to let me put in two dozen 

 pcmnd-bottles (Muth's jars), I agree- 

 ing to take them away if not sold, and 

 giving him 25 per cent commission 

 on all he did sell. It was a heavy per 

 cent, but the business Avas a small mat- 

 ter and in a Avay a bother to him. He 

 agreed to keep tlie hone.A' in a conspic- 

 uous place and to recommend it to 

 his customers. 



Very sloAAiy it Avent. but at last it 

 Avas all gone and I put in more. Then 

 I tried another grocer on the same lay 

 but on a smaller commission and after 

 several Aisits succeed in getting them 

 stai-ted. As soon as I had them se- 

 cured I Avent to other grocers again, 

 said "so and so" are handling my 

 goods, etc.. and finally got customers 

 enough to take all I had to sell. I 

 tried to estimate about hoAv much each 

 store AAould need and reserve enough 

 hone.v to supply them until the next 



