180 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



August 



crop. The honey was good; its sale in- 

 creased and I soon found I must buy 

 if I was to hold my trade. So I V)Ought, 

 trying to get a flavor as near as pos- 

 sible to my honey. It was not like it 

 and I came near losing the w^hole 

 trade. It took a lot of explaining 

 and V a lot of special labels tell- 

 ing the kind of honey, difference 

 in flavors of honeys from different 

 sources, etc. After that I took to 

 blending honeys and found it most sat- 

 isfactory. The only trouble lay in 

 putting together honeys of different 

 specific gravity. I found it necesary 

 to warm them almost to the limit of 

 safety, stir them well and then they 

 would mix perfectly, otherwise the 

 bottled "blends" looked streaked and 

 there was trouble quick. 



I Avell recall one suspicious grocer 

 who catered to the German trade — he 

 was a German himself. The slightest 

 sign of a streak meant war. I finally 

 won his confidence and he became my 

 largest customer. His trade preferred 

 basswood honey, and most of them 

 wanted it granulated hard. I had to 

 sell to him at a low price, but he 

 took large lots, large packages and I 

 never had to take back granulated 

 honey. Today, grocers of this city 

 offer jars of granulated honey without 

 hesitation or explanation. The public 

 are educated to it. 



The honey business was a "side 

 line" with me and soon called for 

 more time than I could spare, so I sold 

 it out, confining myself to producing 

 honey for home use. selling any sur- 

 plus to the man who bought my busi- 

 ness. 



To the bee-keeper who is just com- 

 mencing to sell honey I would say, 

 sell only really fine honey, keep the 

 flavor as uniform as possible by blend- 

 ing the difl'erent kinds, put the honey 

 in neat packages and have them ab- 

 solutely free from stickiness or dirt. 

 Approach the customers in a frank, 

 straight-forward manner and if you 

 get "turned down" take it pleasantly 

 and call again later. Patience and 

 perseverance are prime essentials to a 

 salesman. 



Providence. R. I., July 17, 1903. 



PROTECTION FOR HIVES. 



An advertiser in the Irish Bee Jour- 

 nal offers an unusual inducement to 

 buyei-s of his stock. He says, "This 

 strain has exterminated foul brood." 

 The gentleman ought to send his rep- 

 resentative to Cuba. 



(H. J. Schrock.) 



EDITOR BEE-KEEPER: I en- 

 close a sketch of a protector or 

 shader that I have used for sev- 

 eral years. It is intended for single- 

 walled hives, and is made abour as 

 follows: 



Take a super, or make a box of same 

 size, and nail on the lower edge a 

 strip about one-half inch wide. Make 

 a box (end and sides only) of boards 

 ten to twelve inches wide, so the upper 



inside edge will be about one-half inch 

 larger than outside of the hive. This 

 box should be made tapering — that is, 

 larger at bottom than top — so it will 

 telescope when not in use, and a num- 

 ber are piled together. Now nail the 

 super with the strips on lower edge, 

 onto this tapering rim, and it is ready 

 for use. Take the cover from the hive 

 and replace the cover. 



In winter, when there is deep snow, 

 I bank the snow over the hives, and 

 the protector keeps ice from forming 

 at the entrance. The protector serves 

 several purposes, besides. In the 

 spring it protects the hives from rain 

 and cold winds. In summer it shades 

 the hive and keeps the supers nice and 

 dry: and by placing- enameled cloth 

 first upon the hive, then the protector, 

 it keeps out the air, and in winter 

 keeps out mice. 



To winter bees, fill top with chaff 

 and stuff straw or fine hay between 

 hive and protector; then fill hive- 

 stand with straw, and the hive is 

 pretty well protected lioth from cold 

 and Avet. It is also handy as a comb- 

 holder, and just the thing to set supers 

 on, as there is no danger of killing 

 bees on lower side of super. 



Goshen, Ind., June 25, 1903. 



