THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



167 



ADVERTISING HONFY. 



Couldn't the National Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation do Something in this Line? 



The Review is yoing-to try and help 

 bee-keepers this j^ear to get better 

 prices for their lioney. One way to 

 g^et better prices is to increase the de- 

 mand. One way of increasing the de- 

 mand is by advertising. See liow this 

 Karo Corn syrup is being' pushed up- 

 on the public by persistent advertising. 



And, by the way, this advertising- is 

 very unfair, and I believe injurious, 

 to the bee-keeping industry. It com- 

 pares the Syrup with honey, extolling 

 it far above that delicious article of food 

 — saying that the bees will leave the 

 nectar in the flowers for this much- 

 lauded syrup. Bee-keepers know- 

 better than this. They know that the 

 whole of this advertising, so far as 

 comparisons with honey are concerned, 

 is untrue — out and out lies. I have 

 seriously considered if these people 

 could not be compelled Jto drop this 

 style of advertising, or be made to pay 

 damages if it is continued. Bee-keep- 

 ers know that the assertions made are 

 untrue, but the dear public does not. 

 A man or a woman buys a can of this 

 stuff, supposing it more delicious than 

 honey. A trial would lead one to say 

 "Well, if this is more delicious than 

 honey, I want none of the latter." 



But the point I started out to make 

 is that if honey were put up in as 

 marketable a form as this sweetened 

 glucose is put up, and advertised as 

 extensive!}', the demand for honey 

 could be greatly increased. If the 

 National Association would, next fall, 

 publish a list of its members, tog-ether 

 with the amounts of honey produced 

 by each member, just as was done last 

 December, and then a lot of judicious 

 advertising done in the magazines, set- 



ting forth the healthfulness, delicious- 

 ness, and great desirability of honey 

 as a food, and ending by saying that 

 a list of the names and addresses of 

 the members of the National Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association would be sent upon 

 application, together with the amounts 

 and kinds of honey that each had for 

 sale, each consumer could then order 

 from the member that was nearest to 

 him. It seems to me that there is no 

 way in which the National could spend 

 a few hundred dollars with more bene- 

 fit to its members than in doing some 

 advertising in a way that will help Its 

 members to sell their honey at g-ood 

 prices. It is practically the same plan 

 as that which is going- to be tried this 

 year by the Michigan State Associa- 

 tion. 



The foreg-oing was suggested bj' 

 reading in the American Bee Journal, 

 a verbatim report of the last meeting 

 of the Northwestern Association. 

 Among other things, Mr. C. E. Star- 

 key, of Evanston, Illinois, said: 



I believe we ought to advertise, and 

 the National Association is our only 

 means. The National could spend 

 quite a little money among the news- 

 paper men, even in the Ladies' Home 

 Journal and the Saturday' Evening 

 Post. I notice they are advertising a 

 corn syrup. They spent lots of money 

 on that, but no more than the National 

 Bee-Keepers' Association could spend. 

 I called them up by telephone and 

 asked them to send me a sample, and 

 it was clear and nice, and just as 

 sweet and fine, and very much like the 

 syrup produced back in the hills from 

 cane, exactly like it, and it is sweet 

 and has the same flavor. It is 10 cents 

 for a pound and a half package. It 

 will no more take the place of honey 

 than will black molasses. We want 

 to advertise, and we want to appoint 

 some one in charge of that who can 

 successfully advertise hone}'. Let the 

 people know that honey is a good 

 thing, and they will buy it. 



Following Mr. Starkey came a char- 

 acteristic talk by Mr. Fred W. Muth, 

 of Cincinnati. It was the first time I 

 had seen Mr. Muth, and the way he 

 talked, and the enthusiasm he showed, 



