rHE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



13 



so "in this locality." My delivery days 

 are set ahead a week, usually. 



In Sayre I settled upon asking- them 

 to furnish the package for me to take 

 home and till. Every house had a sur- 

 plus of butter pails that would con- 

 tain eleven pounds of honey, just right 

 for a dollar's worth of extracted buck- 

 wheat. I string them on a stout cord, 

 and the bigger bunch and more noise 

 they make, the easier it was to take 

 orders. How could a lady refuse to 

 get into the swim, when she could see 

 that everybody must be buying, or I 

 would have no such lot of pails. It 

 was g-ood policy to start out with a 

 few from home, to set the ball rolling. 

 (Note.— 'W. Z. This yam is to give Dr. 

 Miller and uncle A. I., a chance to 

 kick. Facts are, that I 7tever started 

 with a pail.) Niagara Falls people 

 could not be worked that way. They 

 had no butter pails. There I used 

 new, six-pound, tin pails. Here in 

 Chicago I have settled down to the 

 despised Mason jar, "the cheapest and 

 most worthless of all," to quote an ex- 

 pert at the Chicago and Northwestern 

 convention. Yes, the}^ are cheap, cost- 

 ing only }i of a cent per pound of 

 honey, while the flint glass, perfect 

 sealing bottle, with a two-color label 

 and red ribbon, costs 4 cents per 

 pound for the honey, and goes into the 

 garbage can when empty, while the 

 Mason jar is stored for future refer- 

 ence. Every woman knows just how 

 large they are, and all about them, 

 which saves lots of atmosphere for the 

 canvasser, and they are worth a nickle 

 whan empty every time, "in this local- 

 ity." A Mason jar can be easily 

 opened to compare the contents with 

 sample, a necessity in many cases 

 here, as agents have educated people 

 to expect poorer goods than the sample. 

 The ladies believe it to be the cleanest 

 package, in short it is popular now, 

 and it takes a heap of hot air to change 

 opinions that are so firmly established. 

 The main objection to it is that annoy- 



ing propensity to "leak over the top." 

 Fruit, sealed hot, will be firmer held 

 after cooling, but honej' don't seem to 

 act that way. It shrinks nearly an 

 inch in cooling, and, as I like to have 

 cans look full, I set them aside over 

 night, finish filling in the morning, 

 turn down a cool dry top on a cold dry 

 rubber, and find the leak trouble done 

 away with. I use new tops, and new 

 rubbers, to obtain results. 



THE DELIVERY OF GOODS. 



In delivering there is a chance for 

 variety. Horse and wagon is good of 

 course, but costly in a big city, and 

 you need a boy to watch while you 

 are in the house, or you may miss 

 goods — possibly the whole rig. If 

 3'ou cover a large territory, something 

 similar is a necessity. In a thickly 

 settled region, where people are stowed 

 like sardines, a boy and a push cart 

 are handiest and cheapest. ThatCleve- 

 land agent who advocates street cars 

 and a basket has hit upon a way 

 which is all right, occasionally. A 

 bicycle delivery wagon is rapid and 

 practical, providing the snow isn't too 

 deep. The ideal rig is the automo- 

 bile — and its not far off either. It 

 "will stand w.'thout hitching," can be 

 locked easily, and, and, well never 

 mind ftow. 



SOMETHING ABOUT PRICES. 



What price shall we ask for honey ? 

 How much profit must we have to get 

 the best results ? Some of the crack 

 salesmen advocate a commission price 

 of 2o cents a pound, claiming to be able 

 to sell more at that figure then at 12% 

 cents. I am not built that way. 



Some big producers retail at whole- 

 sale quotations in their home markets, 

 saving big freights and commissions, 

 increasing home consumption, and giv- 

 ing their neighbors the benefit. If 

 your price is above the point where the 

 housewife believes it to be economy to 

 purchase, sales will be few and scat- 

 tering. Too low a price, awakens 



