14 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



suspicions of adulteration, besides 

 leaving too small a margin of profit to 

 pay for time and labor in bottling and 

 distributing. I prefer to sell 100 

 pounds at a profit of 5 cents per pound, 

 to selling 50 pounds at a profit of 10 

 cents per pound, because, in the first 

 instance, my customer tells her sisters, 

 and her cousins, and her aunts, of the 

 good bargain, and they want her to 

 send me to them on my next trip, there- 

 bj' increasing my sales. On the con- 

 trary, if they poke fun at her for pay- 

 ing more than she could have obtained 

 comb honey for at her grocery, j'our 

 sales "in that locality" have gone to 

 the bow wows. 



It is difficult to tell when a pig be- 

 comes a hog. 



WHY HONEY SELLS SLOWLY IN STORES. 



I/ast week I went into a small corner 

 grocery to rest and eat an orange or 

 two, as I did not feel verj'' ambitious 

 after my long siege with La Grippe. 

 On the counter was displayed a nice 

 case of comb honey. The bee-keeper 

 who sent that honey to the city, had a 

 right to be proud of his work, for each 

 section was white and clean — no culls 

 in the lot. Five sections had been 

 sold, and I asked the clerk how long 

 she had been selling that many. She 

 said "over four weeks.'''' My order 

 book showed 110 pounds sold in that 

 immediate vicinity, that same morning, 

 and at a greater price too. To quote 

 the lamented Artemus Ward, "Why 

 this thusness ?" Had I killed that 

 market for comb honey by filling it 

 full of extracled ? 



In this connection we must consider 

 the fact that the family with a goodly 

 number of childen is naturally our 

 best customer. The mother is too busy 

 to attend to the marketing in person, 

 so orders goods from the clerk who 

 calls each morning, or she sends by 

 one of the children, so she seldom sees 

 comb honey at the stores, and when 

 she does, passes it by with the idea 

 that it is too expensive a luxury for 



them. The grocer probably agrees fo 

 that opinion, so doesn't mention it, or 

 if he does, he knows but little about its 

 value as food, therefore, is no good as 

 an advocate. On the other hand, the 

 honey expert as a canvasser, gives her 

 a sample, the children get a taste, and 

 tease for it. He points out the fact that 

 children prefer honey and bread to 

 butter and bread; that it has actually 

 as much nutrition pound for pound as 

 butter, and costs less then half the 

 price, and that true economy and re- 

 gard for health say "more honey and 

 less butter and meat." A trial 

 usually establishes a steady customer, 

 and some of these customers consume 

 an astonishing amount. One of that 

 class has bought 96 pounds of me in 

 four months, and is due for another 

 order tomorrow. I have over 700 cus- 

 tomers on my stead}'^ list. 



CAN THE BUSINESS BE ENLARGED BY 

 HIRING HELP ? 



The next point is the most interest- 

 ing of all, at present writing. Can 

 we hire help and enlarge the business ? 

 Of course, it is easy to hire extra help- 

 ers to bottle, deliver, etc., but a can- 

 vasser, intelligent enough to be of any 

 use, soon learns the business, and can 

 do better for himself. Women canvas- 

 sers do well enough, but cannot endure 

 the stair climbing. I have just gotten 

 to this part of the problem, and it 

 looks about as diffieult of solution, as 

 anything in the business. 



There is no patent on it, nor ex- 

 clusive territorj^ but strictly a free for 

 all race — for which blessing let us 

 give thanks. Whether it can be devel- 

 oped beyond the average wages stage, 

 more or less remunerative according to 

 the industry of the canvasser, the 

 weather, state of the honey market, 

 local conditions and other circum- 

 stances directly having an influence, is 

 more than yours truly can state at this 

 stage of the game. 



Chicago, 111., March 25, 1904. 



