THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



123 



THE LOCAL MARKET FOR HONEY. 



When I first started in the honey 

 business years ago I sold my goods 

 wherever I could. The bulk of my 

 crop was usually disposed of to custom- 

 ers on the road to the village some 

 miles away where I trade. That not 

 sold on the way was sold, if possible, 

 in the village. This plan was unsatis- 

 factory, for quite frequently my 

 customers were away, though more 

 often were at home without the ready 

 cash. Grocers who bought of me were 

 displeased when I sold to their custom- 

 ers and would not buy of me unless I 

 would consider their interests. Last 

 season I quit retailing entirely, put my 

 honey up in good shape and my price 

 up to correspond. I used shipping 

 cases holding 24 and 4<S sections each, 

 and sold by section instead of by 

 weight, at every grocery that would 

 take a crate. Part payment was taken 

 in trade and I waited until the season 

 was over for the money. My crop 

 was all off hands in October, yet I did 

 not press my customers for settlement 

 until nearly spring. Last season 1 ex- 

 plained to them that the crop was to 

 be a poor one and asked one cent more 

 per section than before and if was 

 willingly promised. Thus all was en- 

 gaged at a good price before a section 

 was ready for market. It was not 

 necessary for me to go with each lot to 

 make sales. I could send by my 

 neighbors and curtail expenses. My 

 honey was all in the market by Oct. 

 15 Very little cash was received 

 on it and none was asked for until 

 Jan. 1. By giving a few months' time 

 there is no trouble to sell. The in- 

 crease in price makes up for the loss 

 of the use of the money and repays 

 me tenfold. — Apiarist. 



MANAGEMENT FOR AUGUST. 



There are sections in which no honey 

 is gathered this month. Still other 

 sections will have its largest yield from 

 now until frost. Take the State of 

 New Jersey — the largest part of the 

 bee-keepers there depend wholly on 

 the fall flow. As to our section we 

 look for flow enough in the fore part 

 of the month to keep up breeding, and 

 in the latter part the golden rod and 

 asters commence and we get just as 

 much, if not more, from them than we 

 do from the spring flowers — and have 

 only to say, if honey is plentiful, con- 

 tinue the same treatment as prescribed 

 for July. Keep each hive supplied with 

 boxes ; continue extracting and get 

 frames of foundation nicely drawn out 

 for the fall flu s especially if you are 

 in a section where there are quantities 

 of buckwheat raised, and take the 

 sealed combs away and keep for win- 

 tering. August is a splendid time for 

 Italianizing if >ou have reared queens- 

 for the purpose, or if you intend to 

 purchase queens, and one very good 

 reason is that queens are cheaper at 

 this season than earlier, or even later. 

 The stocks are not disturbed by intro- 

 ducing new blood and they go into- 

 winter quaiters with young queens 

 and just right to turn out good Italian 

 workers for next season. Have as- 

 much brood reared this month as you 

 possibly can, even if you havetofetd ; 

 hives strong with young bees in the fall 

 winter much better and have more 

 strength and vigor the next spring. I 

 think I can safely say that a stock of 

 young bejsiu the fall will be worth two 

 stocks of old bees in the spring ; they 

 gather honey faster, work harder and 

 thus their queen is stimulated and com* 

 mences to lay earlier than those wl;o 



