189(5. 



TUE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



253 



will be put in the coldest part of the 

 store, or in a back room, except the 

 one case from which to retail ; and in 

 one instance the larger part of the 

 purchase was put into a damp cellar, 

 and nearly ruined. The same 1 have 

 found to be true in selling private 

 parties. 



The bee keeper must do a great 

 deal of talking along this line of in- 

 struction . To old customers I do not 

 know how much of this to do ; but to 

 new ones it seems as necessary as ever. 



Right here is a very important point 

 for all bee keepers to consider. As 

 good honey as can be produced may 

 be nearly ruined by unwise handling; 

 and when such deteriorated honey is 

 consumed, it disgusts the consumer, 

 nearly ruins future sales, and, where 

 hundreds of pounds could have been 

 sold, only tens are disposed of. 



After supplying with the honey all 

 the dealers natned, and a few minutes 

 spent in pleasant conversation, I take 

 leave, with the understanding that I 

 will supply them so long as ray stock 

 of honey lasts; or, if no more is on 

 hand, to call on them next season if a 

 crop is secured. And so I have aim- 

 ed to keep my trade in all these towns 

 by keeping them supplied when I have 

 had any. honey to sell, always aiming 

 to make our deal as pleasant for ray 

 patrons as for myself. The honey 

 should be well ripened, kept later in a 

 hot, dry honey room, put up for sale 

 in the neatest way possible, and each 

 package labeled with the name of the 

 producer, etc., and sold for just what 

 it is. If the honey is No. 1, sell it as 

 such; if not, or only No. 2, use no de- 

 ception, but deal honestly. In com- 

 plying with the above, trade once 



gained will be held, and a clear con- 

 science also. 



Town designated as No. 3 is distant 

 from my apiary 13 miles, and had at 

 one time within its borders and near 

 by, fully 500 colonics of bees. Owing 

 to the large number of bees kept, and 

 over-supplying this market, the price 

 of honey ruled low. If some of the 

 honey produced there had been mar- 

 keted in adjoining towns, paying prices 

 might have been maintained; for the 

 amount of honey produced in or near 

 the other towns was slight. Many 

 times the low prices realized for honey 

 are our own fault, and are caused by 

 the unwise or foolish distribution of 

 our honey in marketing, as indicated 

 above. Bee keepers should consider 

 this matter thoroughly frOm the At- 

 lantic to the Pacihc, We see some of 

 our large cities overstocked with honey 

 every year, while" other good markets 

 are hardly considered. At present the 

 town mentioned above has within its 

 borders but few bees ; but the people 

 have come to think that they should 

 not pay over 10 or 12 cents for the 

 finest comb honey in section-boxes ; or 

 a large portion seem to at least. I 

 never sold or attempted to sell any 

 honey in that town until recent years 

 for two reasons, viz : First, the mar- 

 ket belonged to my bee keeping 

 friends living there ; and second the 

 price did not suit me. Having a lit- 

 tle other business 1 thought to supple- 

 ment it by taking along a few cases of 

 comb honey and a few cans of extract- 

 ed on this my first visit as a honey 

 seller. 



On ray arrival I drove up to a gro- 

 cery and tied ray horse. The grocer 

 was just placing some newly-arrived 

 peaches out in front of his store. 



