THE AMERICAN APICULTUIUST. 



123 



ill the section with a stiirter macliiiie. 

 Use no melted wax ahont it; use no dirty 

 foundation; use no old, strong:, black 

 conil). as natural starters — notliin.i:; that 

 will detract from the iiilt ed;re (inalities 

 of vonr honey. Cheapness in snch re- 

 s|>ects as those will prove very costly in 

 the end. 

 Mechanicsburg, 111. 



NUMBER TWO. 



•ToHN A. Dull. 



Of the many problems which at the 

 present time are clainiinii' the attention of 

 the beekeeping world, there is (perhaps) 

 not among them all a question of more 

 vital importance to each of us individu- 

 ally, none more dilHcult of satisfactory 

 st)iution, than the one involved in this is- 

 sue of the Apicultukist. Where shall I 

 find a sure and permanent market for my 

 honey crop at remunerative prices? is a 

 query which nmst necessarily press itself 

 home to every thouglitlnl person that is 

 in any degiee dependent u|)on the produc- 

 tion and sale of honey (or the maintenance 

 of his family. Much has been written up- 

 on this subject of late by men that have 

 had more experience than myself in this 

 business, therefore it seems almost use- 

 less for me to otl'er any suggestions there- 

 on; yet since we cainioL all see things 

 just alike, nor do things in the same way 

 with equal success, ii is very natural that 

 we should adopt diflerent methods to se-. 

 cure the same end. 



However anxious we may feel to make 

 the most we can out of our business, let 

 us not forget the goldiii precept, " As ye 

 W'ould that men should do to you, do ye 

 also to them likewise." We slionjd look 

 upon both sides of this marketing busi- 

 ness, and then endeavor to pursue such a 

 course as we would consider fair and 

 right, if we were consumers, instead of 

 producers. "Live and let live." If we 

 "fix the price" too high, the sales will be 

 limited, and we thereby defeat our own ob- 

 ject. On the other hand, if we can ofl'er 

 our honey at such prices as will render it 

 reasonable for the masses to buy and use 

 it as an article of daily food, why, then the 

 deuKind would be enornn)USly increased ; 

 it would no longer be looked upon as a 

 luxury, only to be enjoyed by the weal- 

 thy, but it would become a staple article 

 in commerce an.d tind ready sale at all 

 times. And I believe that it is in this di- 

 rection that we shall find an open door of 



relief for the honey market. In my men- 

 tal ear I seeuj to liear some one say, now 

 he is "giving away" the beekeepers' in- 

 terests by advocating low prices for 

 honey. I am not giving away the busi- 

 ness, but desire to build it up by increas- 

 ing the demand for honey. There is, per- 

 haps, no one who would be better pleased 

 than myself to get good prices for honey, 

 providing such prices come spontaneous- 

 ly from the real value of the article, so 

 that the pnrcdniser will feel that lie gets 

 full value for his money and will continue 

 to purchase. 



Every beekeeper should be wide-awake 

 to the fact that the home market is his 

 best market, endeavor to develop it to its 

 utmost extent and see that it is fully sup- 

 plied with all the honey it will take before 

 sending any away to distant markets. 

 Bjf selling at home we save the freight 

 and commission man's fee and avoid the 

 danger of breakage and loss. And be- 

 sides this, if every one would work up 

 a trade at home it would nuike a more 

 even distribution of the crop, increase 

 the consumption and demand for honey 

 and at the same time relieve the lai'ge 

 cities of the glut which lujvv so frequently 

 occurs. Therefore, stinudate the home 

 market with the very best article put 

 up in the most attractive style to make 

 it look inviting, for some people seem to 

 have just as keen a taste in their eyes 

 as they have on their touijue. Strive to 

 make honey fashionable in your locality, 

 so that every housekeeper who does not 

 have a card of nice honey on her table 

 when her friends come in to take tea with 

 her will feel that she is behind the tinifs. 



I have always sold nearly all of my hon- 

 ey within the town in which I live (al- 

 though some of it has been bought by 

 dealers to ship off). To put up comb hon- 

 ey for family use I make crates to hold 

 twelve 4^ X 4^ sections each, similar to 

 the regular shipping crate, extra pains 

 being taken to nndve them smooth and 

 nice: and instead of nailing the cover to 

 the crate I nail a thin moulding all around 

 the edge of the cover in such a manner as 

 to shut down over the top of the crate 

 about half an inch, fitting closely to keep 

 out files, ants and all other insects; then 

 give it two good coats of liglit green paint; 

 after the paint is dry i)Ut the glass in the 

 ends and it is ready for use. When these 

 crater are filled with nice comb honey, the 

 snowy whiteness of the combs as they 

 are seen through the glass in the ends of 

 the crates, appear in beautiful contrast 

 with the color of the paint, and it looks 

 very neat indeed; and often at first sight 

 it calls forth the exclamation, "Oh, how 

 nice!" And its inviting appearance is 



