1900 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



115 



certain goods, cannot expect a good 

 trade in that line. Honey is not kept by 

 even tlie majority of stores, eitlier comb 

 or extracted reguldrly, and at prices to 

 compare with otlier sweets of the 

 same grade, wliile the other sweets 

 are in all stores. How long would a 

 store do business if sugar and syrup 

 were not kept in stock, except in cities 

 large enough to run with a limited line 

 in any one store — the various stores 

 making a specialty of certain goods ? A 

 common country or village store, and as 

 well the greater part of city stores, 

 could not hold their customers if they 

 did not keep staple sweets. Honey must 

 be kept in stock and oSered r^gulnrly as 

 other goods to be regularly used. These 

 are self-evident truths. Any one wlio 

 attempts to make a staple sweet of 

 honey, and not keep it iu stock, will 

 surely fail. Failure along this line is 

 common — very common — with grocers 

 as well as bee-keepers, in working up a 

 honey trade. 



Another reason why people do not buy 

 extracted honey is because it is too ex- 

 pensive — there is too much expense be- 

 tween production and consumption. 

 From here to Chicago the present rate 

 on extracted honey is 97 cents per hun- 

 dred pounds. Suppose I ship ten cases 

 of honey to any dealer there, and charge 

 him 6 c^nts f. o. b. here, he pays 97 

 cents per hundred gross weight, which 

 is just about even $il3 on the lot. A lot 

 of 1,200 pounds at 6 cents is $73 ; plus 

 $13 freight, and the honey costs on the 

 car at Chicago 7}4 cents per pound. 



If the buyer in the city puts his 

 money into the honey he will not want 

 to sell again for a bit less than ten 

 per cent, advance, perhaps usually 

 not less than 20 per cent. If he 

 manufacturers in 

 and in large lots 

 be quite small ; 



were selling to 

 original packages 

 may 



the 



margin 



but if it goes for table use, and he sells 

 in the origin il package to go into fami- 

 lies by the 60-pound can, there can not 

 be less than 30 per cent, added — the 

 wholesale dealer 10, and the retailer 20. 

 Cost of honey — ten cases — on car in Chi- 

 cago, $85 ; plus 30 per cent, for dealers, 

 total §110.50 ; or about 9 1-5 cents per 

 pound it costs the consumer. 



To repack this honey would cost quite 

 a little, but I scarcely know how much 

 to estimate, much depending upon the 

 equipment for doing the work ; we will 

 drop that item and see about cost of 

 packages. The very cheapest tin pack- 

 age will cost at least one cent per 



pound while glass packages cost from 

 three to four cents per pound. This 

 makes the cost of the honey about an 

 average of 123^ cents per pound when it 

 gets to the consumer. 



Extracted honey shipped to market in 

 GO-pound cans and repacked for retail 

 trade costs the consumer at least 12 >2 

 cents, many times considerably over this 

 — 123^ is very conservative. Now buy six 

 cents worth of granulated sugar, make 

 a syrup by adding a little water, then 

 place this beside twelve cents worth of 

 honey and see how many customers will 

 buy the sugar rather than the honey. 

 Sugar competes with extracted honey 

 and there is no use in ignoring the fact. 



THK REMEDY IN THE MATTER. 



The producer must pack his honey in 

 retail packnges and case it in some way 

 that it may be handled cheaply. One 

 great trouble with apiarists themselves 

 is, first putting up honey in barrels or 

 sixty-pound cans, then later repacking 

 it for retail, melting when candied, and 

 also taking back that which candies in 

 stores. All this is piling up cost on 

 the consumer, or reducing the profits of 

 the producer. The producer of extracted 

 honey needs a storage-tank between the 

 extractor and the marketing-package in 

 all cases. After settling, draw from the 

 tank into retail packages, and let it 

 candy as quickly as it will, then sell in 

 the candied condition. 



Consumers will buy it candied and 

 liquify for themselves, and many want 

 it candied when spread on their bread. 

 People buy new things because they are 

 always wanting "something new," and 

 if "tis new to buy candied honey they 

 will do it and soon learn to melt it. I 

 sell my extracted honey in lard-pails 

 nicely painted and stenciled — that is I 

 used to — now our pails are lithographed. 

 This is the cheapest package, and nice, 

 and with the honey candied there is no 

 drip or leak. In my home market^ the 

 prices are very close to that of granulat- 

 ed sugar, the honey being sold when 

 candied. I do not put Ibiuld honey in 

 stores, and my honey sells right along, 

 and is fast becoming a staple. 



R. C. Akin, Larimer Co., Col. 



ITALIAN QUEENS. 



Untested. 70c. each. 

 Tested. $1.00each. 



Two-Frame Nuclei (without queen), $2.25; Three- 

 Frame Nuclei (without queen), *3.00. Queens 

 large, yellow and prolific. Circulars free. 



It E. W. HAAC, Canton, O. 



