S42 



Oct. 4, 1906 



American Itee Journal 



so must the margin of profit, to cover the risk increase, so 

 thai the fellows who do pay must also pay for the fellows 

 who never pay. 



We have here a range of prices beginning with the casli 

 carload buyer at 85 cents per hive for 8-frame ij4-story, and 

 increasing under the varying conditions of credit and quan- 

 tity until the purchaser of one hive set up and painted pays 

 $-'.45. without sections and foundation, or $2.85. complete and 

 ready for the bees. Does it require a Sherlock Holmes to 

 discern the remedy? Organize! Co-operate! Employ the 

 man from New York to do all the buying for all the bee- 

 keepers ! Form one vast co-operative association, and every 

 member will get supplies at the lowest rates! It is being 

 done in spots all over the country. Why not let the move 

 ment become general? In my locality an association bearing 

 the name of the St. Croix Valley Honey-Producers' Asso- 

 ciation has no members. A 2-leaf circular is the extent of its 

 earthly possessions. The association actually distributed from 

 April. 1904, to May 1, 1905, about $1,400 worth of bee-hives 

 and supplies. The purchaser of one bee-hive got it for $1.02 

 and freight; the user of 1,000 No. 1 sections got them for 

 $3.00 at any time through the season, local freight added. 

 The officers and managers of that association received the 

 sum of $52 for their year's services. The association pro- 

 duced and sold for cash at the car-door 3 carloads of honey. 

 The manager of the association received $19 for his service- 

 in the marketing of honey. The bee-keeper paid the short 

 price for his supplies and received the long price for his 

 product. The same thing has been going on for years in 

 Colorado. The continued success and harmony of the Colo- 

 rado Honey-Producers' Association is a case in point. 



\\ e must not be too narrow in our vision or compre- 

 hension. I have shown you the state of affairs as it exists 

 today for the purpose of mutual benefit. There is reason on 

 both sides. The bee-keeper who keeps bees for profit cannot 

 afford to pay $2.85 for his hives. Neither can the manufac- 

 turer afford to sell a well-made bee-hive from good material 

 at 85 cents. He does so at a loss, and if all his sales are 

 made on that basis it is only a question of time when that 

 manufacturer will suspend. 



By the way, had you heard of the recent advance in the 

 price of shop-lumber? It is getting scarce and now commands 

 a price of $3 or $4 per thousand more than one year ago. 

 Then there are the requirements of standard goods. The 

 lumber must lie clear, surface smooth two sides, T/% 

 thick. There are only a few mills that saw lumber 

 that will season out and surface two sides %. All 

 St. Croix and Mississippi river mills cut green j/%, and when 

 seasoned out will barely skin 34. A large box manufacturer 

 and lumber dealer recently remarked to me, "It will only be 

 a year or two more that you fellows can cultivate that "/$ 

 fad." It is only the extreme Northern mills that cut for the 

 Eastern market that can supply the full inch shop lumber, and 

 as each mill completes its cut the circle of available material 

 rapidly diminishes, and in consequences the price goes up. 



There is no doubt about it — the soft white pine, full % 

 thick, is the best bee-hive on the market. A bee-hive may be 

 made from clippings and scraps from some wood-pile, scant 

 thickness and mixed quality of material — some white pine, 

 some Norway, some cross-grained, cross-breed material — 

 and sold for less money than the standard goods, but the 

 quality is not there, and in the long run it will be found that 

 the standard goods will out-last the cheaper article. 



Nowhere will the well-tried maxim prove more true than 

 in the purchasing of bee hives — "The best is the cheapest." 



W. H. Putnam. 



Mr. Aspinwall — I note one remark in the paper, that the 

 bee-keepers who are successful have to pay for the ones 

 who make failures, and that have long credits extended to 

 them by a jobbing house which charges for their hives and 

 supplies. 1 hat seems to be the rule in every department 

 of human affairs. You and I pay high hotel bills because of 

 the man who uses the soap, and takes the towels away, and 

 breaks things; also the table is extravagantly luxurious proba- 

 bly two or three times more than it need be. There are 

 numerous lines in which the same thing is made to balance 

 the extravagance and wastefulness in all departments. I 

 don't know but that is the only safe way. However, there 

 an lots of things in the article to commend it, notably one, 

 where the Association can buy in large quantities and so 

 purchas" at a discount. 



Mr. Fred W. Muth then read a paper entitled, 



HOW THE PRODUCERS AND DEALERS MAY 

 ADVANCE THEIR MUTUAL INTERESTS 



My subject was given me by our worthy Secretary, and, 

 I believe, as a nut to crack ; when finished, I will leave you to 

 judge as to whether or not I have succeeded. 



As a dealer, I am proud that I am afforded the oppor- 

 tunity to speak to you on this subject, for it is the most im- 

 portant one before this convention, for the reason that it 

 touches the pocket-book of the fraternity. 



I will endeavor to give vivid descriptions of some ship- 

 ments of honey as received ; dissect a number of transactions, 

 and show results. Furthermore, I will prove to you that it 

 is indeed necessary for many producers to use better judg- 

 ment in grading their honey, and also to use better packages, 

 so that their product will command marketable prices. At 

 the same time, however, I will describe to you clearly some 

 nice shipments of honey, and their results. 



Some time ago, a party sent us some 20 odd barrels of 

 honey; it was in the month of September. When they arrived 

 at the depot, we were promptly notified by the R. R. Co., of 

 the leaky condition of the lot. Our drayman, accompanied 

 by a cooper, repaired quickly to the depot, in order to get 

 the barrels into shape, so that they could bring them to the 

 store. When the barrels were rolled over the sidewalk, the 

 honey oozed out from between the staves. The cooper at- 

 tended the packages at three different times, and even then 

 did not succeed in checking all the leaks. Our motto from 

 the very beginning of our business career, has been, "Money 

 back the day shipment is received," and we always adhere 

 to the motto. However, we cannot afford to lose any money 

 on account of another's negligence. We immediately in- 

 formed the shipper of the exact state of affairs, telling him 

 at the same time that we could not possibly remit for this 

 shipment until after we had disposed of same. We further- 

 more stated, that, on account of the poor cooperage, and the 

 close margin of profit, we could not do otherwise, but prom- 

 ised to let him hear from us, at an early date. Well, in a 

 comparatively short time, we received a real nice letter from 

 the A. I. Root Co., in which they asked why payment for 

 this honey was withheld, etc., and at the same time they 

 stated that probably the shipment was too large for us. We 

 sold 10 barrels of the lot, which were shipped out of the 

 city. When they arrived at their destination, we received 

 a telegram from the consignee as follows ; "Honey at depot 

 all leaking; refuse to accept." We responded promptly by- 

 wire, asking him to please accept the shipment and protect 

 our interests. This shipment had been attended to by an 

 able cooper before it left the store, and we fully believed 

 would stand shipping. 



Such transactions are not to the mutual advantage of 

 the producer and dealer. The result — no more shipments 

 from this producer, for he really believed we took advantage 

 of him. 



Now, then, I call to mind another shipper, who has 

 shipped us no less than 300 barrels of honey to date. When 

 he makes a shipment, he forwards, with the B.-L. a letter, in 

 which he enumerates the barrels, gives the weights, gross and 

 tare, and describes the quality and flavor of the honey with 

 such accuracy that we know exactly how it tastes by his 

 letter. I wish to add here, that his honey is always free 

 from dirt and is well ripened. Frequently his shipments are 

 sold before they reach Cincinnati, for the reason that we can 

 depend upon his weights, and so far there has never been 

 a leaking barrel received. Many of you know this gentle- 

 man, he is a bee-keeper. Such shipments are certainly an 

 advantage to both the dealer and producer. 



Two years ago, I visited a bee-keepers' home, and saw 

 50,000 pounds of comb honey he had produced that season. 

 He cases his honey immediately, and just as it comes from 

 the hive, making no distinction in the grading, places the 

 good with the poor quality, and, should there be a leaky sec- 

 tion, does not discard it, but places it in the case with the 

 honey that is sound and solid. Had he graded his honey 

 carefully, we would have bought the lot on the spot. Besides 

 being interested in the bee-keeping industry, he is a farmer, 

 and, by the way. his farm contains 1,000 acres; he is also an 

 extensive stock-buyer. I know his bees do not receive the 

 attention they should, for his other interests crowd him. 

 At the time, I told him that I would buy his honey if he 

 would grade it properly, stating that it would pay him to do 



