1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



203 



We can not put honey in packages 

 that cost as much as the honey alone 

 will bring. Suppose the honey worth 

 4 cts. and the packing 4, then the 

 freights, etc., on that and "where are 

 we at?" Do not forget that 1 am not 

 talking about the local retail trade 

 from our honey- houses, but the general 

 markets. 



We must have a regular package. 

 We have a standard for comb honey, 

 sections of certain weight, and so 

 many in a case. A dealer can order 



1;^ so many cases of 12 or 24 pound size; 

 and when he retails it he sells it out 

 by the piece or pound, and no bother; 

 but here we are with extracted honey 

 in all sorts of vessels of wood, tin or 

 glass, some of the packages costing 

 more than the honey itself can be 

 bought for. The only way a retail 

 dealer can get extracted honey to his 

 customers is to get it put up for him 

 by a local apiarist, or buy it in whole- 

 sale packages and then repack it, and 

 run the cost to or above comb, or draw 

 it out into the purchaser's pail. If 

 we are to sell to bakers or majiuf ac- 

 tures, then the large can or barrel is 

 all right; but we want to sell for table 

 use too, and the purpose of this article 

 is to tell why we do not, and how we 

 can get the table trade. 



Extracted honey is not nearly so 

 largely used as it should and would 

 be, because it is not put up so that the 

 people can get it as they do the 

 competitive sweets. I know that Mr. 

 C. F. Muth and some others are doing 

 work; but Muth cannot handle all the 

 honey. What we must do is to get 

 our goods in shape so that when it is 

 once packed it is there to stay till the 

 consimier gets it. Other syrups and 

 sweets are so put up that the packages 



are regular, go from packer to whole- 

 sale house, and through the regular 

 channels of trade, in unbroken cases 

 till the local grocer gets it, when the 

 case is broken and the original can 

 sold to the consumer. 



But how are we to get it so? At 

 present I see but one way. We must 

 co-operate. We can establish packing 

 houses at suitable places to receive 

 the product in its vicinity. This house 

 (or association) can have its trade- 

 mark or label; buy its cans in car 

 lots; can, case and market the goods 

 in a regular way. You will say, 

 "Why not each apiarist pack his own 

 honey, get his cans from the general 

 house or depot and pack at home?" 

 The reason why this will not work is 

 plain. Suppose the apiarists about 

 Denver would undertake this. Per- 

 haps no two of them would grade just 

 alike. Perhaps one out of 10, 25 or 

 50 would ignorantly or willfully pack 

 a lot of off -grade honey. It would, of 

 course, go out with the rest, and 

 eventually damage the reputation of 

 the association or firm which guaran- 

 teed it. No; it must be packed by an 

 experienced packer who knows his 

 business. The farmer may just as well 

 pack his own pork, or the fruit man 

 his own apples; but these and other 

 products must go to the regular 

 packer. We may pack for local trade 

 or special customers, but we can not 

 do this for the general trade. 



One difficulty that meets us here is 

 that there is not enough honey pro- 

 duced. There, now, won't I catch it ? 

 The idea of saying there is not enough 

 honey produced when we can not sell 

 what we have ! Yes, I say it, and it 

 is a fact. If there were ten times as 

 much produced there would besome 



