THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 385 



before election than he may after he is elected. Get the candidate 

 pledged and he will not forget it so quickly as he will if he is not 

 asked till after he is in office. 



A feeling of fear seems to possess a goodly number of bee men, 

 when they think of asking a legislator for a favorable vote on a 

 question. This should not be. Legislators are more or less human 

 and in every day life are about like other people. 



The habit of writing to state and national representatives and 

 senators is one that should be more largely contracted among the 

 bee men. Have a list of their names handy so that they can be 

 easily reached at any time. — \V. F. 



Manipulating the Markets. 



In a little town in Central ^Michigan a local elevator man was 

 buying beans. His finances beginning to run low, he went to his 

 banker and asked what he could do, as farmers were bringing the 

 beans and he couldn't refuse to buy them. The banker advised him 

 to reduce the price 10c a bushel. He did, but immediately the 

 farmers got scared at the falling price and rushed in the beans faster 

 than ever. In his report to stop the rush of beans he simply in- 

 creased it, and was forced by the producers to make several thous- 

 and dollars that year that he would not otherwise have made. To- 

 day he knows that a good way to get beans is to simply lower the 

 price. Look out that you don't get fooled on your honey in the 

 same way. 



In every large city they have a produce board that sets the 

 price of farm produce daily. These men are supposed to consider 

 the supply and demand, and set the price accordingly. Markets are 

 quoted through the daily press. When a supply of poultry is needed 

 markets can be quoted high, demand brisk, and supply short. This 

 will start a supply from the country, but by the time they arrive 

 the demand diminishes, supply increases and prices smash. The 

 producer gets the smashed price. Before the peach growers of 

 Georgia were organized, carload shipments of peaches sent to the 

 northern markets were known to be coming long before they ar- 

 rived, and the market fixed for their arrival. 



Over in Colorado there is a paper published, the Montrose 

 Weekly Press, which reported the crop of honey on the western 

 slope as from 35 to 40 cars. The impression was given that the 

 crop in Colorado is large this year. Unfortunately for Colorado 

 bee-men this report Avas copied by Gleanings in Bee-Cnltnre. The 

 Colorado Honey Producers' Association had 10 cars of honey booked 

 for sale, and when this report was published every buyer cancelled 

 his order. This would not have been so bad had the report given 

 been true, but according to a letter from Director Foster tliere will 



