176 THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



between one and two hundred cars of honey seek a market yearly, 

 and I have left out of this the states of Washington, Oregon and 

 California. Any one can quickly see that this western honev is a 

 very large determining factor of the market situation. — W. F. 



"It is true we produce extracted honey largely, but there are 

 reasons for this which would apply to very few bee-keepers, and 

 were I personally to begin again with the conditions we have for 

 marketing, I would run for comb honey almost exclusively. We 

 have had several hundred colonies running for both for several years 

 and a comparison of results, counting cost of production, is cer- 

 tainly in favor of comb honey." — W. Hickox, manager Rockv Mt. 

 Bee Co. 



Honey by Parcel Post. 



By P. E. CRANE, Middlebury, Vt. 



"^^U WAS very much interested in the editorial on pages 84-86 of 

 Jn the March RtviEW dealing with the shipment of honey l)y 

 parcel post. 



Just now the rapacious middleman is catching it on all sides. 

 Who the middleman is is too large a problem to discuss here, but let 

 us analyze the proposition as set forth in the article mentioned. 



Starting on the basis of $1.50. which for a nine-pound can is a 

 fair price for the producer, a consumer in the third zone would pay 

 57 cents postage. Does it not seem that our Uncle Samuel is getting 

 most too much of the consumer's $2.07? He claims to be doing it 

 at cost, too. 



Now if this was shipped to the retail grocer the freight would 

 be approximately 3 cents per can, leaving the grocer a gross profit 

 of approximately 26 per cent. His net profit would be small, to be 

 sure, but would it not be better to give him a profit than to ship by 

 parcel post and have neither Uncle Samuel nor the grocer make a 

 profit? 



There is another point that is well worth considering. If the 

 National Bee-Keepers' Association is to establish a uniform brand 

 for the honey produced l:)y its members and advertise to the con- 

 sumer, and I understand that this is contemplated, the retail grocer 

 must be considered our best friend, for it is an undeniable fact that 

 the great bulk of food products must reach the great mass of con- 

 sumers, in the future as in the past, through the medium of the retail 

 grocer. It is safe to say that 80 per cent of the honey so advertised 

 must reach the consumer through the grocer, and his attitude toward 

 the proposition is all important. 



