1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



791 



hardened (as real good honey Is most sure to do when cold 

 weather comes). 



I was not able to find extracted honey in small enough 

 packages for retail trade. I saw some very choice honey in 

 small tin cans in Watertown, and the man wanted 8>-a cents 

 per pound by ths 100 pound lots. I saw another that would 

 have been nice if It had not been badly handled. But why 

 don't folks keep their honey In a dry, warm place Instead of 

 in the cellar? And why do they not leave the honey ou the 

 bee-hive till it Is thick enough to be good ? 



Now a word about the size of packages for family use. 

 Square tin cans holding 12-pounds are Hrst-class, and will 

 sell well ; or If you wish cheaper packages, 15, 20, or 25 

 pound basswood jelly kits go very well, costing only about l-i- 

 cent per pound, or about that to put it up. It will cost about 

 12 cents to put honey in 12-pound tins. Almost any amount 

 of choice extracted honey could be sold If nicely put up in one 

 or two pound packages. 



Now, why cannot bee-keepers put up their extracted 

 honey in nice, uniform shape, as well as the comb. If we all 

 would use some reason In this, as well as in other things, 

 there Is no reason why we should not get nearly as much per 

 pound a? for honey In the comb. To accomplish this, we must 

 first adopt rUjht and businesslike principles. Every person 

 selling extracted honey should have his name and address on 

 every package, and always state the quality. Any one found 

 selling adulterated goods should be severely dealt with. 

 Honey is one of the most wholesome articles there Is for food, 

 and the innocent purchaser ought to be protected as well. One 

 thing we should remember, that is, to please the eye as well 

 as the palate. 



All the clippings and bits of comb, if saved and rendered 

 nicely, will make nice wax, and will bring a remunerative 

 price. Try it. Pierce Co., Wis. 



Report for 1897— Selling Honey. 



BY E. S. MILES. 



From 32 colonies, spring count, I increast to 52, and got 

 1,900 pounds of comb honey and -400 pounds of extracted 

 honey. The lOframe colonies swarmed just as much as 

 S-frame ones. I noticed no difference, except the 10-frame 

 hives gave the largest swarms. Best yield from one colony 

 was from a 10-frame hive, 155 pounds of cofiib honey, and 

 increast one. The next best, 11-4 pounds from an 8-frame 

 hive whose colony did not swarm. I don't think there is so 

 much difference between the S-frame and 10-frame hives as 

 one would think from reading the champions of the respective 

 sizes, provided you watch the S-frame colony carefully. I try 

 to watch, and if the spring is favorable the S-frame colony 

 may get too much honey In the brood-cbamber, thus crowding 

 the queen out, when I take out an outside comb or two, and 

 give empty ones ; or they may run short, when 1 take out an 

 empty one or two, and give full ones. 



Now I am going to do what may seem a fool-hardy thing. 

 I am going to disagree with the editor. While I do not agree 

 with Mr. Pease (page 72S) altogether, I do agree that Mr. 

 Pease has come nearer the truth than has Elitor York in his 

 editorial reply. 



My experience of the last two or three years agrees per- 

 fectly with Mr. Pease's first subject; that is, that bee-keepers 

 hurt both the sale and price of honey by their glowing reports 

 that they are so apt to make along about swarming-time, 

 ■when everything looks favorable and the bees are booming. 

 To illustrate, I will tell how it was here this year. 



The season opened up favorably ; bees wintered well, and 

 along about the middle of June the bees began to gather honey 

 and swarm. Now understand, as Dr. Gallup says, everything 

 lookt favorable — lots of clover, nice weather aud ground good 

 and moist. Well, the farmer who has his hands full at that 

 time with tending his corn crop, and has almost forgotten he 

 has a half dozen colonies of bees out in the back yard, con- 

 cludes that as the bees are swarming so much, perhaps he had 

 better get some " boxes " and put on, the "first cool morning,"' 

 as now they have swarmed perhaps they will "make" some 

 honey. So he goes to the local supply man, the first lime he 

 goes to town, and calls for honey-boxes. 



The supply man says " All right," and while wrapping up 

 the sections, asks the farmer how his bees are " doln'." 



The farmer says : " F'Irst-rate ; newer saw the like; had 6 

 in the spring, got 24 now, and lost 3 or 4, and I don't 'spose 

 they are done swarmin' yet." 



"The local bee-man" asks If he has any "boxes" on yet?, 

 "Oh, no ; been terrible busy ; such a wet spring, corn planting 

 late, and corn weedy ; haint had time to fool with bees ; don't 

 think they have ' made ' any honey yet any way." 



The local man says : " Why, you ought to have boxes 

 enough to put two or three sets on those swarms. Just come 

 out here and see mine. Here Is one that came a week ago, 

 working in the second set of boxes, and I'll give it another set 

 In a few days. Here, look In this hive ; it swarmed yesterday. 

 AInt that nice honey ? It will fill another set or two of boxes 

 yet. I tell you what, that beats 15-C!ent corn, and you better 

 take plenty boxes along. You'll make a pile off them bees If 

 you 'tend to 'em right." 



So the farmer goes on his way rejoicing ; puts from 1 to 

 3 sets of sections on every hive that has bees in it, probably 

 putting the most " boxes " on the old "stands," and few or 

 none on the " new swarms," not expecting them to "make" 

 much honey until they get older. Now every thing is lovely 

 till cold weather, and 1 know, and am personally acquainted 

 with one man at least, who did not believe that white clover 

 bad stopt yielding honey up to Sept. 25, because he saw some 

 in bloom over In his pasture ! Such bee-keepers do not know 

 how much honey they have until they take It off, when the 

 weather Is too cold for the bees to object, but they always teW 

 about what a lot they have ready to take off. 



The local supply man, referred to above, and who Is no 

 creature of the Imagination, paid me a visit about the time 

 the farmer was in after " boxes." He told me one farmer had 

 one colony In the spring, and at that time had had five swarms 

 and was In after more hives as he expected more swarms. 

 Honey had always sold for 15 cents or more here, up to last 

 year, when farmers with poor batches of old, dark combs 

 knockt the price to 12!-^ cents, and then 10 cents. But by 

 having a nice article, and sticking to it, I retailed most of 

 mine at 15 cents. 



The local supply man at the time of his visit said to me : 

 "Honey will be cheap; going to be a big crop; they [the 

 stores] will out it at ten cents at the start." 



I replied : " I don't know yet. We are not sure of a big 

 crop yet. If the weather should turn unfavorable just now, 

 we would have very little marketable honey. I don't think I 

 have a case ready to come off yet. As for the price, the stores 

 will get It as cheap as they can so as to sell It quick." 



Now about a week or ten days after this, the honey-flow 

 stopt off short. The scale hive which had been showing a gain 

 of 2J^ to ■! pounds a day, dropt to 1, and next day nothing, 

 with the clover looking about as good as ever. We were left 

 with lots of unflnlsht sections. 



About this time we take off some honey, and strike out to 

 peddle it out on our old route of last year. We askt 15 cents 

 for a single section, or 12J^ cents per section for -t or more. 

 All right, no kick made at the first few houses; honey was 

 nice, all satisfactory. 



Strike another street. Go to a house that we sold to only 

 occasionally last year. Ask If they would'nt like some honey ? 

 Didn't know, how much a pound •? Fifteen cents single sec- 

 tion, or 123^ per section for four or more. They laugh and 



say that Mr. , the local supply man's boy was around with 



honey this morning selling it for 10 cents. Didn't buy any, 

 but It lookt nice, might call again, they would see about It, etc. 

 Now what could we do in such circumstances? Do you 

 say we would have to come down in price? You have guest 

 correctly. We sorted our honey more carefully than ever be- 

 fore, and managed to sell the very best of it at 12>^ cents per 

 section, and all the rest goes slow at 10 cents. 



Now, is there more sold and used since it has gone down ? 

 Our leading grocery men tell me no, there is no better sale, 

 but they must sell It at that, as their customers say they have 

 heard this one or that one is offering it for that. The local 

 man afterwards told me it was too low, and that there was 

 not nearly as much honey as was expected. But the groceries 

 were selling for 10 cents, and it was no use asking more. 



Now the price is flxt at 10 cents, clearly the results ^of 

 glowing reports and too many bee-keepers. No use to say, " Get 

 them to read the bee-papers," as the local man is the man 

 who recommended the American Bee Journal to me, but he 

 has cut down expenses, I understand, aud can produce all the 

 10-cent honey he can sell without the aid of the grand old 

 American Bee Journal. Crawford Co., Iowa. 



A Ne'w Binder for holding a year's numbers of the 

 American Bee Journal, we propose to mall, postpaid, to every 

 subscriber who sends us 20 cents. It is called "The Wood 

 Binder," is patented, and is an entirely new and very simple 

 arrangement. Full printed directions accompany each Binder. 

 Every reader should get it, and preserve the copies of the Bee 

 Journal as fast as they are received. They are invaluable for 

 reference, and at the low price of the Binder you can afford to 

 get It yearly. 



