236 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



July 



Advertise and Otherwise 



By W. S. Pangburii 



I am sending you phoito of the honey 

 displaj' we put in at our district fair 

 last fall. We spent about a week at 

 the fair and arranging for the exhibit, 

 and while we were very busy, not 

 feeling we had the time to spare, af- 

 ter it was all over we considered it 

 was time well spent. 



The display, while gotten up on 

 short notice, drew lots of attention, 

 and We received many compliments. 



We had plenty of "Facts About 

 Honey" circulars, and it was surpris- 

 ing to me how many people carried 

 them away after examining them, 

 which showed they were interested. 

 We think them the best thing of the 

 kind that has come to our notice. 

 There is something about them that 

 attracts, and people will read them, 

 and that is what we want. 



We drove back and forth each day, 

 and took all the 10-pound pails we 

 could carry in the back of the Ford, 

 and came back empty each night, and 

 the last day we could have sold 

 double what we had with us. We sold 

 over 1,000 pounds of honey at the 

 fair, and one merchant bought the 

 entire exhibit, so we had nothing to 

 bring home save what little equip- 

 ment we had. We have since sold 

 this same merchant $250 wonth of 

 honey, and could sell him more if we 

 had it. We have sold many other or- 

 ders on the strength of the exhibit. 



We had the opportunity to meet 

 people face to face, get acquainted 

 with them, and explain any quesitions 

 they wished to ask about honey, and 

 how it is produced, which isn't a bad 

 advertisement in itself. 



The quart jar, just above the cake 



of wax, was chunk honey, and was 

 much admired by all. I could have 

 sold this jar a dozen times, and it 

 revealed to me the possibilities of 

 working this trade. This honey, 

 packed in glass, surely appeals to 

 the eye, as well as to the palate. 



We have always worried about put- 

 ting up this honey in advance of the 

 orders, on account of our honey 

 granulating so early, so we experi- 

 mented last fall with a quart can of 

 chunk honey to determine how long 

 it could be kept without granulating. 

 This can was packed the first of 

 September, and the liquid honey 

 heated to 140 degrees, and after 

 cooling it was poured in the jar with 

 the comb. 



This jar has shown no signs of 

 granulation until lately, and only 

 shows slight granules in the bottom 

 now, which proves this honey could 

 safely be held 5 months without 

 serious granulation. How fast it will 

 go from now on remains to be seen. 



I am convinced 'the granulation was 

 started from the drip from the comb 

 honey, which, of course, was not 

 heated. If the comb honey was al- 

 lowed to drain thoroughly before be- 

 ing placed in the can, it might pre- 

 vent it from granulating much longer, 

 but of course that would take consid- 

 erable more time. However, if it 

 would do this, we believe it would 

 pay in glassed goods for the mer- 

 chants, if one had trade enough to 

 justify. Packed in 10-pound pails for 

 family trade, it is doubtful if it would 

 pay, as very few families buy 

 enough ahead to last them until the 

 honey would granulate. 



The little hive of bees drew consid- 

 erable attention, especially from the 

 "kiddies," and I had to keep a close 



watch ion them. I never saw a "kid" 

 that would refuse to stir up a bum- 

 blebees' nest or run a stick into a 

 beehive, and then "beat it," if the op- 

 portunity presented itself. 



Of course the bees were dead ones, 

 mounted by setting them on a little 

 spot of glue, and would not stand 

 much punching. We had workers, 

 queen and drone, to show the differ- 

 ence between them. 



We believe, if more beekeepers 

 would put a display at fairs and else- 

 where, they would find it the cheap- 

 est advertising they can get. They 

 would get direct benefits from it, and 

 iit would add greatly in putting honey 

 on a level with other foods. It is up 

 to us beekeepers to put it there. Are 

 we going to do it, .or let it drop back 

 to the old level of prices that pre- 

 vailed before the war? We hear 

 considerable about the reconstruc- 

 tion, or destruction of prices. Do you 

 think we can produce honey at 7, 8 

 and 10 cents per pound with bee sup- 

 plies and labor at present prices? It 

 can't be done and be a paying propo- 

 sition. 



If there ever was a time when bee- 

 keepers should wake up, that time ts 

 right now. Honey has, for a long 

 time before the war, sold at unrea- 

 sonably low prices. Many of us have 

 wished we might be able to get the 

 prices that some of the older mem- 

 bers of the craft received years ago. 

 We are now getting them, and while 

 no sane man expects these prices to 

 last indefinitely, we should do our 

 best to prevent them going below 

 where the production of honey be- 

 comes profitable. The beekeeper is 

 just as "worthy of his hire" as any 

 other worker. We have done much 

 to relieve the shortage of sugar, and 

 are entitled to a just and reasonable 

 profit from our business. Are we 

 going to work to maintain this profit, 

 or are going to drop back into the old 

 rut, and die on the job? 



We have been talking to our trade 

 for some time, that they cannot hope 

 to buy honey as cheap as they did 

 4 or S years ago. Supplies and labor 

 have doubled and trebled, and it 

 would be unreasonable to expect it. 

 Few people are so dumb that they 

 cannot understand it when you ex- 

 plain to them in a businesslike way. 

 There is only one way to keep our 

 prices from going below where they 

 are no longer profitable, and that is 

 for every beekeeper to get alive to 

 the situation, educate customers 

 along business lines, create a demand 

 for honey by advertising, which may 

 be done in different ways, but do not 

 lose your head and slash prices. 

 Iowa. 



Costly Mistakes 



Pangburn's display 



V,y F. Grcincr 



How often have I wished that I 

 might be in a position to begin my 

 life work with bees over again how I 

 would try to avoid the many mistakes 

 made during this period of slow learn- 

 ing! Why cannot those who are com- 

 ing on now profit by these mistakes 

 made by us? The greatest mistake I 



