4(50 



GLEA^JI^'US l^ J5EE CULTUUE. 



June 



outsifle edges. Put on your upper story, then fill it 

 with Hurblson boxes, the ends of the boxes being- 

 open. The bees have to go in at the end. They then 

 can't work from one set to the other from the bot- 

 tom, bnt have to come around to the end. The 

 ends of each clamp come within i'e inch of the side 

 of the upper story. 



To sum up the whole matter: As regards myself I 

 am a young bee-man who could and did make a 

 good living from bees, from one year to the other, 

 in Missouri. I cnme with my family to California 

 with the intention of keeping bees, and staying one 

 year anyhow. I did not come to "bach it for two 

 or three years. After riding over 300 miles I have 

 settled in Los Angeles, and gone into some other 

 business. I have not seen a bee-man who says he 

 can make a living from bees. Since 1 have been 

 here I have seen 196 cans of extracted honey, of 

 light color, as light as white clover, all candied, and 

 one year old, sold at auction for $1.55 per can of 60 

 lbs. However, we like this country and expect to 

 stay, but don't advise any one, who can make a 

 living where he is, to come here unless he has lots 

 of money; and if he wants to keep bees, he must be 

 willing to live in the most out-of-the-way place. 

 Any person who can't make a livinginthe States had 

 better stay away from here. There are more per- 

 sons here who can't get work, than anywhere else. 



Los Angeles, Cal. F. J. Farr. 



Thanks, friend Fair, for your very fair and 

 Impartial statement in regard to the climate 

 and facilities of California. 



HOW TO SELL OUR ENTIRE YIELD OF 

 HONEY AT GOOD PRICES. 



FRIEND MARTIN S INSPIRATION. 



TT is now 2 o'clock at night. The above grand 

 lli idea struck me so suddenly that here I am at 

 ll my desk to give you the benefit of my thoughts ; 

 "*■ and without further remarks I will proceed 

 to the great subject. 

 A certain class of writers for our bee-journals 

 continue to reiterate, from time to time, their be- 

 lief that there is an overproduction of honey. I 

 shall adhere to the belief that there is not an over- 

 production, and that, should our yield be the great- 

 est ever known, it conld all be sold at remuner- 

 ative prices. The first proposition I shall lay down 

 is, that we have a groat country, and there are 

 thousands of localities where no bees are kept and 

 no honey produced, and where honey, if sold, is or- 

 dered from distant points, and at high rates. We 

 frequently receive letters from friends from vari- 

 ous parts of tho country, ordering a small amount 

 of honey, telling us they can not purchase honey 

 without paying exorbitant prices, and then not 

 knowing if it is pure honey. Now, my friends, 

 why should this condition of things be? Let me 

 answer the question. It is for the reason that we 

 are educating a class of producers, and not one is 

 educated to sell the product. Friends Heddon and 

 Jones and others, have around them each season a 

 number of students. We hear of their progress, 

 and graduation as experts, to secure tons of honey; 

 but there their education stops; and unless they 

 have the natural tact as salesmen, their honey is 

 shipped to perhaps an already overloaded market. 

 Now, what wc want at this stage of apiguUural 



progress is educated salesmen. Let them first learn 

 all the details of management of bees and produc- 

 tion, then let them study the various methods of 

 selling honey, supplying a wide constituency, and 

 .we should predict that their profits would be far 

 more than if they were merely producers. If we 

 had a few honest and energetic salesmen in every 

 State there would not be a complaint about over- 

 production. 



But I think much can be done without such sales- 

 men, by co-operation. For instance, Bro. Russell, 

 on page Sil, shows us that he has the tact of a 

 salesnnin. He says he wishes that village of 10,000 

 population were near him. Now, Bro. R., hunt up 

 such a village. Isn't there one in your countj'? 

 Then you could order of us who don't know how to 

 sell to advantage. You know W. Z. Hutchinson 

 says it puzzles him to hear a man tell how easy it is 

 for him to sell his honej', but he never wants any 

 more to sell again. It is easy to sell a small crop of 

 honey, or even a tolerably large crop, if you have a 

 monopoly of the business; but, ten chances to one, 

 other beekee|)ers enter the market in competition 

 with you. Now, where such competition takes 

 place, instead of letting their interests come in con- 

 flict, let them, in a brotherly manner, try to spread 

 their product over a greater surface. That is the 

 whole question in a nut shell. We dump our prod- 

 uct down here and there in lumps, when it should 

 be evenly distributed. This can be done only 

 through CO operation and educated, energetic sales- 

 men. Shall we have these? It rests with bee-keep- 

 ers themselves to answer these important ques- 

 tions. J. H. Martin. 



Hartford, New York, May 33, 1886. 



Friend M., I guess we'll have to startaschool 

 to teach people how to sell goods. Now, I 

 am not sure that any school would be better 

 than the one that lies before every producer 

 — the school that we all have to learn in from 

 stern necessity, and perhaps by sad lessons 

 of experience. But it is true, that the hon- 

 ey-product is by no means evenly distribut- 

 ed. In the immediate vicinity of some en- 

 terprising bee-keeper, honey is often retailed 

 as low as 10 cts. per lb. for extracted, and 

 from 12 to 15 cts. for comb honey ; whereas 

 there may be a hundred localities, and per- 

 haps not many miles away, where the old 

 prices of from 20 to 80 cts. a pound are rul- 

 ing. If some system could be inaugurated 

 whereby the whole country could be thor- 

 oughly canvassed it certainly would be a 

 wonderful help to our industry. 



' HONEY-JUMBLKS. 



Within an hour we have opened a barrel' 

 of jumbles, made by one of the largest bak- 

 ing establishments in our State. The manu- 

 facturers guarantee them to be made from 

 pure honej' — not a particle of sugar nor mo- 

 lasses about them. The advantage gained 

 is, that these cakes never dry up. You may 

 buy a barrel full, and they will be just as 

 nice for the children to eat after a whole 

 year as if they were just made by mamma. 

 We have for the lirst time put them on our 

 wagon that goes over town every other day. 

 The retail price is 15 cts. per lb.; wholesale, 

 8 lbs. for a dollar. If these honey-cakes were 

 extensively introduced, this trade alone 

 would consume immense quantities. 



