1897 



(CLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



imiy bo short, like Straws, if you want thorn so, 

 or ihoy may be longer, just as you see fit to 

 touch them up. After you have given us the 

 first batch, then I should be glad to have Mr. 

 (Jreinor ijlve us the second; later on. perhaps 

 Mr. Doolittle, Mr. Crane, Mr. Manum, and 

 others, can keep the department alive. I am 

 rather of the opinion that some of our best and 

 most successful bee-keepers can give us some 

 interesting and valuable facts from their expe- 

 rience. Such a department may show the 

 truth of what Josh Billings once said: " Egspe- 

 rieuce keeps a good skuie, but the tewishun 

 comes nurty hi."— Ed.] 



On page 343 it reads as if prosperity never 

 brings a man nearer Christ. You don't mean 

 that, do you? friend A. I. When I'm full of 

 real gratitude for prosperity, I'm sure that is 

 being brought nearer. [Dear old friend, it 

 seems a sad reflection on humanity, but I am 

 afraid it is true that prosperity seldom if ever 

 moves one nearer to Christ Jesus. When I had 

 that pleasant visit at your home some years 

 ago, your pastor said to us something like this: 

 " I presume each person who sits before me 

 would like to take the risk of sudden prosperity; 

 and each and all of you think you would be an 

 exception to the general rule. But the sad 

 fact remains, demonstrated over and over again, 

 that there is more to be feared from riches than 

 from poverty." Since I heard that, I have been 

 watching for instances to the contrary; but if 

 I have found them, they are few and far be- 

 tween.— A. I. R.] 



Uncle Amos, why can't you be fair? You 

 come down on me because I couldn't in four 

 months do what Maria Eraser did in four years 

 — makegood jumbles without sugar or molasses. 

 After four years she thinks she has found a 

 recipe that can be relied on, but I don't think I 

 could find it in twice four years on page 375. 

 At any rate, I give it up. Now tell me where 

 to find it. [Mv dear old friend, I will take back 

 every word I have ever said against you, and I 

 won't ever try to look down on you again if you 

 will forgive my stupid blunder. We went and 

 published the good lady's remarks about that 

 beautiful honey-cake, and told how we manage 

 it. and then left out the recipe entirely. I won- 

 der what Maria Eraser thought of us, to see her 

 recipe come out in that style. But, fortunately, 

 we have succeeded in hunting up the letter, 

 and fishing the recipe out of the waste-basket, 

 and here jt is: "Two cups honey; one cup but- 

 ter: four eggs (mix well); one cup buttermilk 

 (mix) ; one good quart flour; one level teaspoon- 

 ful soda or saleratus. If it is too thin, stir in a 

 little more flour. If too thin it will fall. It 

 does not want to be as thin as sugar cake. I 

 use very thick honey. Be sure to use the same 

 cup for measure. Be sure to mix the honey, 

 eggs, and butter well together."— A. I. R.] 



Bu R. C. Aikin. 



MARKETING HONEY; A VALUABLE ARTICLE. 



This is another subject much written upon 

 and talked about. However much has been 

 said, the subject is by no means exhausted, and 

 comes up at every convention, and will not 

 settle. 



Go with me into any grocery and look at the 

 goods there handled. Everything in the way 

 of liquids, except perhaps vinegar, sorghum, 

 and honey, are so put up that they can be han- 

 dled by the piece. All solids are either in pack- 

 age form, or in such shape that they can very 

 quickly be weighed or counted out. Vinegar, 

 coal oil. and such, are measured out, it is true: 

 but there is of necessity a vessel in each house- 

 hold for these things, and the vessel is taken to 

 be filled again, when empty. Just think it 

 over for yourself and answer the question: Is 

 there a single article in the grocer's line so 

 awkwardly handled as extracted honey? I 

 have no particular criticism to make in regard 

 to retailing comb honey, but I must say that 

 extracted is very poorly marketed. 



We put our extracted honey in 60-lb. cans, 

 barrels, etc., and ship to the wholesale or com- 

 mission dealer. These in turn sell it out to the 

 retail men in small lots: and when they come 

 to get out the honey they find it candied. Even 

 if it did not candy, it is a hard article to retail 

 in this way, because it must be kept warm or 

 else the dealer must spend much time waiting 

 on it to run out. I have retailed a number of 

 tons of extracted honey, and I know what kind 

 of a job it is. If you were a storekeeper, and 

 had your choice of selling maple and other 

 syrups in regular pacKages, or honey drawn out 

 into the customer's vessel, would you not choose 

 the regular package? I am sure you would, 

 and that is just what is done. 



But how are we to get it into regular pack- 

 ages? There is the rub. We have no suitable 

 regular package — in fact, no regular retail 

 package. The Root establishment Is supposed 

 to carry about every thiiig of value going, and 

 I will just look over tiieir list. First, I find 

 glass vessels. There are the Ponder and Muth 

 jars. One-pound size costs about 4 cents each 

 by the 100. Other glass packages of Ipound 

 capacity from 2^ cents to nearly ,5 cents each. 

 These are the prices there, not delivered to the 

 producer. We must pay the freight on these, 

 and then we must be at the expense of casing 



