1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



259 



MONEY IN BEES.v* 



How to Find it; How the Disar^-eeable Feature of 

 Peddling may be Overcome; Getting Prospec- 

 tive Customers to Tast' , tlie Secret of 

 Making Siiles. 



ii 



BY H. D. leiRRELL. 



-id- 

 How to dispose ofv ol:e honey crop profitably 

 is becoming a seriosat^iroblem with most bee- 

 keepers. Not man m^ears ago it was easy to 

 raise comb honej^ avjiip it to some commission 

 house in a near ey city, and realize 16 to 20 

 cents a pound for it. Now in many places 

 most of the ho^ey-producing timber is gone, 

 and waste l^hds reclaimed and cultivated. 

 These caui-es./with frequent poor seasons, ren- 

 der the honey crop vm certain; and, worst of 

 all, comb honey in the cities is quoted 7 to 12 

 cents. 



Formerly I raised comb honey almost ex- 

 clusively, and shipped nearly all of it to com- 

 mission houses. But some years ago I unex- 

 pectedly had about a ton of autumn extracted 

 honey to dispose of. Shipped to a commis- 

 sion house it would probably have netted 4 to 

 5 cents a pound, some time. 1 had never tried 

 peddling honey, and was very much prejudic- 

 ed against peddlers and peddling; but I want- 

 ed more for that honey. I loaded some of it 

 into the wagon, put up in convenient pack- 

 ages for retailing, and started, though with 

 much trepidation. I knew a few rebuffs would 

 send that honey to the city for what it would 

 bring. But I sold honey at nearly every house, 

 over oOO lbs. the first day, and decided that 

 peddling (honey at least) was not such bad 

 business after all. Many neighbors and ac- 

 quaintances who had passed by frequently for 

 years and seen the sign, " Honey for Sale," 

 but never bought a pound of my honey, bought 

 freely when it was carried to them. And they 

 didn't buy afterward, either, unless I carried 

 it to them and asked them to buy. 



The ton of honey was soon sold at 8 to 11 

 cents per pound, according to quantity want- 

 ed, and several thousand pounds n:ore were 

 bought and sold at a fair profit. Since that 

 time I have raised mostly extracted honey, al- 

 ways retail it myself, and am getting the same 

 prices now in these times of very low prices 

 that I did ten years ago. Honey, if a good 

 article, will sell itself almost anywheie, if giv- 

 en a fair chance. I have never found a place, 

 in country or town, where it would not sell 

 fairly well, any time of year, though in the 

 fall is the best time to sell, in my experience, 

 after the bulk of fruit is gone, and the manj' 

 needs of the winter season have not yet taxed 

 the pocket-book. 



But I think I hear some one say, "I can't 

 peddle; " or, "I won't stoop to peddling!" 

 Now, neighbor, stop a minute, and listen. 

 When I was young and green I tried "can- 

 vassing" for a book. For years after, I had 

 a horror of peddling. When I came to keep 

 bees, and have honey to sell, I would not even 

 ask a merchant with whom I traded regularly 

 to buy my honey. If any one but a commis- 

 sion man wanted any of it, he had to ask for 



it. I am not a natural salesman, a poor talk- 

 er — timid, diffident, and easily rebuffed. I 

 can, however, sell an average of 100 pounds 

 of honey a day in any fairly good farming 

 country, and in villages and towns often much 

 more. You will find selling your own honey 

 different from selling books or notions. Peo- 

 ple will be glad to see you come. You need 

 not lose one atom of j'uur dignity, if it is of 

 the self-respecting kind. If any one thinks any 

 less of you for selling honey, provided you are 

 polite and respectful, it will be some one 

 whose opinion is not worth minding. Any 

 one with a little tact and energy can dispose of 

 3000 to 5000 lbs. of good extracted honey at 

 fair prices, at odd times in fall and winter, 

 when time is not worth much, and much mor^ 

 can be sold by devoting more time to it. 



Comb honey is not satisfactorily retailed, in 

 my experience. It too easily gets to leaking, 

 and is then mussy, and not attractive. Sell 

 comb honey only by the case if at all. Per- 

 haps I may be pardoned for saying, in such an 

 article as this, that I have for many years kept 

 from 50 to 195 colonies of bees, and have rais- 

 ed and sold over 60,000 pounds of honey, and 

 bought and sold much besides. I write facts 

 learned in the dear but thorough school of ex- 

 perience, and not p'ausible theories. 



First, secure a good article of well-ripened 

 extracted honey, and so care for it that it will 

 remain good. Mj- ways of doing this differ 

 from the usual ones; but I will not take time 

 now to explain. Perhaps in some future arti- 

 cle I maj' do so if the editor wishes it. 



When we are ready to sell, if the weather is 

 mild attach a sliding faucet to a five-gallon 

 screw-cap tin can of hone}- ; place the can on 

 the wagon-seat, the dish to be filled on plat- 

 form scales underneath, and weigh out any 

 quantity wanted. It is usually most satisfac- 

 tory at this time of year to let the purchaser 

 furnish the dish, then there is no package to 

 paj' for or return. 



Some writers have advocated selling not less 

 than one dollar's worth when selling honey 

 direct to consumers. I can't agree with them. 

 A small sale often paves the way to a large 

 one later, and it always pays to be accommo- 

 dating and obliging; but I charge 1 cent per 

 lb. more for less than a dollar's worth. 



In cold weather, when honey will not run 

 readily, I put up honey in 1,2, and 4 quart 

 tin pails, and charge extra for the pails. Al- 

 ways, to every package sold, attach a neatly 

 printed label, giving your name and address, 

 and plain, simple directions for so caring for 

 the honey that it may retain its good qualities 

 until used. Dress neatly but plainly, like a 

 farmer, not like a city man. Have every thing 

 neat, clean, and attractive. 



Now we are ready, how shall we find buy- 

 ers? Fill a small new tin pail with honey, 

 and label it Call at every house — skip none. 

 You will often make sales where you least ex- 

 pect it. When the door is opened, say, "I 

 have some choice honey, please get a spoon 

 and sample it." Right here is the main point. 

 Get every one, if possible, to taste j'our hon- 

 ey. Most people have sweet teeth, and a taste 

 of good honey puts them in good humor. Be 



