1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



383 



it; and when we were alone Tasked him if the 

 wool was not just as good done up in this 

 way. After some words regarding the folly 

 of the man who put it up, he said, "Of 

 course it is just as good, but no one would 

 buy it of me put up in that way, for that is 

 not the way those who buy want it, from 

 the manufacturer down." Yet some of our 

 modern bee-keepers would have the farm- 

 er separate each fleece of wool into three or 

 four parts, putting each grade by itself, and 

 the poorest of each grade on the outside, that 

 he might be honest in the sight of God and 

 men, and seem to rejoice at Hasty's "throw- 

 ing" fire and brimstone at me, because I 

 think there is nothing wrong in the farmer 

 putting up his wool in "the good old way, " 

 or sending his product of honey to market, as 

 I was instructed to, during nearly all of the 

 first half of my bee-keeping life. I was in- 

 formed that those retailing that 28^^ -cent 

 honey of mine "sorted" it, as all retailers 

 used to expect to do, and sold the fancy at 50 

 cts. per pound, and other parts at 45, 40, and 

 35 cts., without a thought that some one was 

 trying to cheat them by putting up the aver- 

 age of the crop in each crate. And retailers 

 would be doing the same thing today had not 

 bee keepers pui-hed something that was against 

 their own interests, and then denounced the 

 one who did not " dance when they piped." 

 From this selling hone)- from sample, or by 

 the buyers looking over my whole "pile," 

 came the part in my article regarding '■'every 

 case alike ' ' which a/l seem to have overlook- 

 ed when they "jumped on to me." If Doo- 

 little had desired to be dishonest he would not 

 have put that in. By doing that he told the 

 world plainly that he considered the commis- 

 sion man "proxy" for the raiser; and in 

 showing any customer the contents of one 

 case, he knew what was in every case, and, 

 thus knowing, he was to sell " to the best ad- 

 vantage of the consignor, ' ' and the buyer was 

 to make his own '"grading '' of the "aver- 

 age " product as he thought was to his best 

 advantage. No secret mark on such honey, 

 Bro. Whitney to the contrary notwithstand- 

 ing. The X's are put on only where honey is 

 assorted; and this, so that, when the finally 

 crated pile is finished, each case can be told 

 from the other by looking in the handholes; 

 for I have told you before that few men can 

 carry in their "eye" grades of honey very 

 nearly alike, unless the two cases are set side 

 by side. 



It seems to me that the whole matter of this 

 controversy hinges on whether a bee-keeper 

 may sell his crop as a wlwh\ or whether he 

 must grade it. Formerly I sold my crop as a 

 whole; but of late j^ears the "mad rush" of 

 the grading faction has compelled me to grade 

 it. I am still firm in the conviction that, had 

 no grading been entered into by bee-keepers, 

 but an average put in each case, we should 

 have gotten more for our product with less 

 labor. But as this " rush " was made, I was 

 led to say that I doubted the wisdom of trying 

 to sell honey as formerly ( white on outside of 

 cases, then XX, X, or buckwheat in the cen- 

 ter), but considered there was nothing dishon- 



est in doing that way. And now, after having 

 put the various sides before the readers of 

 Gleanings, I will close by saying that, if 

 any thing I have written in this matter lias 

 given offense to anj', I am sorry; for I have 

 no other object in life than to do and advo- 

 cate that which is right. 

 Borodino, N. Y. 



[While I am still ferninst Doolittle, I deem 

 it only fair to keep mum. If the other fellows 

 want to give him some more " fire and brim- 

 stone," let them do it in some other journal. 

 While they can't and wouldn't assail his hon- 

 esty, yet, if given a chance, they might brim- 

 stone his logic. — Ed.] 



CHALON FOWLS. 



The Man who Realizes Double Prices on His Honey. 



[I take pleasure in introducing to you one 

 of the most progressive and thoroughgoing 

 bee-keepers in the United States — Mr. Chalon 

 Fowls, of Oberlin, O. Away back in the early 

 '80's, -when I was tugging away at Greek and 

 Latin at Oberlin College, Mr. F. would occa- 

 sionally visit me at my room. At that time he 

 had a bad case of bee-fever, and, flushed with 

 success, he was literally chock full of bee-lore, 

 and of plans for the future. 



CHAtON FOWI^S. 



He had a small farm, and the neighbors 

 made fun of him because one year he left his 

 wheat unshocked in the field, and "fussed 

 with the bees." But later on, when they found 

 that he was making, off from those same hives, 

 a clear profit of thirty dollars per hive,* they 

 changed their tune. 



*He can't make that much now at present prices. — 

 Ed. 



