614 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 15. 



"be duplicated in thousands of localities, and 

 the consumption of honey increased many 

 fold. Read what Mrs. Barber says for her- 

 self in a paper read before the Colorado State 

 Association in Denver last January, and in 

 private correspondence with me. See con- 

 vention report in American Bee Journal. 



In addition to what I said a year ago about 

 a standard cheap sealing package, let me 

 digress here by saying that there are very 

 many homes where honey ought, can, and 

 will be consumed, that have no use for fruit- 

 jars. The package for the masses is some- 

 thing very inexpensive, and to cast away 

 when emptied, or a cheap general - utility 

 package. A lard-pail serves fairly well for 

 candied honey such as we have here — our 

 honey is soon as solid as lard — indeed, its 

 color and appearance are much like lard, but it 

 does not fill the bill. 



Market conditions differ in different locali- 

 ties, and I am not setting an arbitrary price 

 that apiarists shall charge for their honey; 

 but it is reasonable and just that localities in 

 which any thing is produced should be able 

 to buy that product for less money than do 

 those 500 or 1000 miles from the producer, 

 and after transportation charges and com- 

 missions are added to it. Why is it that we 

 can many times go to a neighboring town or 

 city and buy a sack of flour for less money 

 than the manufacturer of that same flour 

 would charge right at his mill ? or that man- 

 ufacturers of farm machinery sell in foreign 

 lands for less money than they charge those 

 at the very doors of the factory ? Such meth- 

 ods do not encourage home consunption. 



If you are the only producer in a community, 

 or if your vicinity does not produce in quan- 

 tity equal to the demand, you set your price 

 according to the demand. If, on the other 

 hand, \our production is in excess of the 

 demand, then increase the demand by adver- 

 tising and introducing your product. Show 

 the people that you have a fine article of 

 sweet to sell them, and that they should 

 patronize home industry. Prove your faith 

 by your works ; and when you offer your 

 goods, and expect them to buy, take their 

 products in exchange in all such as you can 

 and do use. Trade for hay, grain, flour, fuel, 

 labor, groceries, and all kinds of goods you 

 need and would buy. Remember, however, 

 that you must not expect people to buy honey 

 at fancy prices when they can hny good sweets 

 of other kinds for much less money, and espe- 

 cially when selling to the poor people. Put 

 up fancy goods in fancy packages for the 

 wealthy who care not for cost so long as their 

 fancy is pleased, but govern yourself by the 

 demands of your customers. 



Friends, I do not for a moment contend that 

 the law of supply and demand, even though 

 coupled with push and energy, will get us 

 just returns for our product; for, so long as 

 greed and oppression are allowed to have 

 sway, so long will there be injustice. We are 

 in the world, and in contact with evil, and we 

 can not expect to pass through the fire and 

 escape without some burns. The purpose of 

 this article is to help better our condition. 



Since, then, we must contend with the laws 

 of supply and demand, and the demand is 

 governed by needs and our ability to supply 

 these needs, let us face the matter squarely, 

 and do the best we can. Advertise our product 

 and let the people know what we have. If 

 the foreign trade will take our honey and pay 

 more than our neighbors, ship it ; but if we 

 must sell to the city wholesale trade at 4 cents 

 net, let our neighbors have the goods just as 

 cheap, plus a reasonable compensation for our 

 additional labor in selling in small lots. 



My home trade at 8 to 10 cents per pound 

 for extracted would be very limited indeed; 

 yet at 6 cts. I can sell several times as much 

 as at 8 cts. I can not produce much more, 

 per colony, of extracted than of comb, but I 

 can produce it easier — that is, with less skill, 

 and with labor more evenly distributed 

 throughout the season ; hence I shall give 

 more attention to extracted than heretofore. 

 Extracted will keep indefinitely ; but comb 

 soon degenerates in appearance, which soon 

 puts it on the level with extracted as to price, 

 hence is the more risky product. 



I say, then, produce extracted, and sell at 

 home for the use of the masses, but limit pro- 

 duction of comb to the demands of the fancy 

 trade. 



Loveland, Colorado. 



[The foregoing is a valuable article, and 

 contains many suggestions worth considering. 

 It is true that, when granulated sugar can be 

 sold to the consumer more cheaply than ex- 

 tracted honey, the latter will go begging. 

 Quoted at the same price, it will work its own 

 way into favor, especially with a liberal use of 

 the honey-leaflets. And that emphasizes the 

 point that now is the time to scatter them, be- 

 cause, if honey is to be a scarce article this 

 year, let us all get all for it we can by a pro- 

 cess of education such as the honey- leaflets 

 will furnish. 



I did not mean, friend Aikin, to throw cold 

 water on your candied-honey idea. I think 

 the scheme most excellent, and wish you 

 might be succt ssful in pushing it into prom- 

 inence. Gleanings will offer you all the 

 space you require, and its editor will be very 

 glad to prime the annnunition. 



If the trade can be educated up to the fact 

 that candied honey is just as truly honey as it 

 is in the liquid form, it certainly would be 

 willing to buy liberally. Indeed, a good many 

 say they prefer the candied to the liquid. In 

 cold weather, a good chunk of honey in the 

 solid form is, to some, moie delicious than a 

 good deal that is in the liquid form. This is 

 partly due to the fact that nothing but the 

 best of the honey candies, while the rest sep- 

 arates away in the watery portion. — Ed.] 



RAMBLE NO. 150. 



A Donkey-ride up the Mountains. 



BY R.\MBLER. 



A citizen of Los Angeles, in pointing out 

 the various attractions of his beautiful city, 

 does not forget to point with pride to the 



