1899 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



617 



a buyer, as the case may be. If your banker 

 can not give you the desired information, 

 write to us — better do so any way, because we 

 are acquainted with many of the really reliable 

 firms who handle any considerable amount of 

 honey, and will charge you nothing for the 

 information. 



But suppose 3011 get a good offer, and do 

 not really know the firm ; your banker does 

 not, neither do we. Or suppose you haven't 

 time to write, and that, to all appearances, 

 the firm is straight, and you desire to close 

 the deal. Ship the honey to your own name 

 to the point of destination, and attach a draft* 

 to the bill of lading, sending both to some 

 bank at the place where the honey is shipped. 

 This bank will, for a very small fee, collect 

 the money, turn over the bill of lading and 

 the honey to the actual purchaser. 



But suppose^there is no bank in your vicin- 

 ity, and yet you wish to make yourself safe. 

 Consign your honey as before to your own 

 name at the point of destination, and then re- 

 quest your agent to expressf the bill of lading 

 to the agent at the other end of the route. 

 The latter, as agent for the express company, 

 will collect the money, and deliver the honey 

 and the bill of lading. Money will be for- 

 warded to your agent, when, by paying a 

 small fee, you can take the whole amount of 

 the cash. 



Again: Look out for any firm that makes 

 quotations away above the general market 

 figures. These high prices are put out as 

 baits. You ship to the house, and as soon as 

 the honey is in its hands it will rt p >rt that 

 the "market has suddenly declined," or that 

 your " honey is of poor quality," or that it 

 was " broken in transit," and alter a little the 

 house will advise you that the honey was sold 

 for, say, a half what you expected to get for 

 it — may be a good deal less. The concern will 

 be obliged to iem.it to you accoiding to that 

 report, after deducting freight, drayage, and 

 commission. If you expect to get 15 cents for 

 your honey you will probably get in ca*h 

 somewhtre about 4 or 5. This thing has been 

 done over and over again — so much so that I 

 feel it is necessary to warn our readers thor- 

 oughly. 



Still again, it is a bad plan to ship to a com- 

 mission house, even though it is quoted at 

 thousands of dollars, and its honor is above 

 the average, if such house does not make a 

 specialty of handling honey. It can not be- 

 gin to do as well for you as some firm that 

 makes honey a business. 



HOME-MADE SHIPPING-CASES. 

 I have several times spoken of the folly of 

 trying to put otherwise nice comb honey into 

 poorly constructed or home-made shipping- 

 cases, and I hesitate about saying very much 

 about it now, becanse it looks as if we had an 

 ax to grind. But I know just how our hon- 

 ey-buyers and commission men regard these 

 poor miserable clap-trap affairs made at the 

 "ordinary planing-mills around home." A 

 member of a honey firm in Chicago pointed 



* Your banker can do this for you. 

 flf you mail it, that relieves the express company of 

 all liability. 



to me a nice lot of honey put up in home-made 

 cases. Said he, "If it had been put up in no- 

 drip shipping cases of the modern st>le, the 

 honey would have brought two cents more 

 per pound." The cases he pointed to me held 

 24 sections each. This would have made a 

 difference of nearly 50 cents per case, and jet 

 I venture to say the penny-wise-and pound- 

 foolish bee-keeper thought that, because he 

 was saving one or two cents on the factor}'- 

 made cases, he was just so much ahead 



Vari mi commission houses in Albany and 

 New York city, Philadelphia, and Columbus, 

 emphasized the importance of neat aitractive 

 cases, and in this diy of fancy goods and close 

 competition, it would seem as it it should be 

 unnecessary to speak of this. 



I am well aware that I have gone over or re- 

 hashed here a good deal that I have said in 

 the past; but it seems to me very important to 

 " rehash " some things; and it is evident that, 

 a good many hotiey-producers do not read bee- 

 journals, even if fiey do take them. 



We are plaining to i et this commission ar- 

 ticle out in the form of a leaflet and we ex- 

 pect to put o :e in every package of s.npping- 

 cases We will see if we can not get tins very 

 necessary information before bt e- eepers in 

 such a way that th( y will be able to protect 

 themselves against a very im-spon^ ble and 

 dishonest class of op raiorsin theciti s Any 

 other manufac urt-r who desires t< < opy the- 

 matter in this editor il tor his own leifiet is at 

 liberty to do so ; for 'he more this matter is 

 brought to the att n ion of the bee-kei p rs of 

 the land, the more money it will mean t > tl.em 

 in the long run. 



A PI.EA FOR THK COMMISSION MAN. 



In the foreg ing 1 may have given n e im- 

 pression that marly h11 commission h .uses ate 

 " up to the tricks of tie trade;" but that, I 

 am pleased to sa\ , is not the fact ■ an 1 those 

 that use our Hones Column we belie e to be 

 honest. And yet I realize the fact that ihere 

 may be one or two among the nuni er whom 

 some of our friends ieel are net all ihev might 

 be. Perhaps so ; bin in several c*se we have 

 investigated, we found the trouble * as eitlv r 

 due to a lack of experience or because the 

 bee-keeper himself was desirous >.t getting 

 the " lion's share." The dishonesty is not al- 

 ways on th ■ side of the commission man. 

 The difficulties, when they do come i.p, how- 

 ever, are mainly those that are the r< suit of 

 inexperience on the part of ihe bee-keeper, 

 and ignorance of the ordinary methods of do- 

 ing business — jes, ignorance of the simple 

 principles enunciated above. 



HIGH PRICES ON CLOVER EXTRACTED HONEY. 

 I know one case where a fine quality of 

 clover extracted honey sold by the ton for 11 

 cents at wholesale ; and of another instance 

 where a fancy extracted went f^r 9 cents. 

 This would seem to indicate that clover honey 

 of A No. 1 quality is rather scarce this year, 

 for the same sold two years ago for 5 and 6- 

 cents. It is hardly probable that 11 cents can 

 be gotten again for first quality of clover, as 

 prices will probably decline a. little, owing to- 



