1900 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



209 



in putting time and money into it as a business, 

 hence it becomes a side issue, and subject to 

 too many difficulties and excessive margins 

 to make the buyer safe. 



To overcome these difficulties the only way 

 is for the people of a district, say township, 

 county, or State, to co-operate and handle their 

 surplus from a common point, and by a com- 

 mon management. Other producing lines are 

 not all so organized ; but the most of them do 

 have the advantages hereinbefore detailed, 

 that give them reasonable service and cash at 

 the producing point. But honey is subject to 

 great risks and inconvenience, much of it 

 "consigned" to unknown or untrustworthy 

 dealers, to be handled ivithout proper intelli- 

 gence of how and when and what to do with 

 the goods. When such is the case, can we 

 wonder that there is dissatisfaction and com- 

 plaint ? 



I can very nicely illustrate our needs by de- 

 scribing a local organization of fruit-growers 

 of which I am a member. There is quite an 

 industry here in growing strawberries, rasp- 

 berries, blackberries, and some other small 

 fruits. Individual producers were in the habit 

 of shipping their own produces, and all such 

 goods are decidedly perishable, and must be 

 disposed of at once, and with the least possible 

 delay. Spot-cash deals, aside from local sales, 

 were altogether out of the question. The fruit 

 must be sold by consignment. The small pro- 

 ducers could not have access to or afford the 

 expense of commercial reports of standing of 

 firms, hence the shipments were made, as it 

 were, at random. The fruit must go some- 

 where, and go quick, or all be lost. 



The result was that many times the fruit was 

 all consigned to one already overloaded firm, 

 while others were without. Some was sent to 

 irresponsible firms, etc., entailing in various 

 ways severe losses on the shipper. That is 

 how it was when there was no organization. 

 Honey is not so perishable ; but do you not 

 see tliat we are in the same general sea of dif- 

 ficulties ? 



At last we organized. The plan is a general 

 organizition in the usual form, with presiding 

 officer, and a secretary and treasurer. 



A small annual fee of 50 cents is charged each 

 member. An annual meeting is held for the 

 election of officers, election of a manager or 

 salesman, ordering of supplies, and discussion 

 of any subject of interest. One business house 

 is chosen as selling agent, and this house has 

 the entire management of shipping and collect- 

 ing on shipments the individual members 

 picking and delivering fruit at stated times at 

 depot for certain trains. 



The manager or shipping agent puts himself 

 in communication with all possible customers 

 or outlets for the fruit, selects his customers 

 before the fruit is ready, has access to commer- 

 cial reports, etc., and when the shipping sea- 

 son is on he gets daily quotations showing 

 supply, demand, and prices in the various lo- 

 calities. The growers deliver the fruit some 

 time before trains are due out, and the agent 

 ships according to supply and demand. If the 

 supply here exceeds orders, he divides the sur- 

 plus, shipping it to the market that is most 



likely to be able to use it, favoring the most 

 reliable customers. This avoids a glut in one 

 place and a scarcity in another, and results in 

 far less numbers of losses, both of overripe or 

 soft fruit because of delay, and in defaults of 

 payment by irresponsible firms. Besides the 

 saving to shippers in this way, any unavoidable 

 losses are prorated among the members, and 

 the whole association bears this loss, and not 

 individuals. 



While honey is less perishable, and can be 

 handled with more certainty, it is fairly repre- 

 sented in this fruit business. Fruit and honey 

 interests might well go together where there 

 is but a limited product of each ; but whether 

 imited or separate, the advantages of organized 

 effort are decidedly in favor of the united work. 

 I am but a small producer of fruit ; but whether 

 little or much, I pick and deliver my fruit to 

 the depot, and then my care ends, the agent 

 shipping to so miuch better advantage than I 

 can do it, that, after his commission is paid, I 

 still have more for my produce than I could 

 get for it myself. 



Loveland, Col. 



[I see that Mr. Aikin has told us nothing as 

 yet of the organized effort to sell Colorado 

 honey. Perhaps he will do so later. — Ed.] 



CANDIED HONEY, AND WHY. 



Mr. R. C. Aikin is receiving deserved credit 

 for working up a market for candied honey; 

 and while I think of it, I wish to mention one 

 point in the scheme that has been overlooked. 

 You all know that, when the purchaser gets 

 to liking candied honey, he will eat more 

 of it than he will when it is in the liquid state. 



" Oh ! but," you say, " each person is sup- 

 posed to liquefy the honey; " but I think that, 

 when a pet son gets to eating his honey in 

 lumps, he will not want to liquefy it, and there 

 will be much more consumed, and probably 

 the best way to sell a barrel of candied honey 

 is to set it up in the store window, take off the 

 staves and then sell it by the chunk. That's 

 the way Mr. McNay says they do in Northern 

 Wisconsin. Let the good work go on. 



PHONETIC SPELLING WITH A VENGEANCE. 



Under phonetic spelling, the B. K. Review 

 says: "They simply compel us to unlearn 

 one unphonetic way of spelling a word and 

 learn another unphonetic method." There is 

 just where the objection comes in in my case. 

 I like new things and novelties, and— why, I 

 heard of a fellow once whose name was Peter 

 Hole, and when he would write his name he 

 would write Peter and jab his pen through the 

 paper for the hole. Of course, that was Peter 

 Hole, and the hole was phonetic with a ven- 

 geance. As Peter's method can not be adopt- 

 ed in a general way I thought I should like 

 the new way as practiced in the American 



