1900 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



435 



things bee-keepers will soon be able to pro- 

 duce. 



I must say that the incubating instinct has 

 not been eradicated at all in any variety of 

 gallinaceous birds, for I can produce a strain 

 of sitting fowls in a few years from any non- 

 sitting variety Mr. Crane may select, thus 

 showing that the instinct is latent, not eradi- 

 cated. 



We can modify bad traits and intensify good 

 ones by proper handling, and do not need 

 more than this to give us all we desire in this 

 line. 



In conclusion, I wish to thank Mr. Crane 

 for his able article, and, with the exceptions 

 noted above, wish him to count me on his 

 side. L. F. Hiorns. 



Scranton, Pa. 



SELLING HONEY'. 



Maintaining the Present Prices. 



BY E. B. FOSTER. 



During the past season I was very forcibly 

 brought to realize the urgent necessity of a 

 " trust " in my locality — I mean a " bee-keep- 

 ers' trust ; " so in anticipation of the coming 

 honey harvest I have written a letter to each 

 leading bee-keeper residing in my neighbor- 

 hood. After doing so it struck me as being 

 an idea that might be beneficial to the frater- 

 nity at large. So I give the aforesaid letter to 

 the readers of Gleanings. The following is 

 the letter, which I shortened as circumstances 

 would permit. The letter explains itself. 



Mr. Bee-keeper : — I take this means of laying before 

 you a matter of much importance and interest to you, 

 whicrt I trust you will carefully consider. The present 

 indications are such that we can look for some surplus 

 honey this season. Now, the vital question that con- 

 fronts us will be the converting of that honey into the 

 largest possible amount of cash. You no doubt have 

 observed the steady advance iu price of nearly all ar- 

 ticles we consumers have to buy ; you are also aware 

 that the honey quotations rule about 20 per cent higher 

 than last 3'ear. Why not maintain the present price 

 of honey by combiuing our interests and holding out 

 for the advanced price, thereby causing that which 

 we have to sell to compare favorably in price with 

 that which we have to buy. The only way we can ac- 

 complish the desired result is not to sell our honey 

 for less than the present price, and prevail upon our 

 neighboriig bee-keepers to do likewise. As an illus- 

 tration : A farmer bee-keeper, a year ago, had some 

 dark and travel-stained comb honey which he dispos- 

 ed of at a price that enabled the grocer to whom he 

 sold it to put a glaring advertisement in the local pa- 

 per, " New comb honey, 8c per lb." That " 8 cts. per 

 lb." was a criterion the rest of the season. Every 

 customer whom you told that you were asking 15c per 

 1-lb. section would say, " Why, I can buy honey at the 

 grocery store for 8c." You know the result. While 

 you were not asking more for j'our fancy white article 

 in nice clean sections than it was worth, you were com- 

 pelled, nevertheless, to lower your price to meet the 

 values created by that one inferior batch of honey 

 that some thoughtless or ignorant keeper of bees had 

 placed on the market. Our customers do not realize 

 the difference in honey as they do the difference in 

 price. 



Now, if some of the neighbor bee-keepers 

 had called upon the above gentleman and ex- 

 plained to him the harm that would result 

 from his cheap honey, he no doubt could have 

 been influenced to either use the honey him- 



self or dispose of it to some private person 

 who would not have advertised the fact that 

 t/iere was honey selling for S cts. per lb.; or 

 we could have gone together and bought his 

 crop of honey, and used it to feed our bees. 

 We should be on the lookout for those short- 

 sighted bee-keepers; and when they^are ready 

 to sell their crop of honey we should see that 

 they put it in marketable shape, and that they 

 demand a price for it that is consistent with 

 the best interests of the bee-keeping fraternity. 

 It would be better if all bees belonging to 

 these slovenly keepers could be confiscated 

 and placed in the possession of an owner who 

 takes pride, not only in the bees, but in their 

 product. It would then not be necessary for 

 the producers of fancy honey to compete with 

 a grade of comb honey which the grocer can 

 buy for 5 and 6 cts. per lb , and retail at 8. 

 The average consumer has the idea that the 

 bee-keeper can sell honey cheaper than the 

 storekeeper ; and when the bee-keeper asks a 

 few cents per pound more, they have a griev- 

 ance which no amount of diplomacy, argu- 

 ment, or proofs can satisfy. The only chance 

 the bee-keeper has for " squaring " himself is 

 by compromising on a reduction in the price 

 of his honey. The general run of consumers 

 think one cent on a pound of honey ought to 

 make a big difference in the quality of the 

 same ; and when there is honey selling for 

 8 cts. per lb. they believe that 9 cts. ought to 

 purchase a pound of the best honey the mar- 

 ket affords. 



I have found it difficult to sell honey to con- 

 sumers for more than what it was retailing for 

 at the store. We must also see our grocer and 

 have him co operate with us if we expect to 

 attain the very best results in keeping up the 

 price of honey. The grocer can lend us much 

 material aid in the maintenance of present 

 prices. 



Allow me again to mention the prime neces- 

 sity of united action on our part as leading 

 bee-keepers. It is to our own personal inter- 

 est to do all we can to uphold the present 

 prices of honey. Call on your neighbor bee- 

 owners, and " talk it over " with them ; show 

 them what a great figure they can cut in bet- 

 tering the condition of the poor deserving bee- 

 keepers of our land ; work on their sympa- 

 thies if you can not gain the desired result 

 any other way. Those whom you can not see 

 personally, write to; do all in your power to 

 prevent the marketing of cheap honey. It is 

 that cheap poor honey that ruins our local 

 market for the fancy article. What is a little 

 work or a few postage-stamps as compared 

 with only one cent more per pound for our 

 honey crop ? Let each bee - keeper resolve 

 himself into a committee of one, with the os- 

 tensible purpose of mantaining the present 

 price of honey in his local market. The good 

 results will soon become general. Our endeav- 

 ors to better the price of our commodity are 

 perfectly legitimate, and should be indorsed 

 by every person who has honorable convic- 

 tions — especially so at the present time, when 

 the price of every thing else has grown strong- 

 er. 



Oceola, O. 



