956 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 15 



of the cost of keeping an ordinary family; and 

 when you have done so you will find that the 

 man who works at $1.00 per day, and is at it 

 every day in the year, can not buy much hon- 

 ey or any other sweet at 15 to 20 cents a pound. 

 I know what I am talking about, for I have 





A SCENE IN OBERI<IN. 



" Wot yer got, Chawley, me hoy ?" 

 "Honey! honey! doncherknow? " 

 "Aw, doocid little of it, Chawley." 

 " Yas, but then, Gussie dear, after I eat me honey 

 donchersee what a clever tooth-brush holder I av ? " 



been in a position to know about these things, 

 and have looked carefully into the matter. I 

 confess my sympathies are with the poor labor- 

 er. Yes, I do know that many who get what 

 is called good wages squander it in drink and 

 reckless living. 



Those who are contending for glass pack- 

 ages, and showing the honey in glass that it 

 may sell itself, tell us that glass is used more 

 and more, and we must use it or we can not 

 sell our product. That claim has no founda- 

 tion worthy of consideration. No doubt glass 

 is used more and more, so are a thousand oth- 

 er packages. Glass is not on the increase, ex- 

 cept for those who have grown wealthy, and 

 desire to pay big prices. It is a piece of the 

 same kind of foolishness that caused a certain 

 lady to refuse to buy a good piece of goods be- 

 cause the price was only $100 ; but when the 

 same thing was put up at another place, and 

 at $500, it was eagerly bought. Some people 

 do not seem to care for quality so long as looks 

 are all right, and the price beyond that which 

 a poorer neighbor can pay. 



After eliminating these foolish people who 

 sacrifice all for looks, and those who 

 want fancy things that they may outdo their 

 neighbor, and all such foolishness, there is the 

 great mass of the people who want that which 

 will serve them best for the least money. 

 This class is the great majority. With all 

 classes there is much of the distrust and sus- 

 picion of fraud in the things they purchase, 

 and they have good ground for being suspi- 

 cious. This distrust can be overcome only by 

 education. The people believing things are 



adulterated is no excuse whatever for putting 

 only liquid honey on the market. I say, too, 

 that the idea that people will not get used to 

 candied honey, and have confidence in it, is 

 mere foolisluiess. 



When people have something new they just 

 proceed to introduce it, and it soon goes if it 

 has merit. If the people do not know what 

 candied honey is they will quickly learn. A 

 little enterprise to explain and get some to try 

 it once, together with the knowledge that they 

 can do the melting themselves, and so get the 

 honey much cheaper, soon accomplishes the 

 result. I can not think otherwise than that 

 those who say the people " will not take can- 

 died honey " are decidedly lacking in push 

 and business ability. 



When at the Chicago convention in August, 

 a bee-keeper told me how he had been always 

 putting out liquid honey, and how he lost a 

 wealthy customer. His custom was to sell in 

 small quantities so that it would be consumed 

 before candying. This particular customer, for 

 some reason which I have forgotten, did not 

 use his honey for some time ; so when he did 

 get ready to use it the stuff was all sugar. He 

 at once concluded he was paying fancy prices 

 for sugar, and when the honey-man came 

 around again he was peremptorily ordered off, 

 and was not even allowed to attempt an ex- 

 planation. No more honey was sold there. 

 You see that customer had been educated to 

 expect his honey always liquid, and so was de- 

 ceived into thinking thai pure honey was so. 

 A little education, showing the people that 

 honey will candy, teaching it in print where 

 it will be read, selling a sample with a warrant 

 that it will again assume the liquid state, and 

 have the honey flavor when properly handled, 

 will soon bring it into favor. 





/ 



" WEI-I<, SO I^ONG, MR. FOWLS ! " 



But I wish again to return to a consideration 

 of the package. It is not the custom to have 

 goods put up so as to display them through 

 glass. Crackers and cookies, candies, nuts, 

 dried fruits, etc., are shown through glass ; but 

 I will make a guess that Mr. Chalon Fowls has 

 never carried home more than a hundred of 

 these show-cases, boxes, and stands ; and 99 

 times out of 100 when he buys groceries he 

 carries home a paper, tin, or wooden package. 

 He calls our attention to the fact that even 



