1^04 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULI URE. 



21 



with high hopes of coining back with ;i 

 light load and a pocket full of money. 



My first stop was only a few miles from 

 town where a saloon is kept at the crossing 

 of the roads. I tried to make a sale to the 

 proprietor of the place, but he declined with 

 a look of disgust. It is a fact that people 

 who are given to indulgence in beer and to- 

 bacco, and such things, have no taste for 

 honey, and seldom touch it. Their tastes 

 are perverted, and nature serves them 

 right by depriving them of the power to ap- 

 preciate her choicest dainties, of which hon- 

 ey stands at the head. 



But, to go on with my story. The next 

 stop was made at a cheese- factory. I could 

 not sell to the people who lived there, for 

 they possessed a colony of bees, and had 

 produced more honey than fourteen families 

 could use. But I was directed to a farm 

 where no bees were kept, and on the way I 

 kept thinking, " Now, this is my chance. I 

 will make a sale this time." The house 

 was half a mile from the main road, and 

 down in one of those ravines. I made the 

 dive, and anchored the team up against a 

 strawstack while I went to the house with 

 a small can of honey. The lady received 

 me kindly, and said she would like to have 

 some honey, but her husband was away, 

 and she never purchased any thing without 

 his consent. She thought he would soon be 

 back, and wished I would wait. Mj' time 

 was too precious to wait there for the bare 

 chance of selling twenty- five cents' worth 

 of honey, so I called for a small dish and 

 poured out as much as the woman could eat 

 at one meal or more, and went on my way 

 thinking, " Shame on the man who will not 

 allow his wife so much liberty as the pur- 

 chase of a little honey! Such men never 

 consult their wives when they bu}' tobacco, 

 or, worse, stand in front of a bar and bu}' 

 drinks." 



At the next place I did not get out of the 

 wagon, but called to a woman at the door 

 of her house. I told her what I had, "ex- 

 tracted honey — the very finest quality." 

 She would not buy, but she said if I had 

 comb honey she would take one pound. I 

 went on, but met with no success. It came 

 near night, and presently I crossed a little 

 clear running brook and drew up in front 

 of a house that was shaded by an immense 

 willow. Back of the house rose a great 

 bluff, and on its lower slope there was a 

 row of about a dozen bee hives of all shapes 

 and sizes. There were children in plenty, 

 boys and girls, and I soon got into conver- 

 sation with them and learned which one of 

 the boys it was who took to bee-keeping. 

 It was a family of Swiss people engaged 

 for the most part in dairying. They were 

 milking 35 cows at the time. I asked the 

 giant farmer how it would be for me to staj' 

 with him over night and help milk the cows. 

 His ready " yah! " gave no uncertain sound 

 of welcome; so, within ten minutes from 

 that time my team was in the barn, the 

 wagon safe in'the shed, and I was down 

 vinder a big cow milking away, and think- 



ing to myself that it would be a hard mat- 

 ter to starve a Yankee or the son of a Yan- 

 kee. 



Those cows gave great messes, more than 

 a large pailful for the best milkers, and no 

 wonder; for the rich grasses all over the 

 hills and valleys reached to their knees. 

 That night I milked two cows and the next 

 morning five. There were several boys and 

 girls who milked, besides the farmer, and 

 it took only half an hour to do it all up. 

 As much time as we had that evening and 

 the next morning, I talked bees with the 

 boys, giving them the best advice and in- 

 struction I could, and I felt that I had fall- 

 en among friends whose hearts were with- 

 out guile. Before I left they bought a gal- 

 lon of honey, the first I had sold, and re- 

 fused any thing in payment for my lodging. 



Only ten 3'ears from the old country, this 

 man is bound to succeed. He has pur- 

 chased a large farm, going largely in debt 

 for it; but at the time I was there the in- 

 come from milk and eggs was over seven 

 dollars per day, and no outside help hired, 

 with the exception of one small bo}-^ to help 

 do chores. 



The next day I continued on till noon, 

 going still further from home, and made 

 but one sale of half a gallon of honey. At 

 many places I was informed that they had 

 honey, or that some relative kept bees, and 

 they could get all they wanted for the ask- 

 ing. I started for home with the firm be- 

 lief that a man starting across the country 

 with a load of honey, and traveling day 

 after day, could not possibly sell enough to 

 pay his expenses, even if he got the stock 

 for nothing. 



I came to the conclusion that we must 

 look to the towns and cities for our mar- 

 ket. Farmers as a class will not buj^ hon- 

 ey. They will go without, and use, in- 

 stead, glucose syrup that they buy at the 

 village store at about 35 cents per gallon — 

 stuff that has no flavor, and nothing to rec- 

 ommend it but its resemblance to something 

 good. 



On this trip I was not sad or discouraged, 

 except in reference to the matter of selling 

 honey. In another way I was more than 

 paid for my trouble. I feasted my eyes on 

 as lovely scenery as the sun ever shone on, 

 and found new friends that even now seem 

 like old ones. 



I can sell honey, and am doing it right 

 along — sending it to all points of the com- 

 pass; but peddling isnotmy waj'. Let the 

 other fellow peddle. I will sell to jobbers, 

 merchants, consumers, anybody; but they 

 must come to me in the future. 



Monroe, Wis., Oct. 19. 



[Your experience, friend L., is, I think, 

 about the same as the most of us would 

 have; and yet it is possible that, if you 

 were to take another route, you might have 

 an entirely different experience. There is 

 a great diflFerence in people. Some are 

 born salesmen, and others can do better in 

 some other line. — Ed.] 



