228 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 1 



willing- to allow. But let me emphasize- 

 here is where the blabbiner came in. In 

 answering- her question I delivered a g-ood 

 half hour lecture in less than two minutes, 

 trying to convince her of the purity and all 

 the good points of my honey. In the mean- 

 time, passing people had stopped to listen; 

 and by the time my lady iriend was ready 



" Is my honey pure? now listen ! " 



to buy one of my quart cans I had quite a 

 crowd around me. To cut the story short, 

 for quite a few minutes I handed out cans, 

 mostly quarts, as fast as I could make the 

 change, many of the purchasers promising 

 to buy more the next time I attended the 

 market, if the honey proved what I had rec- 

 ommended it to be. 



When the market closed, at 11 A. M., I 

 had a few cans left. With these I drove to 

 Main St. and tied my horse in front of one 

 of the stores, where I had a little business 

 to transact. A few minutes later, while I 



'• Hello ! Where's this honey-man ! " 



was conversing with the storekeeper in- 

 side, some one opened the door and in- 

 quired: 



" Hello! where is this honey-man?" 

 After introducing myself he requested me 

 to show him what I had to sell. It did not 

 take very long to convince him that I car- 



ried the genuine article; and, what pleased 

 me still more, was the fact that he ordered 

 two cans to be left at the corner drug- store 

 across the street. 



When I delivered the cans they were 

 closely scrutinized by the clerks and some 

 other parties who happened to be present, 

 and one of the clerks asked: 



" What guarantee have we that this is 

 pure honey? " 



Here another lecture-like conversation, too 

 long to be repeated, took place, the sub- 

 stance of which may be concentrated in my 

 reply: 



" First, pure honey and my name and ad- 

 dress are on every package; and, second, 

 back of this is the New York State law that 

 prohibits all honey adulterations." 



Before I left the place I sold two more 

 cans to those other parties. 



After this last deal I had two quart cans 

 and five or six pint cans left; and, being 

 well satisfied with my two or three hours' 

 work, I started for home. On my way I 

 had to pass the hardware store where I had 

 purchased my honey-tanks. I am well ac- 



" What guarantee have we ? " 



quainted with one of the proprietors. He 

 always seemed to be quite interested in bee- 

 keeping, and ready for an occasional bee- 

 talk. Not expecting or intending to make 

 any sales I stepped in to have a few min- 

 utes' chat with my friend. After exchang- 

 ing the usual salutations of the day I said, 

 " Mr. N., would you like to see what I am 

 selling? " 



"Certainly," was his reply. 



I reached back for my sample-case, which 

 I had taken in and set a little to one side, 

 and placed it on the counter. The result 

 was most gratifying to myse f. It brought 

 out many exclamations of admiration. One 

 of the nearb}' lady clerks said: " Oh! isn't 

 this honey fine? I guess I'll take a can of 

 it." 



Then the proprietor chimed in: 



" Yes, this is nice. I am not keeping 

 house myself; but I'll take a can to make 

 my landlady a Christmas present." 



Another clerk, just passing on his way to 

 dinner, looked at the honey, handed me the 

 cash, and took one can heme with him. 



The few pint cans I had left when leav- 



