AUGUST 1, 1916 



671 



thing, and too many of the labels came oti' 

 before the honey got to the consumer any 

 way, so he decided not to use them any 

 more. I cannot agree with our friend. It 

 is true that once in a while a patch of labels 

 does not seem to slick as well as at other 

 times. When we are liquefying in cans a 

 few may come off; but they are easily re- 

 placed, and the businesslike appearanre of 

 our goods compensates for the little trouble. 

 A neat tasty label is certainly a great hn- 

 provement, and helps sell our honey for 

 various reasons. Its object is at least three- 

 fold. First, the guarantee being on ;iie 

 label, it insures the buyer unquestionable 

 purity of the article. Second, the name 

 convinces the purchaser that we ai'e the 

 actual producers — a conviction which again 

 produces confidence in our goods ; and, third, 

 as I said before, the neat appearance of our 

 ware attracts the attention of the passing 

 crowd. 



Time and again I have had people take 

 up a can of honey, and, after examining tlie 

 label, say, " That is the honey I want.*" 

 Others ask, " Are you the Mr. Greiner your- 

 self who produces this honey? " 



When answering in the affirmative, a sale 

 invariably follows. It seems to give a cer- 

 tain satisfaction to buy direct from tliL' 

 producer. People have less confidence in 

 the genuineness of the article after it has 

 passed thru three or four different hands. 



That other branches of indnsrry consider 

 attractive labels of great importance can be 

 seen every day when we step into our gro- 

 ceries and drugstores. All the shelves are 

 lavishly decorated with goods of all descrip- 

 tions nicely labeled. Why should beekeep- 

 ers neglect their own interest and fail to 

 improve the appearance of their goods when 

 it adds so much with comparatively so little 

 expense? 



Another feature which the majority of 

 beekeepers greatly neglect, and which in 



many instances would increase the sale of 

 their honey, is an attractive display at fairs, 

 carnivals, and other jjublic exhibitions. Un- 

 til vei-y recently I have been one of the 

 "doubting Thomases" myself. I Avas labor- 

 ing under the wrong impression that it does 

 not pay. My first attempts along this line, 

 in which I was interested many years ago, 

 did not show any adequate re.sults for the 

 time and trouble expended. Besides, being 

 otherwise engaged, I could not spare the 

 time to attend properly to an effort of this 

 kind. But since I have moved to my pres- 

 ent home, conditions have been more favor- 

 able in regard to this matter. Having sev- 

 ered myself from nearly all business connec- 

 tions except beekeeping I could have man- 

 aged to set aside the necessary time for this 

 purpose; and my locality, being one of the 

 best in the country in regard to the pro- 

 duction of an extra-fine quality of honey, 

 the effort of making a fairly passable dis- 

 play at fairs would not have inconvenienced 

 me very much. And why did I neglect it? 

 Simply shortsightedness. The old impres- 

 sion. " it does not pay," kept me from 

 availing myself of the opportunity. 



Recently it happened that the progress of 

 our little burg, the building-up of the place 

 with the rapidly increasing number of in- 

 habitants, induced the men at the helm to 

 propose and start a so-called " harvest festi- 

 val " in the form of a general agricultural 

 fair. Being a tax-payer and therefore more 

 or less interested in public doings. I decided 

 to contribute my mite toward the success 

 of the undei'taking by way of a little honey 

 exhibit. I did not expect any direct finan- 

 cial gain out of the affair, and the result 

 was, therefore, all the more gTatifying when 

 on my first market-trip afterward a lady 

 accosted me something in this way : " If you 

 are the exhibitor of that honey I saw at the 

 fair, and you have any more, I should like 

 lo get a crate just like it." 

 La Salle, N. Y. 



WHAT I HAVE LEARNED IN SELLING MY OWN CROP 



BY WALTER GARAI5RANT 



I am situated where most of the honey 

 customers are well-to-do, and many of them 

 are wealthy. When I started I was located 

 on a by-i'oad; but for the last ten years I 

 have been on a main macadam road. Since 

 the advent of so many autos there are a 

 few more transient eustomei-s who some- 

 times come again. I have always- kept a 

 small sign " Honey for Sale " in plain view 

 of passers by. and the apiary may be seen 

 from the road, 



Salasmanship is almost a profession at 

 the present time. Doubtless it needs to be 

 if one undei'takes to fake tlie jniblic for a 

 swindle. But almost all producers of small 

 quantities of honey could be their own sales- 

 men to advantage if tliey would give it some 

 consideration. On the average, perhaps, 

 they would be about as succrssful salesmen 

 ;^s aiiiarists if tliey would put fcnih i-eason- 

 able effort along this line. 



My honey is sold both at retail and 



