January, 1917 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



13 



ROADSIDE MARKETING 



Concrete Examples of Hoiv Honey 



Can be Sold Profitably from the 



Doorstep of the Beekeeper 



By the Editor 



IS roadside hon- 

 ey - selling" — 

 selling from 

 the front doorstep 

 of (lie beekeeper's 

 h o ni e, if you 

 please — profit- 

 b 1 e, pi-aeticable, 

 and worthy the 

 careful business attention of every honey- 

 pi'oducer who may live in a populous part 

 of the counti'j'? 



That is the' question that this article pur- 

 jjoses to discuss and exemplify. 



NEW MARKETING POSSIBILITIES 



A moment's reflection reveals the fact 

 that good roads and the ever increasing 

 number of automobiles have made possible 

 new methods for the marketing of a not 

 inconsiderable part of almost every kind of 

 farm produce. One of these new methods 

 might be properly included in the term 

 " roadside marketing." Along the main 

 roads of many parts of the country, espe- 

 cially in the vicinity of large towns and 

 cities, it is now common, in the summer 

 time, to see fruit and vegetables displayed 

 for sale, since many automobilists are glad 

 to pay good prices for all kinds of fresh 

 produce. Instead of the producer having 

 to solve the problem of getting his product 

 to the consumer, the consumer is coming 

 after it and i^aying all the transportation 

 charges himself. 



That the amount of produce disposed of 

 in this way is of considerable consequence 

 (notably in the eastern states) is a fact 

 known to every automobile driver in the 

 vicinity of many of the large towns of 

 Xew England and New York, and the prac- 

 tice of " roadside marketing " is steadily 

 taking its way westward. This is because 

 producers are beginning to realize that the 

 road-traveling iDublic is willing to buy (and 

 buy in quantities) fresh fruit, vegetables, 

 butter and eggs — and honey — and these 

 things at a price practically the same as 

 that charged by retailers in the cities. 



A LOT OF HONEY-FOR-SALE SIGNS 



To come to the case in hand, it may be 

 said that the honey-pi'oducers ai'e fast 



coming to adopt 

 this new market- 

 ing idea. As an 

 evidence of this 

 fad, on one main 

 road leading 

 south from Cleve- 

 land the writer 

 counted on a 

 single trip between Medina and Cleveland 

 (25 miles), one day late last summer, 

 nearly a dozen signs reading " Honey for 

 Sale," " New Comb Honey for Sale," etc. 

 Curiosity as to the results secured from 

 this " sliingle " advertising and roadside 

 merchandising led us several weeks later to 

 take this same automobile trip between our 

 home and the city of Cleveland, with the 

 intention of inquiring at each house where 

 a " honey- for-sale " sign was displayed 

 as to results and sales made. Altho only 

 about a month had elapsed between the 

 time when we first noted the abundance of 

 " honey-for-sale" signs on this highway 

 and the time when we went on our auto- 

 mobile trip over the same ground to se- 

 ■eure information as to results, yet we were 

 surprised and disappointed (for editorial 

 reasons only) to find all but three or four 

 of the signs removed, presumably because 

 of the fact that the honey had all been sold. 

 Now let the testimony of these roadside 

 honey-sellers be considered. It is fact and 

 experience which is better than theory or 

 argument. 



A FIRST-SEASON SUCCESS 



The first beekeeper's home visited by us, 

 and where a roadside sign announced honey 

 for sale, was that of Arlie Pritchard, son 

 of The A. I. Root Co.'s well-known queen- 

 rearer, Mel T. Pritchard, living two miles 

 north of Medina on an improved road lead- 

 ing directly to Cleveland, partly macadam 

 and partly brick pavement. A picture of 

 the iDremises is printed at the foot of this 

 page. The neatness and good order of tliis 

 home are made apparent by a glance at the 

 surroundings. An apiary, with the grass 

 cleanly cut and the hives neatly painted, 

 standing prominently on a knoll a hundred 

 yards from the street and a little north of 



