February, 1917 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



113 



tion she was offered a commission of 20 

 per cent on all sales. She and her little 

 playmate of eleven years of age started 

 out enthusiastically one hot August after- 

 noon; and as I saw the little tots leaving 

 with all the honey they could carry I be- 

 gan lo pity them, for I feared that disap- 

 pointment was in store for them. How- 

 ever, upon returning they were all smiles, 

 and reported the sale of six jars of honey 

 at twenty-five cents each. I told them they 

 had done splendidly, but tried to dissuade 

 them from the work, as I feared it would 

 be too hard for them. 



The next morning, bright and early, they 

 were again ready ; but they decided not to 

 go together, as they didn't want to divide 

 their profits as they had the day before. 

 Before noon they were back again to have 

 their baskets refilled. They have been at 

 it every day; and two other little girls hav- 

 ing heard of their success have likewise gone 

 into the jjeddling of honey. 



A number of other children have asked 

 for the privilege of selling honey ; but the 

 four children already at it said they could 

 cover the town, and threatened to strike 

 if we allowed any more to peddle. New 

 Albany has a population of thirty thousand, 

 and each of the four cliildren is assigned a 

 certain section of the city in which to work. 

 Each of them has sold daily from four to 

 fifteen dollars' worth of honey. The sales 

 have steadily increased. The girls began 

 with six-ounce jelly-gia.sses and one-jDound 

 jars; but they are now going back over the 

 same routes and securing repeat orders, 

 many of which are for half-gallon and 

 gallon buckets. 



These children were given no instructions 

 whatever on how to approach a customer 

 nor on tlie line of talk to hand out. but were 



simply told the prices at which to sell the 

 various packages. In their own childish 

 way they have made their appeal, and to 

 this very thing 1 attribute their success. 

 The most timid child of the four has proven 

 the best salesgirl of the lot, her daily sales 

 being about double those of any of the 

 others. 



One object I had in letting my own little 

 ten-year-old daughter sell honey was to 

 teach her the value of money and impress 

 her with the fact that one has to work hard 

 to earn money. In this I was defeated, for 

 the children think selling honey is fun; 

 and when in the evening they return with 

 their little purses bulged with money, and I 

 count out their 20 per cent (which, with 

 the eleven-year-old child, has amounted to 

 from $1.00 to $3.00 per day), I fear they 

 will have a false impression of their earning 

 capacity. The work is hard, of course; 

 but enthusiasm makes any task light. 



The honey is white clover, of the finest 

 quality, and is put up in attractive clear- 

 glass jars, and neatly labeled. This, of 

 course, helps in the selling. Then, too, 

 as stated above, the Walker & jMarzian home 

 apiary is located so that it is in full view 

 from the highway, and hence nearly every 

 one in New Albany knows that we keep 

 bees, and this gives them confidence. The 

 appeal of a sweet-faced little girl with a 

 basket on her arm, holding up a sparkling 

 jar of nature's sweet, or a virgin white 

 comb, is simply irresistible. I do not think 

 a boy or a man or a woman could do as 

 well as have these little girls. 



The prices secured are as follows : Comb 

 honey, 20 ets. per section ; extracted honey, 

 six-ounce jelly-glasses, 10 cts. ; eight-ounce 

 jars, 15 cts.; nineteen-ounce jars, 25 ets.; 

 six - pound friction - top buckets, $1.00 ; 



