576 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



MayI 



quence to the purchaser. Excepting these 

 special requirements the cheaper we can ob- 

 tain a neat attractive container of the most 

 approved size— one which, after being emp- 

 tied, will be useful for some other purpose — 

 the more honey can we sell. Pause a mo- 

 ment. Look over the display of table dain- 

 ties in any first-class grocery. You will no- 

 tice that the most expensive fruits and veg- 

 etables are put up in the cheapest tin cans 

 that will contain them; jellies in jelly- tum- 

 blers of little intrinsic value, and some spe- 

 cial delicacies, such as orange marmalade 

 and the like, where less than a pound of the 

 contents costs from 25 to 35 cents or more, 

 put up in stone- jar containers of insignificant 

 expense. The packers of these goods rec- 

 ognize the fact that, as the container will 

 be practically useless when empty, it would 

 be folly to put needless expense into it and 

 thus throw a mighty barrier in their own 

 way, preventing the widest possible distri- 

 bution and consumption of their product, 

 and, consequently, dwarfing the success of 

 their business. 



The apiarist who establishes a honey- route, 

 going over the ground periodically, or sells 

 from door to door, or who has an extensive 

 family trade, can profitably use a few 60- 

 pound cans and a considerable number of tin 

 pails of various sizes holding from 5 to 15 

 pounds. The objection to the use of these 

 containers is that they are of no special 

 value to the consumer when emptied. If we 

 can relieve the consumer from paying for 

 something he does not want, either directly 

 or indirectly, we have overcome a great ob- 

 stacle. For the 5-pound parcel the half -gal- 

 lon Mason jar is preferable, and I am inclin- 

 ed to prefer three of them in place of the 

 one 15-pound pail. The value of the jar is 

 aboit six cents, which amount, in addition 

 to the value of the honey, the housewife is 

 usually willing to pay, since it is very useful 

 when empty. The only objection to this jar 

 for the family trade is that it is too large 

 for ordinary family use when empty, the 

 one-quart jar finding greater favor for can- 

 ning, pickling, and preserving of fruits. 



U ndoubtedly the retail grocery trade sells 

 more extracted honey for table consumption 

 in glass containers holding one pound or less 

 than in any other form. Why is this so? 

 Not because the bee-keeper or packer pre- 

 fers to put it up in this way; not because 

 the consumer gets it cheaper per pound. 

 There is a deeper and more potent reason 

 which we as bee-keepers will do well to rec- 

 ognize; viz., it is just about the amount of 

 honey a customer wants at one time. Some 

 have said, " Use a larger container; and when 

 a sale has been made, more honey has been 

 sold, " but there is a boomerang to that argu- 

 ment, as will appear when you consider the 

 great number who will not purchase at all if 

 the parcel is larger than they desire, or costs 

 more than they care to pay at one time. 

 Moreover, the housewife who purchases a 

 small parcel of good honey will be pleased 

 with the quality, and the whole family will 

 have their appetites whetted for more of 



the delicious sweet. Such an amount of 

 honey is consumed by a moderate-sized 

 family at one meal, and there is no dauby 

 sticky mess to set away. The canning-fac- 

 tories and the cereal- manufacturers long 

 ago learned the art of catering to the needs 

 and wants of the consumer by putting the 

 goods up in small parcels that could be sold 

 at a popular price. Wholesale grocers and 

 packing-houses which engage in the busi- 

 ness of repacking bulk goods into smaller 

 parcels practice the same thing; and many 

 carloads of good honey find their way into 

 these houses. The bee-keeper might have 

 much of the profit from this repacking of 

 his honey if he would but take a tip from 

 these wholesale concerns, and do the trick 

 himself in the manner demanded by the 

 consumer. These concerns use containers 

 holding less than a pound. It is usually 

 some form of cheap bottle with a cork stop- 

 per, this form of container being selected, 

 undoubtedly, because shipping of the goods 

 is necessary, and honey well put up in a 

 cork bottle will not leak. Jelly-tumblers 

 also have been largely used by the wholesale 

 grocers in large cities for local trade. 



As the result of my experience in putting 

 up extracted honey for the retail trade, 

 covering a period of more than twenty 

 years, during which time I have used nearly 

 every kind of container recommended for 

 the purpose, both the fancy and expensive 

 styles, and those that are more common- 

 place, I have adopted a jelly-tumbler hold- 

 ing i pound of honey, net. It is technically 

 known as the 6-oz. jelly-tumbler. It is 

 neat and attractive in appearance. It has a 

 plain tin cover. The tumbler without the 

 cover makes a handsome drinking- glass for 

 those not too fastidious, as the top of it 

 shows no special construction for the tin 

 cover, as is the case with some makes of 

 jelly- tumblers. It is, therefore, a useful 

 article in every household. It is cheap, 

 being the least costly per given quantity of 

 honey contained, of any of the glass con- 

 tainers, not excepting the Mason jars, and, 

 what is more to the point, this is a case 

 where the cheapest is the best. ; 



Personally I had rather use a larger- size 

 tumbler, as it would require less time to 

 put up a given quantity of honey, and there 

 would be a saving in cases and some other 

 ways; but the purchasing public thinks 

 differently. A larger tumbler must be sold 

 for more money or I am the loser. The pur- 

 chaser is stubborn about this matter of not 

 wanting to pay proportionately for a large- 

 sized parcel, and insists on paying a popular 

 price regardless of the fact that, in forcing 

 such a condition upon the party who puts 

 up the goods, he is paying more for a given 

 quantity. Very well; let him have his own 

 way. Let us be meek and not oppose stub- 

 bornness with stubbornness. It is idle to 

 argue the matter with him; and if we re- 

 frain from doing so we shall have saved 

 some energy with which to extol the excel- 

 lent quahty of the goods. Let him have 

 what he demands,- even if it costs him a 



