1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



357 



BRICK HONEY. 



The success attained by The A. I. Root 

 Co. in marketing granulated honey in small 

 packages marks an era in the development 

 of the honey market. This method of cut- 

 ting honey, that has granulated in bulk, into 

 small portions of uniform size makes it pos- 

 sible to market a small quantity of extracted 

 honey at but little greater cost for the pack- 

 age, proportionately, than is needed for the 

 larger quantity. In other words the cost of 

 the package, which has heretofore been the 

 great drawback to the sale of extracted 

 honey in small quantities, is practically 

 eliminated. The goal which I had in view 

 when I made my first experiments, years 

 ago, has been almost reached, though in a 

 different way, from that which I was trying 

 to follow. It not only permits the market- 

 ing of honey in a new and attractive form 

 for those who are willing to pay an extra 

 price for a fancy article, but it also caters 

 to those who, with more moderate purse, 

 want the worth of their' money, yet are 

 accustomed to buy only in small quantities. 

 More than all this, I believe it permits 

 the exploiting of the great confectionery 

 field. I believe we shall not have attained 

 the greatest usefulness of this idea until the 

 children and other candy-users of this broad 

 land are able to buy five cents' worth, or 

 even a cent's worth of honey at a time. If 

 we can make this practical, and I see no 

 reason why we should not, a new market is 

 opened for immense quantities of honey. 



EDUCATING THE PUBLIC. 



What is the matter with the honey market 

 this year ? During the past season there does 

 not seem to have been any territory where 

 an unusually large crop was secured. There 

 are not very many localities where the honey 

 yield could even be classed as good. In very 

 many places, including some of the best 

 honey-producing territory, the yield ranged 

 from poor to very poor. Yet if we look 

 over the market quotations we find that 

 from every point comes the report of a dull 

 and quiet market, the supply ample, or 

 greater than the demand. Why is this ? It 

 might make an interesting study to go into 

 all the causes which contribute to this con- 

 dition of affairs, but at present I am going 

 to touch on only one of them, with a scheme 

 that will at least tend to alleviate the evil. 

 We all know that the public needs a great 

 deal of education in regard to honey. It is 

 evident that the belief is widespread and 

 firmly fixed that a great deal of the honey 

 on the market, including comb honey, is a 

 manufactured and adulterated article. 

 Many, even of those who sell honey, believe 

 this, and foster the belief in the course of 

 their business. The opinion is growing 

 among those who have given this matter 

 their attention that this mistaken notion is 

 largely responsible for the lessened demand 

 for honey. So far we have done but very 

 little to counteract this evil, and it is time 



we were doing something aggressive. Here 

 is one plan that seems to me likely to help. 

 Let one of our best men write a short but 

 succinct and vigorous article on the general 

 qualities of honey, explaining that the flavor 

 and color vary according to the source 

 from which it was gathered; that the white- 

 ness of the combs depends on the kind of 

 bees that made them, and upon the care 

 taken by the apiarist to remove them from 

 the hive as soon as finished; that the combs 

 are straight and even because they are all 

 built between separators, and because comb 

 foundation was used. Make it clear that 

 this is the nearest approach to artificial 

 comb. Show that no two are exactly alike. 

 Tell of the offer make by the National Bee- 

 keepers' Association and other responsible 

 parties to forfeit large sums of money to 

 any one who will produce evidence of manu- 

 factured honey. Also, tell where and how 

 honey should be kept. This could be used 

 in two ways. First, by printing it as a leaf- 

 let, a number of which should be enclosed in 

 each case of honey sent to market, with the 

 request to the dealer to send one out with 

 each section of honey sold. Second, by print- 

 ing it as a poster, to be placed beneath the 

 cover of each case of honey. At present a 

 sheet of blank paper is usually placed be- 

 tween the sections and the cover. This 

 might as well be utilized by having some- 

 thing printed on it which would at least 

 catch the merchant's eye and give him no 

 excuse for remaining in ignorance. Then, 

 if he chose, he could post it up where all his 

 customers might see and read. At the least, 

 he would probably call the attention of some 

 of his customers to the statements thereon. 

 This poster should be "set up" by some 

 expert in composing display advertisements, 

 so as to give due prominence to important 

 points. This leaflet, or poster, might be 

 printed by the National Bee-keepers' Associ- 

 ation, and distributed to its members at a 

 nominal price, just sufficient to pay expense 

 of distribution. It might, perhaps, make no 

 better use of its money than to distribute a 

 limited number free to each member who 

 would apply for and agree to use them. At 

 any rate it should have its sanction, officially 

 expressed, in case it were thought better to 

 leave it in private hands. For instance, all 

 manufacturers of shipping-cases could sup- 

 ply a printed cover sheet at very small addi- 

 tional cost over the plain sheet they have 

 been furnishing. It seems to me that this 

 plan promises benefits out of all proportion 

 to the small cost of carrying it out. 



We have some excellent leaflets already. 

 The one by Dr. Miller, "The Food Value of 

 Honey," is particularly good. Much might 

 be done by distributing these more freely. 

 But we need something which, while cover- 

 ing more ground in some directions, is a 

 great deal shorter and more concise, so that 

 it can be read almost at a glance, otherwise 

 many will not read it at all. The public is 

 surfeited with advertising literature of all 

 kinds, and we need something short and 

 striking to attract their attention. 



