THE AMERICAN APIGULTURIST. 



189 



far as health is concerned, lier powers 

 for reproduction certainly are imper- 

 fect. 



We once reared queens from a fine 

 " breeder, " or wliat we supposed 

 would be a fine queen to breed from, 

 but none of the eyns from one of her 

 dano-hters would 'hatcl!," though the 

 mother was a very active queen and 

 her colony one of the best. 



We shall have to refer our friend to 

 some one of our readers who can bet- 

 ter explain and answer this question. 



Editor Am. Apicultuiust : 



1. Will you set Mr. Manum or some 

 one who raises honey largely for the 

 market to advise thq small beekeeper 

 as to the best method for packing, 

 shipping and disposing of his honey. 

 You know the small beekeeper does 

 not have a carload to send to market, 

 consequently it does not pay him to 

 make a trip of 500 miles to sell the 

 products of his apiary. 



2. Is it not better to sell for cash, 

 even at two cents less on a pound, 

 than to leave the honey with a com- 

 mission merchant? 



3. What month of the year is best 

 to market section honey? 



Small Beekeeper. 



ANSWERS BY A. E. MANUM. 



1 and 2. The above questions are 

 rather difficult ones for me to answer, 

 as it calls for my views and advice for 

 small beekeepers to follow in disposing 

 of their crop of honey. 



Inasmuch as what might be advis- 

 able for one to do, it might not be ad- 

 visable or perhaps possible for another. 

 There are some beekeepers so favor- 

 ably located that they can dispose of 

 their honey in their home market at 

 much better prices than they could 

 realize in our large markets, while 

 others have no home market and they 

 must ship a long distance to find a 

 market and some of this class are also 

 a long distance from any railroad sta- 

 tion, hence necessitating the hauling 

 of their honey on wagons over rough 

 roads and at great risk and expense. 

 To such I would say if the quantity is 

 small to seM at some price to those 

 who have enough to pay for the trouble 

 of marketing, after, however, selling 

 what they can to their neighbors. In 

 fact, my advice to all beekeepers 

 whether large or small producers, is to 

 sell all they can at home and to keep 



23 



enough on hand to supply the demand 

 throughout the year, because our large 

 markets have of late years become so 

 glutted and overstocked with honey 

 shipped to them from all over the 

 country, even in large quantities from 

 California, that it is sometimes very 

 dithcult for small producers to get the 

 highest price for their product, unless 

 their honey is first-class and put up in 

 the most attractive style; and even 

 then large producers will usually be 

 favored, because commission mer- 

 chants will make a greater eflbrt to 

 please large producers in order to hold 

 their trade. This is quite natural and 

 it is business (so termed). 



I say it "sometimes" happens so, 

 though not always, as I have seen some 

 small lots bring as high a price as that 

 from large producers. Tiiis was ow- 

 ing to the fact that buyers took a fancy 

 to the particular package of these 

 small lots and there being about the 

 quantity they wanted they would buy 

 it in preference to any from large lots. 

 These preferences happened some 

 years ago when there was a great dif- 

 ference in the size and style of pack- 

 ages; then they varied from the 1-lb. 

 section to the 4-lb. box. But now the 

 greater part of the honey is in 1-lbo 

 sections and as nearly all beekeepers 

 take great pains to put up their honey 

 in attractive shape, there is not so 

 much difierence in the appearance of 

 the dilFerent lots as there used to be. 

 Hence my advice, as above stated, that 

 the small producers should either sell 

 at home or let the large producers 

 handle their honey for them as their 

 own; then the dealer can hold the 

 honey and take advantage of the mar- 

 •ket. Having liati experience, the large 

 dealers ought to know best how and 

 when to dispose of their product, 

 while on the other hand, the small 

 producers will ship to commission 

 men and being afraid and suspicious 

 that they may get cheated out of their 

 pay, they will not allow the mer- 

 chant to hold the honey for a good 

 price, but will urge him to sell at some, 

 price, which he will do, perhaps for 

 two or three cents less than the real 

 market price ; then it is soon circu- 

 lated around that honey has dropped 

 and down goes the market for the en- 

 tire season. It will, therefore, be seen 

 that if the entire crop of each county 

 was handled by one man, it would be 

 better for all concerned. I know this 

 by experience, as I have handled honey 

 for some of my neighbors ; sometimes 

 I have bought it and at other times I 



