42 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



February 



The Southland Queen, of Texas, 

 warns its readers that when bulk comb 

 honey is candied, the market price falls 

 to the level of extracted quotations, 

 and advises that this class of honey 

 should be allowed to remain upon 

 the hive until orders for delivery are 

 in. Such being the case, the rosy hue 

 which appeared upon the face of this 

 recent departure in honey production 

 has a tendency to fade into a more 

 sombre shade; for it is impracticable 

 to restore bulk comb honey to its 

 former more desirable condition, and 

 the thous'ht of marketing the wax con- 

 tained at about one-sixth its market 

 value is not pleasant. 



The editor desires to say to readers 

 of The Bee-Keeper that if those who 

 wish the paper discontinued at the ex- 

 pimtlon of the time for which it is 

 paid, will drop us a postal card to that 

 efPect, their request will have prompt 

 and careful attention. With the ex- 

 ception of a few sample copies mailed 

 to bee-keepers not already subscribers, 

 we never mail a single copy to anyone 

 who has not paid in advance or else 

 hns subscribed for an indefinite pe- 

 riod. New subscribers are constantly 

 coming in. and it is our aim to so place 

 every edition that each copy will fall 

 into the hands of someone expecting it, 

 and who has made or will make pay- 

 ment in advance at his earliest conven- 

 ience. 



Mnst Honey "Take a Back Seat." 



Considerable alarm is manifested in 

 certain quarters at the possible result 

 of a moInss!Ps advertisement now be- 

 coming fnmiliar everywhere, which 

 clnims superiority over honey. "Better 

 thnn honey for less money," makes a 

 cntchy hendline that will divert thou- 

 sands of dollars from the pockets of 

 honey producers to those whose enter- 

 prise and business sagacity prompts 

 them to make such generous use of 

 magazine space. 



This is essentially an age of public- 

 ity, and business success is markedly 

 proportionate to the extent and qual- 

 ity of publicity employed by the pro- 

 moters of any enterprise. Bee-keepers 

 have, obviously, failed to appreciate 

 the possibilities which their business 

 affords, through united effort in mar- 

 keting and the utilization of modem 



methods as applied to publicity. The 

 competitor's goods may be unwhole- 

 some and unpalatable, as compared 

 with honey, yet his persistent advertis- 

 ing will take them into thousands of 

 homes where pure honey is unknown, 

 and the consumer, by reason of the 

 wily advertisement, will feel that in 

 providing such a commodity for house- 

 hold use he is actually performing a 

 sacred duty to those for whom he pro- 

 vides. Thus the consumption goes on, 

 and the manufacturer continues to 

 grow wealthy. -<ot because of any 

 special merit of the commodity, but 

 because of shrewd advertising. 



The bee-keeper's product is unques- 

 tionably the most wholesome and de- 

 licious of table sweets. Does he not 

 recognize in the advertising methods 

 of the cheap molasses man a lesson 

 worthy of application to his own busi- 

 ness? 



Since the foregoing was written, The 

 Bee-Keeper has received a short arti- 

 cle from "Swarthmore," which is pre- 

 sented in this number, bearing upon 

 the same subject. It should be "learned 

 by heart" by every bee-keeper in the 

 land who is interested in the profitable 

 development of our pursuit. 



Death of Captain Hetherington. 



Capt. J. E. Hetherington, who has 

 borne the distinction of being the most 

 extensive bee-keeper in the world, died 

 at his home in Cherry Valley, New 

 York, December 31, 1903. This mea- 

 gre announcement comes from Capt.- 

 Hetherington's son, Hubert B. Hether- 

 ington, of Cherry Valley, and The Bee- 

 Keeper extends to the bereaved family 

 its sincere condolence. Capt. Hether- 

 ington would have reached his 64th 

 birthday on January 7th. 



The National Election. 



The official report af the December 

 elections of the National Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will be fonnJ in this num- 

 ber of The Bee-Keeper. The popular- 

 ity of General Manager France is in- 

 deed strongly attested by the result 

 of this contest, he having received 518 

 of the total 552 votes cast. 



The widely scattered vote for direc- 

 tors will, doubtless, tend to revive In- 

 terest in the matter of formally nom- 

 inating candidates for this office. 



