70 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



old reliable Bee Journal, ecerj/ num- 

 ber of it, and at the end of each year 

 have them neatly bound ; not merely 

 for the name of having a bee-library, 

 but for the purpose of close and per- 

 sistent study. 



These thoughts have been brought 

 out by remarks of bee-keepers whom 

 I have endeavored to persuade to 

 subscribe for the American Bee 

 Journal. One said, ■' I wouldn't 

 give 15 cents for it ;" another, "■ I 

 think I will take it three or four 

 months next summer ;" but in every 

 case where objection was made, there 

 has been failure in the past, and un- 

 doubtedly will be in the future. In 

 some cases the parties were very en- 

 thusiastic a year or two since," but 

 now they are completely discouraged. 

 In fact it requires some nerve to 

 withstand the losses of tlie past two 

 years, and keep a " stiff upper lip." 



Onarga,o Ills. 



Reiul at the New York Stitte Convention. 



DeyeloBineiit of tlie Honey Market, 



R. F. IIOLTERMANN. 



Perhaps no theme, now that our 

 bees are in winter quarters, is of 

 greater interest to the producer of 

 honey. I feel my deficiency in deal- 

 ing with tliis subject, yet my labor 

 will not be in vain if one new idea or 

 thought is thrown out, if old ideas 

 are more prominently brought before 

 us, or more united efforts decided 

 upon before the discussion closes. 



Why should we cry about our mar- 

 kets being overstocked when all we 

 have to do is to enlarge them, and 

 thus increase the consumption of an 

 article which will stand upon its own 

 merits when once introduced V Our 

 markets have not been fully de- 

 veloped, and consumption has not 

 reached its full capacity until every 

 man, woman and child uses this and 

 no other sweet. What are the means 

 to be employed V We can all suggest. 

 Four years in attendance (generally 

 selling honey) at the Toronto Indus- 

 trial Exiiibition has given me a few 

 ideas of the difficulties to overcome. 



We want to disseminate more 

 knowledge about apiculture, not for 

 the benefit of tlie bee-keeper, but in 

 periodicals where it v,i\\ reach the 

 masses that know nothing about it: 

 state the progress that apiculture has 

 and is making ; what vast (juantities 

 of lioney are produced and consumed 

 compared with former days, and how 

 this progress permits of such a pro- 

 duction. Little articles written as 

 reading matter and news of the day, 

 will do a vast amount of good to 

 educate tlie masses to consume honey. 

 They will be interested, and the idea 

 of using honey brought before them 

 again and again, will cause them to 

 realize that it they do not use honey 

 as a staple article they will not be up 

 with the fashion ; and that foolish 

 feeling and idea wliich sets one -half 

 the world blind to everything, can be 

 made to work to our benefit and— for 

 once— that of its slaves. 



As soon as a new outlet is found 

 for the sale of honey— be it to the 

 pork-packer, tobacconist, or some 

 other business— send an item to the 

 paper of large circulation, stating 

 that " pork-packers (or whoever they 

 may be) are commencing to use honey 

 successfully in their business, etc." 

 If bee-keepers had the energy of the 

 general-manager of some quack medi- 

 cine, who works up such a market by 

 judiciously appearing before the pub- 

 lic, bee-keepers would soon find that 

 they could not supply the demand, 

 and as ours is an article of merit the 

 market would not decrease. There- 

 fore we want to do a liberal amount 

 of advertising, setting forth the 

 merits of this sweet above all others 

 for children, invalids and people in 

 sound health — something we never do 

 except occasionally in a bee-paper, 

 the last place it should be put to en- 

 large the market. 



At exhibitions held in larger cities 

 we want a large and prominent ex- 

 hibit of honey and apiarian imple- 

 ments. Start by giving the directors 

 a nice can of honey ; they are human, 

 and will interest themselves on our 

 behalf as to space and general accom- 

 modation, (iive our prominent peo- 

 ple a sample if they do not buv, and 

 after tasting they will generally leave 

 an order and feel under an obligation 

 to speak of the fine display and quality 

 of your honey, Do not wait until a 

 reporter makes himself known to you, 

 but hunt out those of the leading 

 papers, pave the way to their good 

 graces by a little honey, <and in that 

 way the exhibit will receive an 

 amount of attention by the public 

 that it otherwise would not. Having 

 in this way secured the co-operation 

 of influential people and the public 

 generally, it will soon become a habit 

 for them to buy honey. 



As to the quantity in packages: 

 Regulate it yourself by the package 

 you give them at first: you can come 

 to a larger. Toronto people have 

 been spoilt by too small a package 

 down to a smaller, but hardly advance 

 being placed upon the market. Five 

 years ago we sold the bulk of our 

 honey in 5 and 10-pound packages; a 

 few in 23^, but the latter was the 

 smallest. Year after year the size 

 has decreased, and to-day it is as 

 difficult to sell a 2i^-pound, if not a 1- 

 pound package, as it was five years 

 ago to sell a o and 10-pound packages. 

 Tlie sellers are too blame for this, not 

 the buyers. At your exhibition you 

 will find so many wise heads ready to 

 conciemn the whole display, because 

 it is too large ; they say, " that cannot 

 be all honey!" but you, who listen, 

 know that they are a class who con- 

 demn with their own ignorance as a 

 basis. Explain to all who will listen 

 about bee-keepers, be courteous and 

 endeavor to create a kindly impres- 

 sion, and you make a step iiithe right 

 direction. After the exhibitions fol- 

 low them up by establishing a general 

 agency under a man who knows what 

 is wanted, or if circumstances permit, 

 sell honey yourself. Visit nice, clean 

 groceries, iruit-stores and chemists, 

 and there arrange to set up a neat 

 display in the window or on the coun- 



ter, and leave a stock to sell from. 

 Do not be discouraged by the store- 

 keeper saying, " No one asks for 

 honey ;" tell him it is because they do 

 not see it to buy ; even if the party 

 has but little push, seeing it will bring 

 customers. 



Place honey upon the market at the 

 right time. There is no use in rush- 

 ing it on when small fruits, etc., are 

 abundant, and see that the display is 

 kept up. Put your name upon every 

 package. Whether comb or extracted 

 honey every effort should be made to 

 place it upon the market in as uni- 

 form and attractive a manner as pos- 

 sible to the eye and palate. The sec- 

 tions should be white, clean and well 

 preserved, and any inferior cases 

 should be disposed of at your exhibi- 

 tions by cutting from corner to corner, 

 making four pieces, each attached 

 to the side of a section; these can be 

 sold upon the grounds in large quanti- 

 ties. Observe the utmost cleanliness 

 with your extracted honey ; seldom, 

 if ever, extract it before it is one- 

 third capped, then put into large, deep 

 tanks, which will give neither taste 

 or color to the honey, and in a few 

 days the thin, green honey will find 

 its way to the top, and can be re- 

 moved ; the remainder, if clover, 

 should be sealed within a week's 

 time; thistle, the same; basswood a 

 little longer, and you have an article 

 fit for any man. Keep dark honey 

 from spring or fall separate ; never 

 place it upon the retail market, for it 

 blocks the way for a more desirable 

 article. Many more valuable sugges- 

 tions will doubtless be thrown out by 

 the discussions ; may all have a bene- 

 ficial effect. 



I would suggest a discussion upon 

 the advisability of placing extrac*;ed 

 honey upon the market in a granu- 

 lated form; then we would se- 

 cure a uniformity in the appearance 

 of the article. If we do our best, it 

 will granulate ; and we would educate 

 the public mind to the fact that if 

 granulated it is above suspicion. 



Brantford, Ont. 



ror tne American Bee Journal. 



f iiiteriug Bees, etc, 



L. H. CROWELL. 



On Dec. 4, 1885, we had a furious 

 snow-storm, and it grew quite cold, 

 so I put my 19 colonies and 1 nucleus 

 into the cellar ; as I had not enough 

 to fill it, I built a room 8x8 feet, in- 

 dependently of the cellar-walls, out 

 of boards, and lined it on all sides 

 within with building-paper, making 

 it perfectly dark. A 2-incli pipe runs 

 from the centre of the room, com- 

 mencing 6 inches from the floor, which 

 is connected with the stove-pipe 

 above by extending it into the stove- 

 pipe 3 feet. Before I put my bees 

 into the cellar there was a draft which 

 would draw the blaze of afire 2 inches 

 to one side, so I was sure of .good 

 ventilation. 



I have kept the temperature of the 

 bee-room at 41° above zero most of the 

 time. We had a thaw about Dec. 24 



