664 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



OdoUr 20 



GEORGE W. YORK. EDITOR. 



PUBLISHT WEEKLY BY 



118 Michigan Street, CHICAGO, ILL. 



[Bntered at the Post-Offlce at Chicago as Second-Class Mail Matter.] 



UNITED STATES BEE-KEEPERS' UNION 



Organized to advance the pursuit of Apiculture; to promote the interests of bee 

 keepers; to protect its members ; to prevent the adulteration of honey; and 

 to prosecute the dishonest honey-commission men. 



Jl/enibersftip Fe&—Sl-00 per Aimum. 



EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE-Pres.. George W. York; Vice-Pres., W. Z. Hutchinson; 



Secretary, Dr. A. B. Mason, Station B, Toledo, Ohio. 

 Board of DIRECTORS-E. R. Root; E. Whitcomb; B. T. Abbott; C. P. Dadant; 



W.Z.Hutchinson; Dr. C. C. Miller. 

 General Manager and Trkascreb— Eugene 8ecor, Forest City, Iowa. 



VOL. 38. OCTOBER 20, 1898. NO. 42. 



Note.— The American Bee Journal adopts the Orthography of the following 

 Knle, recommended by the Joint action of the American Philological Asso- 

 ciation and the Philological Society of England:— Change "d" or "ed" flnal 

 to 't" when so pronounced, except when the "e" affects a precedmg sound. 



Selling Honey toy Sample.— Ooe of our agri- 

 cultural exchanges contained the following advice to those 

 who have honey to sell : 



" The best way to advertise honey is to give samples to 

 those whose patronage the producer may desire. The way to 

 advertise Is to secure small sections, those that will hold a 

 half pound, or even less, If one does not feel that he can 

 afford to give pound or half-pound samples away. Get enough 

 such sections to answer the need of samples, and place them 

 on the hive's at the opening of the honey-gathering season. 

 When they are filled, label them, and distribute them. Fol- 

 lowing such samples within a week, the farmer will liud pur- 

 chasers, providing the samples were of fine quality. 



"This sample -system of advertising Is largely carried on 

 by merchants in the villages, towns and cities, and It is con- 

 sidered a highly successful system. When once a customer 

 has taken honey from the farmer, he is likely to become a 

 regular customer. The farmers In some sections take their 

 honey to grocery stores in the villages and cities and leave it 

 on sale, periodically collecting from the grocerymen for all 

 that Is sold, and allowing the store men a commission on the 

 sales. In many sections of New York and Pennsylvania both 

 these methods are pronounced economical and successful." 



No doubt, like almost everything else, the best way to 

 work up a demand for honey among consumers. Is first to 

 hand to them free samples. People usually prefer to taste of 

 the good things they are askt to buy; then If they like them 

 they will be more apt to purchase. 



We wonder that more honey-producers, when they run 

 out of their own honey, do not buy elsewhere, and keep their 

 customers supplied. They would thus not only be doing a 

 good turn to the one they purchast from, but would also 

 benefit their customers and themselves at the same time. In 



the whole transaction three or more persons would be helpt. It 

 seems a pity that when once a bee-keeper has regular custo- 

 mers, he should neglect to supply them with honey. 

 •-.-• 



Quality of S'weet Clover Honey.— The great 

 range of opinion regarding sweet clover honey, some calling it 

 disagreeable and some the finest, according to light brought 

 out at Omaha, seems to be due to the fact that sweet clover 

 honey must be thoroughly ripened to bring out Its fine flavor. 

 The editor of Gleanings Says : 



" The honey that Mr. York, editor of the American Bee 

 Journal, produced has been pronounced as being of very fine 

 quality, and he was of the opinion that it was largely sweet 

 clover. When I first tasted some of his honey a couple of 

 years ago, I remember I thought It had the most delightful 

 flavor of anything I had ever tried ; but at that time neither 

 Mr. York nor myself knew Its source; but on my last visit he 

 was quite certain that it was from sweet clover. That same 

 delightful minty taste was present. At the convention some 

 thought that sweet clover honey was a little better when 

 mixt with something else. Perhaps this is true, for Mr. York's 

 honey, besides the sweet clover, has evidently a mixture of 

 other flora that abounds In his vicinity." 



Dlsbonest Facing: of Comb Honey.— In this 

 number of the Bee Journal will be found several references to 

 the subject of facing comb honey — in the Omaha convention 

 report, and In the departments of "Question-Box" and " Bee- 

 dom Boiled Down." 



Of course there Is an honest facing of honey and a dis- 

 honest one. The former needs encouraging, but the latter 

 needs not only discouraging, but a sudden death and speedy 

 burial. 



About two weeks ago E. A. Burnett & Co., the leading 

 and oldest honey-dealing specialists In this city, sent us this 

 note : 



" Mb. York : — If you have a chance to-day, drop In and 

 see honey packt o la Doolittle." 



We were glad to call, as suggested, as we thought It might 

 furnish a good text for au editorial. 



The honey In question had come from a Granton, Wis., 

 bee-keeper, accompanied by the following letter: 



" I made a shipment of honey this day — 16 cases of fancy 



white comb honey — 52 IJ^ pounds, net weight If you do 



well on this shipment I will make you another." 



Upon receipt of the honey, Messrs. Burnett & Co. wrote 

 Mr. Man thus : 



" Dear Sir : — Honey has come, and It is hurt a little in 

 transit, but that would not matter much If it had been hon- 

 estly packt. Wo opened a case that was leaking, to see how 

 badly It was injured, and our surprise was great to find combs 

 with cells nearly all empty ; others with center filled and the 

 rest empty ; others one side of comb fairly well filled and 

 other side nearly empty ; others with dark honey and all 

 stages of filled cells. To protect your interests we are obliged 

 to assort it or sell for a low price ; we have decided to assort. 



" P. S. — Since writing the foregoing, one of the former 

 lot has been returned to us, and we don't know how many will 

 be, as it all appears to have been mixt." 



Well, we saw several cases of the above lot of ''fancy 

 white comb honey" opened up, and must say that we never 

 had seen anything like It before. The front row of sections, 

 next to the glass, were beautiful — white, well filled and sealed. 

 But back of them — well, we could scarcely believe a sane man 

 would case honey for market In that way ; and also call It 

 " fancy white !" 



We believe there were some sections of simply empty comb — 

 not a drop of honey In it 1 Then there were half-filled 

 sections, uncapt sections, dark combs, light combs, etc. And 

 the whole was put up In 24-pound double-tier shipping-cases, 

 which no up-to-date bee-keeper should think of using. 



As the shipper of the above honey does not read the Bee 



