Aug-. 24, 1899. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



531 



set them, and after getting- them on a stand, and the grass 

 out of the entrance, we explained how Vfe got them, altho 

 we had some trouble in doing- it, as we all wanted to talk at 

 once. 



After supper we talkt bees. It would have made a bee- 

 keeper smile to hear us. It lasted until bedtime, and after 

 we were in bed I discovered that I hadcaug-ht the bee-fever, 

 as I could not sleep, the bees being so much on my mind. 



My two brothers did not take the fever, so I bought out 

 their interests the next day. and then started to get more 

 information on bee-keeping. I searcht the house for the 

 back numbers of a farm journal which contained articles 

 on bee-keeping-. The first one I found was written by Dr. 

 C. C. Miller, and then other articles by George Spitler. If 

 every farmer would read the articles in the farm journals as 

 I did, I am certain there would be more farmer bee-keepers 

 that would make bees more of a success. 



As my first swarm was cast in July, it did not have 

 much honey for winter. I did not find anything in the 

 farm papers about wintering or feeding for winter, so I 

 askt the neig-hbor bee-keeper how to feed. He told me to 

 make a syrup of sugar, and drop it down among the bees 

 on the cluster, which I did when the days were warm enough 

 for them to fly. Thej' lived until the next spring, then 

 cast a swarm, and gave some surplus honej'. 



In the winter I saw the advertisement of the American 

 Bee Journal, sent for a sample copy, and mailed my sub- 

 scription the next day after receiving it. I also got " A B 

 C of Bee-Culture " and other books on bees, and all the 

 while the bee-fever is getting more hopeless, as my study 

 and experience advance. Stark Co., Ohio. 



HOW 



Secrets of Selling' Honey in the Home Market. 



BY H. D. BURRKLL. 



to dispose of the honey crop profitably is becoming 

 serious problem with most bee-keepers. Not many 



years ago it was easy to produce comb honey, ship it 

 to some commission house in a near-by citj', and realize Hi 

 to 20 cents a pound for it. Now in many places most of the 

 honey-producing timber is gone, and waste lands reclaimed 

 and cultivated. These causes, with frequent poor seasons, 

 render the honey crop uncertain : and. worst of all. comb 

 honey in the cities is quoted low. 



Formerly I produced comb honey almost exclusively, 

 and shipt nearly all of it to commission houses. But some 

 years ago I unexpectedly had about a ton of autumn ex- 

 tracted honey to dispose of. Shipt to a commission house 

 it would probably have netted -J to 5 cents a pound, soiiif 

 //;«(-. I had never tried peddling- honey, and was very much 

 .prejudiced against peddlers and peddling ; but I wanted 

 more for that honey. I loaded some of it into the wagon, 

 put up in convenient packages for retailing, and started, 

 tho with much trepidation. I knew a few rebuffs would 

 send that honey to the city for what it would bring. But I 

 sold honey at nearly every house, over 300 pounds the first 

 day, and decided that peddling (hone)' atleast) was not such 

 bad business, after all. Many neig-hbors and acquaintances 

 who had past bj- frequently for years and seen the sig-n, 

 ■• Honey for Sale," but never bought a pound of my honey, 

 bought freel)- when it was carried to them. And they didn't 

 buy afterward, either, unless I carried it to them and askt 

 them to buy. 



The ton of honey was soon sold at 8 to 11 cents per 

 pound, according to quantity wanted, and several thousand 

 pounds more were bought and sold at a fair profit. Since 

 that time I have produced mostly extracted honey, alwa3s 

 retail it mj'self, and am g-etting the same prices now in 

 these times of very low prices that I did ten years ago. 

 Hone)-, if a good article, will sell itself almost anywhere, if 

 given a fair chance. I have never found a place, in country 

 or town, where it would not sell fairly well at any time of 

 year, tho in the fall is the best time to sell, in my experi- 

 ence, after the bulk of fruit is gone, and the many needs of 

 the winter .season have not yet taxt the pocket-book. 



But I think I hear some one say, " I can't peddle ;" or 

 ■' I won't stoop to peddling I" Now, neighbor, stop a min- 

 ute, and listen. When I was young and green I tried •' can- 

 vassing " for a book. For years after, I had a horror of 

 peddling. When I came to keep bees, and have honey to 

 sell, I would not even ask a merchant with whom I traded 

 regularly, to buy my honey. If any one but a commission 

 man wanted any of it, he had to ask for it. I am not a nat- 

 ural salesman, a poor talker — timid, diffident, and easily 

 rebuff. I can, however, sell an average of 100 pounds of 

 honey a day in any fairly good farming country, and in 



villages and towns often much more. You will find selling: 

 your own honey difl'erent from selling books or notions- 

 People will be glad to see you come. You need not lose one 

 atom of your dig-nity, if it is of the self-respecting kind. If 

 any one thinks any less of you for selling honey, providing" 

 you are polite and respectful, it will be some one whose 

 opinion is not worth minding. Any one with a little tact 

 and energy can dispose of 3.000 to 5,000 pounds of good ex- 

 tracted honey at fair prices, at odd times in fall and winter, 

 when time is not worth much, and much more can be sold, 

 by devoting more time to it. 



Comb honey is not satisfactorily retailed, in my experi- 

 ence. It too easily gets to leaking, and is then mussy and 

 not attractive. Sell comb honey only by the case, if at all. 

 Perhaps I may be pardoned for saying, in such an article 

 as this, that I have for many years kept from SO to 195 colo- 

 nies of bees, and have produced and sold over 60,000 pounds 

 of honey, and bougdit and .sold much besides. I write facts 

 learned in the dear but thoro school of experience, and not 

 plausible theories. 



First, secure a good article of well-ripened extracted 

 honey, and so care for it that it will remain good. My ways 

 of doing this differ from the usual ones ; but I will not take 

 time now to explain. 



When we are ready to sell, if the weather is mild, attach 

 a sliding faucet to a five-gallon screw-cap tin can of honey ; 

 place the can on the wagon-seat, the dish to be filled on 

 platform scales underneath, and weigh out any quantity- 

 wanted. It is usually most satisfactory at this time of year 

 to let the purchaser furnish the dish, then there is no pack- 

 age to pay for or return. 



Some writers have advocated selling not less than one 

 dollar's worth when selling honey direct to consumers. I 

 can't agree with them. A small sale often paves the way 

 to a large one later, and it always pays to be accommodat- 

 ing and obliging ; but I charge one cent per pound more for 

 less than a dollar's worth. 



In cold weather, when honey will not run readily, I put 

 up honey in one. two, and four quart tin pails, and charge 

 extra for the pails. Always, to every package sold, attach 

 a neatlv-printed label, giving your name and address, and 

 plain, simple directions for so caring for the honey, that it 

 may retain its good qualities until used. Dress neatly but 

 plainly, like a farmer, not like a city man. Have every- 

 thing neat, clean, and attractive. 



Now we are readv. how shall we find buyers? Fill at- 

 small new tin-pail wi'th honey, and label it. Call at every 

 house — skip none. You will often make sales where yom 

 least expect it. When the door is opened say, ■" I have some 

 choice honey, please get a spoon and sample it." Right 

 here is the main point. Get every one, if possible, to taste 

 your honey. Most people have sweet teeth, and a taste of 

 good honey puts them in good humor. Be very sure that 

 the children, if present, have a taste, too. If you don't 

 know already that parents' hearts are very easily reacht 

 thru their children, vou will -soon learn it. If a servant or 

 child goes to consult the housekeeper about buying hc>ney- 

 see that the honev-pail and spoon go, too. Twenty-four 

 people out of 25 would say, " No !" if askt if they wanted 

 to buv extracted honev. If they taste first, many will buy. 

 Many are prejudiced" against extracted honey. Perhaps 

 some time thev have had a poor article of extracted or 

 strained hone-s', or, may be, they think the honey is bogus. 

 I have manv times had" such people taste my honey and say 

 in a surprised way, "Why, that is good. That is genuine 

 hone)-. What is the price ?" 



One lady said to me last fall, "I never buy extracted 

 honey. I buv comb, then I know what I am getting." 

 After she had' been induced to sample the honey she foand 

 it good, knew it was genuine, bought some, and askt me to 

 call again. 



Don't annov people by urging them to buy when they 

 don't want to," and be invariably polite and pleasant 

 whether they buy or not. You can easily make friends who 

 will be glad to see you come again. Follow the same route 

 every year, and your sales will increase each trip. You 

 can go" over the s"ame ground as often as once in six weeks, 

 to advantage. I have many customers who at first bought 

 lightly, or not at all, who now buy 20 to 50 pounds of my 

 honey every season. One near-by town of about 2,000 pop- 

 ulation ha.s used over 1,500 pounds of my honey up to Feb. 

 1, and all autumn honey, too. I seldom have any other 

 kind in my present location. But there is little buckwheat- 

 and the honev is mostly from golden-rod, fireweed, and 

 Spanish-needle. One pleased customer will often fincl 

 others for you. In this way in one season I sent three 5- 

 gallon cans of honev to customers in Chicago, at 9 cents per 



