190^ 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



19= 



shipping' they should be so packed that 

 Ihey can not be damag"ed. There was no 

 ,i,'reat number spoiled. The other thing- 

 learned was that when opening- the bag- to 

 till, they ought not to be so cold that the 

 wax is hard, for sometimes the paper will 

 break into a little hole. It would be all 

 right in summer weather, or in a room not 

 too warm at all to work in. Both these 

 points are simple and easily adjusted, but 

 are some of the details to be understood. 



In closing- I will just say that the ques- 

 tion of marketing- in the candied condition 

 is settled. No doubt there will be many 

 people who will continue to say it can not 

 be done, but I know it can, and have done 

 it. It seems to me that, after selling in 

 manj' towns and several States, and that 

 everywhere the honey g-oes it always calls 

 for more, until I can not produce enough to 

 suppl}' my demand, ought to be evidence 

 enough to satisfy any ordinary mortal that 

 there is something^ in it. Some will call 

 me a iool for telling- about it; but I am not 

 one of the other kind of fools who think that 

 selfishness is the sum of wisdom. As I 

 said at the Denver convention, there is a 

 field almost as wide as the commercial 

 world, and wh}' should I be so nig-g-ardly 

 as to withhold information from my breth- 

 ren that may help them while it will not 

 hurt me? There is room j-et for man}' more 

 in the marketing- field. 



One thing more : This development has 

 cost me something. If it helps others, I 

 shall rejoice in their prosperit}'; but, breth- 

 ren, please don't fiood me with letters to 

 know all about it. and ask me to take my 

 valuable time to write all over the country 

 detailed descriptions at my own expense 

 and neglect of my own business. I have to 

 make a living by the sweat of my brow as 

 do others. A few have written and asked 

 information and samples, and have inclosed 

 stamps, and this is no reflection on them, 

 and the}- are not so to consider it. M}' pur- 

 pose in writing this is to forestall those who 

 are so thoughtless as to expect long replies 

 without even a return stamp. 



Loveland, Col. R. C. Aikin. 



[I will explain to our readers that the 

 bags of honey here shown are those which 

 were facetiously styled by Mr. Abbott, at 

 the Denver convention, " bologna-sausage 

 packages."' This raised a good deal of 

 merriment, and, as I reported in Gi^eanings 

 at the time, there was a warm discussion 

 between the candied-honey men on one side, 

 led by Mr. Aikin, and the bottled-extracted- 

 hone}' men on the other side, led by Editor 

 York. Both sides gave " convincing proof" 

 that their wa}' was the wa}' to sell extract- 

 ed hone}-. 



Xotwiihstanding all the fun about the 

 bologna-sausage package. I believe it has 

 come to stay, and Mr. R. C. Aikin deserves 

 a vote of thanks for showing what can be 

 done in putting up extracted honey in a 

 package that costs practically nothing-, and 

 ill so compact and substantial a condition 



that it c'ln be shipped clear across a conti- 

 nent without leakage or damage. Indeed, 

 Mr. Aikin, at my request, made to him at 

 Denver, sent me a kegful of his bologna 

 honey. Every one of those " sausages " 

 came through in good condition. They 

 were packed in the keg with straw, and 

 came through as " honey in kegs." 



They were quite a novelty in our honey 

 department, and were prominently display- 

 ed on our shelving near the time-clock; and 

 as the employees marked off their time, 

 they stopped, looked at the honey, admired 

 it, and (would you believe it?) without any 

 urging on our part they came very near 

 taking the whole lot before I had a chance 

 to see any of it and sample it. I got down- 

 stairs just in time to save the few packages 

 shown in the photo, and get one for myself. 

 "My, oh my!" I said, "don't sell any 

 more." 



"But," said the time-keeper, " the men 

 are clamoring for more. They say it is the 

 nicest honey they ever tasted. They like 

 it in that shape." 



And that reminds me that we have quite 

 a number of employees who prefer candied 

 honey to the liquid transparent article, be- 

 cause it can be spread on bread and butter, 

 and eaten without smearing up a mouth 

 covered with whiskers. 



A little inquiry showed that the em- 

 ployees felt that, when they were buying 

 the new "bologna-sausage" honey, they 

 were not wasting any money on the pack- 

 age. They were buying just the pure con- 

 densed sweetness in very palatable form. 

 If Mr. Aikin had only sent us a barrel of 

 it, I believe it would have been all taken in 

 a day, and even now our men are asking 

 for more of it. 



Well, I took one package home to my 

 own table; and while I am not a great eat- 

 er of honey I set a "sausage" on a plate, 

 peeled it according to directions, or about 

 as shown in the picture. My folks were 

 away from home, and I was at liberty to 

 eat in a way that would probably have 

 called down the disapproval of my w-ife. 

 Yes, I "shoveled" that honey in — spread 

 it on my bread, and enjoyed a huge feast. 

 The honey tasted all the better to me be- 

 cause I thought here was a package that 

 cost practically nothing so far as the con- 

 tents were concerned, and which I was sat- 

 isfied was a commercial success. 



In the modern bill of fare the day may 

 come when we shall see bologna-sausage 

 honey as one of the articles; and I can see 

 in my mind"s eye the waiter at the hotel 

 bring on one of those cheeses on a plate; 

 and I can just fancy the epicurian sitting 

 ilovvn and shoveling that cheese in. But, 

 of course, the consumer will have to be ed- 

 ucated. It would not do to put such an ar- 

 ticle in the restaurants of Chicago, espe- 

 cially if Bro. York were around. It would 

 not go. But in Denver, in Loveland, in all 

 localities where honey in candied form is 

 recognized as a standard product of the 

 hive, these cheeses will go like hot cakes. 



