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CHICAGO, ILL., FEBRUARY 28, 1895. No. 9. 



35tli Year. 



Coi;)tributcd /Vrticles^ 



On Important A-piarian. Subjects* 



Marketing the Honey-Product. 



By W. M. BARNUM. 



Circumstances have brouftht this matter actively to miud 

 during the past two or three days, and I wish now to say a few 

 words in regard to it. In talking with a friend a few minutes 

 ago, he suggested that the subject would probably be of little 

 utility to the majority of my readers this year, {189-4); but I 

 am but little inclined to take him at his word, for like the 

 foolish fisherman, he is about to sell and give away his stock- 

 in-trade and quit the business. He has realized but .§7.00 or 

 thereabouts, from his bees for the past four seasons, and 

 thinks it a good time to quit. He has lost money, but in that 

 lieth the very reason why he should hold on to his bees ; for 

 the time would surely come when he would realize handsomely 

 on his investment. Surely, no one is so foolish as to believe 

 that flowers have ceased forever to give forth nectar ! And 



Wm. M. Barnum, Denver, Colo. 



yet it would seem, from such actions as those of my friend, 

 that such belief is current among certain of the people. 



Now, as to marketing: I believe as a rule, it is more 

 difficult to dispose of the article to best advantage than to 

 produce it. And right here is where the majority of us are 

 too negligent; failure to properly prepare and market our 

 product is perhaps one of the greatest detriments to our pur- 



suit. The merchant will invariably tell us that it is appear- 

 ance that sells an article ; we must put up our honey in 

 attractive packages — neat and clean. We must grade the 

 honey with care, never purporting that the grade is better 

 than it is. Deception is fatal to all things. We should have 

 our name, name of apiary, and complete address, either 

 stamped or printed upon gummed slips, that the purchaser 

 may know who the producer is and where he may be found. 



T"*"^ 



Samuel Irwin Freeborn — See sketch on page 137. 



By proper management a select and very profitable list of 

 customers may in this manner be easily worked up. 



It will pay in the majority of instances — when possible — • 

 to deliver personally, by wagon, to your customers, — working 

 up a special route of your own. A much better price can 

 tlien be obtained, doing away with the middleman's profit; 

 and you will find that your customers will be only too willing 

 to pay a couple cents or so above market price for that which 

 they know to be good and " gilt-edged." At the same time, 

 garden, dairy and other farm produce can bo disposed of at 

 increased profit. All left over can be sold to butcher or 

 grocer, or left with them on commission. It might be well to 

 keep a small stock with them continually ; and I think com- 

 mission sales will as a rule prove more satisfactory. 



All this is, of course, like tinkling cymbals, if your 

 product is nil, of poor quality, or if you live out of or at an 

 inconvenient distance from your market. Then you must do 

 the next best thing. When it becomes necessary to deal with 

 a commission man, it is best to make the bargain ou the 

 ground, face to face. Afterwards, it will do no harm to keep 

 "an eye on the man." There are some honest ones among 

 them, but not all will come under that head. It is well, there- 

 fore, to keep posted on the market prices, returns, etc., in as 



