CHAPTER XIV 

 MARKETING THE HONEY CROP 



The first essential to the successful marketing of any com- 

 modity is to have a good article put up in attractive shape. One 

 of the worst drags on the honey market is the quantity of honey 

 that goes to the store in propolized and unscraped sections, with 

 travel stain, dirt, and leaking honey. It would require a custo- 

 mer who had a confirmed honey taste to even think of honey after 

 looking at the article too often offered for sale. It is a for- 

 tunate thing for the business that honey production is rapidly 

 passing into the hands of specialists who know how to prepare 

 their prodvict for market in attractive condition and that the 

 small farm apiaries are rapidly passing away in most places. 

 There is no good reason why honey in small quantities might 

 not be as well cared for as large quantities. Too many who have 

 but a few colonies of bees regard whatever honey is secured as 

 that much velvet, and are satisfied to take it to the store in the 

 easiest way possible and to accept such a credit on the grocery 

 bill as the merchant is willing to give. 



COMB no^TEY 



Grading. — The bee-keeper who wishes to establish a per- 

 manent market cannot place too much importance on carefully 

 grading his product so that every package will be uniform with 

 others of the same grade. 



There is more carelessness, as yet, in the preparation of the 

 honey crop for market than any other staple food product. For 

 some reason the bee-keeper has not kept pace with other enter- 

 prises in the marketing of his crop, and to this he owes, to a 

 great extent, the fact that honey does not bring as good prices 

 as some other commodities. 



Some confusion has resulted in the different grading rules 

 17 257 



