THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



145 



Immediately after the fair, put your hon- 

 ey on sale at the leadin<j stores, and keep it 

 there, for, if people get to using honey, and 

 do not find it at the accustometl place, they 

 are not likely to call for it many times. 

 While the grocers are supi)lying the villages, 

 work up the farmers with a wagon. In this 

 way, our monthly sales have amounted to 

 4,()00 pounds ; which is much better than 

 sucking your thumbs and cursing commis- 

 sion men. 



( )n the whole, our experience with the lat- 

 ter has been favorable. Our honey has sold 

 up to quotations, and we have never lost a 

 sale of honey io any we have ever patronized. 

 With malice toward none and charity for all 

 is the motto of the 



Rambler. 



P. S. 



BEE ESCAPES A SUCCESS THIS TIME. 



Having received bee escapes from friends 

 Reese and Porter, I have given them a thor- 

 ough trial, and this time they are a success. 

 The Porter is made different from the Reese. 

 It has a more diificult passage way, which, I 

 think, prevents the bees from returning; 

 but the Reese does good service when made 

 with a double cone. I placed fifteen of the 

 Reese style under supers in an out apiary, 

 and the next morning, upon their removal, 

 but few bees remained above. These es- 

 capes worked so well that I have not tried 

 the Dibbern, but I don't see how it could ac- 

 complish any more than the Porter. I shall 

 use escapes exclusively hereafter, and will 

 report any unfavorable phases, if they show 

 up. Rambler. 



Establishing a Market by Peddling; Help 



From Newspapers ; Bee-Keepers Lacking 



In Business Methods. 



E. m'kNIGUT. 



ARRETING honey" is a big 



tWdit) s^'^J®^* ^'^'-^ ^^^ many sides. 

 ™ '""^ Its many sidedness makes it 

 difficult to treat. Any one of its 

 sides will afford ample material for an essay. 

 The circumstances in which a bee-keeper 

 finds himself will largely determine the best 

 method of marketing his output. A con- 

 siderable proportion of bee-keepers through- 

 out the country, as you truthfully remark, 

 cannot get far enough away from the hive 

 to market the honey in the hive ; and if they 

 started out they would be puzzled to know 

 which direction to take to effect the end in 

 view. Such men need counsel more than do 

 those who are as well versed in " business " 

 as in bee-keeping. In this connection, then, 

 let us put honey producers in two classes : 

 1st, those who have little or no knowledge 

 of the business world, who have had no 

 transactions with dealers or consumers be- 

 yond their own immediate neighborhood ; 

 and, 2nd, those who are conversant with the 

 state of the outside markets, and have trade 

 relationships already established. 



To the first, the home market is especially 

 valuable, and ought to be well worked until 

 a wider field is cultivated. In this class, as 



in the other, it requires some exertion to 

 unload. To sit with hands folded, and wait 

 for buyers to drop in, will result in disap- 

 pointment. Comparatively little pushing 

 may be needed aside from letting people 

 know what is on hand and the price at which 

 it can be procured. This may be done 

 through the columns of the local paper or 

 through some other medium. Perhaps my 

 own experience, under disheartening cir- 

 cumstances, will be interesting to those con- 

 cerned. 



About eight years ago I had a yield of 

 honey that surpassed anything that, up to 

 that time, I ever hoped to secure. With us, 

 honey sold at a good round figure in those 

 days, but was kept only in drug stores. 

 Druggists sold it only as a medicine, and a 

 very little served their customer's needs. 

 Thus situated, I approached two or three of 

 our leading grocers with a view to sell. But 

 they shook their heads and said it was never 

 called for, at the same time freely expressing 

 their belief that I would never get rid of so 

 much honey in this town. " If that is your 

 opinion," I replied, "it is not mine. If I 

 cannot sell a ton of honey in a town of 6,000 

 people, I am much mistaken. Yes, I tvill 

 sell it ; and at the same time create a de- 

 mand for it, the benefits of which you may 

 reap next year and the years to come." 



It was August and "school was out." The 

 care taker of our high school had his holi- 

 days, and I knew liim to be a sharp fellow. 

 I called upon him and asked if he were open 

 for a job '? 



" Yes, what do wish me to do ? " 



" To sell honey." I replied. 



" I know nothing about honey." 



"Never . mind." was my rejoinder, "I 

 don't care whether you sell it or not. All I 

 ask is that you try." 



"Very well, I'll come up in the morning." 



He came. 1 had a tank that held about 

 1.50 pounds. I put it, together with a pair of 

 platform scales, into an old buggy. I mount- 

 ed the tank on the buggy seat and placed 

 the scales under the projecting tap. I put 

 in two or three cases of comb honey, hitched 

 up, and sent him out with these instruc- 

 tions : "Go up one side of the street and 

 down the other. Call at every house. Show 

 your sample, tell where it came from and 

 that there is plenty more on hand. Fill an 

 order for one pound as cheerfully as for ten 

 pounds. Go, and may success attend your 

 missson." 



I then sent a crate of comb honey to the 

 newspaper man with the following written 

 on the top. "R. McKnight presents his 

 compliments to the editor of the Times, and 

 requests him to accept the enclosed. It will 

 help to sweeten the labors of the sanctum." 

 In the next issue, the editor went into ec- 

 stacies over the honey. In reality he gave 

 me a $10.00 advertisement for twelve pounds 

 of comb honey. 



The man was out a part of three days, and 

 from then until now I did no more peddling, 

 yet have never carried over a pound of hon- 

 ey. The following year I placed a tank in 

 each of several grocery shops, fixed the re- 

 tail price and gave them twenty-five per 

 cent, commission. 



