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229 



some localities, but I am sure that it 

 may be sealed before it is ripe, and it 

 may be ripe before it is sealed. 



All are aware that there has been a 

 great deal of discussion as to the prop- 

 er time for extracting, some claiming 

 that it saves honey and time to extract 

 it before it is sealed, and that it is just 

 as good when artihcially ripened as 

 when ripened by the bees ; while others 

 as earnestly contend that it should be 

 well sealed before being extracted. It 

 seems to me, although 1 have claimed 

 the opposite to be true, that honey 

 ripened in the hive, whether sealed or 

 not, has a richer flavor, and possesses a 

 finer aroma, than that ripened artifi- 

 cially. 



To have plenty of bees, good queens 

 are a necessity ; and to give her room 

 to "spread herself" and deposit eggs 

 according to her ability, large hives are 

 needed. For several years I took my 

 surplus from the brood- nest of eight- 

 frame Langstroth hives ; but owing to 

 their small size I had to extract often, 

 and sometimes the honey was not prop- 

 erly ripened ; and I am thoroughly con- 

 vinced that an eight-frame Langstroth 

 hive is not large enough for accomplish- 

 ing the best results in securing extract- 

 ed honey, although it may be the best 

 for the production of comb honey. 



As soon as the colonies are strong, 

 whether in small or large hives, and 

 the bees are building new comb at the 

 top of the frames and in other parts of 

 the hive, put on the surplus story, filled 

 with empty wired combs, if you have 

 them ; if not, use full sheets of wired 

 foundation, putting one or more combs 

 of brood from the brood-nest, after 

 having extracted the honey in the su- 

 per, supplying the place of the comb of 

 brood with foundation. 



If it is intended to fully ripen the 

 honey in the hive, and it requires seal- 

 ing to be ripened, and the honey-flow 

 continues, the super should be raised, 

 and another, prepared as before, put 

 under it as soon as the combs are pretty 

 well filled, and before the bees are in 

 the least crowded for room, and the 

 process repeated as often as necessary ; 

 and when the yield from the particular 

 source has ceased, and the honey be- 

 come thoroughly ripened, all surplus 

 should be extracted, and everything 

 put in readiness for the next flow. If 

 it is intended to ripen it artificially, an- 

 other super will not be needed, and the 

 surplus honey can be extracted at the 

 convenience of the apiarist, but always 

 before the bees are crowded for room. 

 "Judicious tiering," some one has 

 said, " will often have a strong tenden- 

 cy to prevent capping, while the ripen- 

 ing process goes on rapidly." I am 

 satisfied— yes, I may say I'm sure— that 

 in some localities and in some seasons 

 it is neither feasible nor desirable to 

 tier up and wait till the close of that 

 particular honey-yield; not feasible, 

 because of the large and rapid honey- 

 flow that would require so large a num- 

 ber of extra combs and supers to hold 

 the surplus ; and not desirable, because 

 the honey is very nearly, if not quite, 

 fully ripe without being sealed over. 

 This will possibly account for the dif- 

 ference in opinion in regard to ripening 

 honey artificially, or ripening it in the 

 hive. 



In my locality it is frequently desira- 

 ble and always feasible to tier up and 

 wait till the close of the honey-flow be- 

 fore extracting, and I have of late, fre- 

 quently asked myself if my eight-frame 

 hives are not partially responsible for 

 this condition of things. 



The care of extracted honey is of 

 more importance than it is generally 

 considered to be ; for if it is improp- 

 erly cared for, much of its nice flavor 

 and fine, delicate aroma is either in- 

 jured or entirely lost. I believe the 

 best results will be obtained by putting 

 the honey in large vessels, preferably 

 tin, for a few days, just long enough to 

 allow all impurities to rise to the top, 

 when it should be drawn off by means 

 of a molasses-gate at the bottom, and 

 into such receptacles as can be sealed 

 up air-tight, and it will not in the least 

 taint it, or injure the flavor. Honey so 

 cared for can be kept as long as desired, 

 and will be just as nice as when taken 

 from the hive ; and if such honey only 

 were offered to the consumer, the mar- 

 ket would not be overstocked. 



I believe the time is not in the near 

 future when there will be an overpro- 

 tion of a strictly first-class article of 

 extracted honey. Perhaps some of you 

 are wanting to ask me, " What then is 

 the cause of the low prices ?" I believe 

 there are two principal causes, and I 

 hardly know which to place first— a 

 poor article or an undeveloped home 

 market; but I believe if I put "the 

 last first " I shall not miss the mark 

 very much. This brings me to the last 

 part of the subject assigned me— "The 

 best method of marketing." 



I believe the most important thing of 

 all in marketing extracted honey is, 

 never to sell a poor article. The best 

 time for selling seems to be in the fall 

 and winter. The best way will be just 

 the way your customers have been 

 taught to buy it. Some markets de- 

 mand tin pails, weighing, when filled 

 with honey, from one to ten or more 

 pounds. Other markets prefer glass 

 pails, holding from one-third of a pint 

 to a pint. Others prefer fruit-jars hold- 

 ing a pint or a quart, the smaller ones 

 selling most readily. In other places 

 the Muth honey-bottles meet with the 

 most favor. Some localities require it 

 candied, and others prefer it in a liquid 

 state. My locality calls for it candied 

 in stone crocks holding from one to 

 four or five gallons. 



The best place to sell is in the home 

 market, and the editors of our bee-pa- 

 pers have been telling us so for a long 

 time. Friend Newman, through the 

 American Bee .Journal, has been 

 singing that tune so persistently and so 

 long that it has become quite monoto- 

 nous ; but for all that, he is right, and 

 he knows it, and seems to be acting 

 under the inspiration of the adage, 

 " Be sure you're right, then go ahead." 

 Friend Root frequently awakes to its 

 importance and repeats the story. 



The Dadants have a town of only 

 1,500 inhabitants in their locality ; and 

 although they had 24.000 pounds in 1886, 

 it was all sold in their home market, 

 and at much better prices than would 

 have been realized if sold by commis- 

 sion men in large cities, in competition 

 with others. 



A good way which has been adopted 

 by some, is to call at houses and sweet- 

 en up the babies, leave a sample of the 

 honey that they have for sale, with a 

 circular, a card, or a leaflet, giving the 

 uses of honey, and the price; and, 

 within a few days, call with the honey 

 for sale. 



I should like to refer you to articles 

 on pages 15 and 183 of Gleanings for 

 1886, on marketing extracted honey, 

 and to many other articles on the same 

 subject in the same paper. Do not take 

 Gleanings, did you say V Well, you 

 ought to, and then perhaps you would 

 know better how to dispose of your sur- 

 plus honey. Tlien turn to the " old re- 

 liable," the American Bee Journal, 

 and read the articles by G. M. Doolittle 

 (isn't that man wrongly named V but 

 then, we've heard that things some- 

 times go by contraries), the Messrs. 

 Dadants, and others, and post your- 

 selves as to the how to do it. Did you 

 say you don't take the American Bee 

 Journal either ? Well, what are you 

 thinking about y Do you belong to the 

 large family of bee-keepers, and are 

 not using the means to inform yourself 

 as to what is going on in the family ? 

 Perhaps you belong to the number who 

 do not take any bee-paper because 

 there is so much in them that is of but 

 " little value." You do not talk that way 

 about your grain and vegetables. You 

 do not throw them away because there 

 is chaS and dirt among them. " The 

 good and the bad grow together." 



Let me ask, "Where is all the honey 

 produced by the thousands of bee-keep- 

 ers, sold V' Is it not really in a de- 

 veloped home market ? Some of you, 

 perhaps, will say you sell to our friend 

 Muth. Well, where does he sell itV Is 

 it not in a developed home market, 

 that it has taken him years of 

 time, and cost him much labor to work 

 up ? Perhaps some of you will say 

 that he ships large quantities to other 

 markets. Suppose he does ; do not 

 those to whom he ships sell in a devel- 

 oped home market. Now, if you prefer 

 to pay freight, and friend Muth, or the 

 commission men, and those to whom 

 they wholesale, instead of selling it 

 yourselves, please do not complain 

 about low prices. 



Are any of you farmers, and did you 

 ever sell any apples, butter, eggs, corn, 

 or potatoes ? How did you do it V Did 

 you sit down in the shade, or by a 

 warm Are, with a great, nasty quid of 

 tobacco in your mouth, and literally 

 befoul everything within reach with 

 your filthy expectorations, or with a 

 well-filled old stump of a pipe fill the 

 air with your (to you) beautiful, and, to 

 others, offensive wreaths of smoke, dis- 

 gusting, not " the girl you left behind 

 you." but the one you once thought 

 was the brightest, best, and sweetest 

 being on earth ? or did you load up the 

 wagon and start out to find a market 

 for what you had produced by earnest 

 thought, and hard and persistent labor ? 

 Were you ever ashamed to ask the law- 

 yer, doctor, minister, business man, or 

 any one else, to buy what you had so 

 honestly produced ? If you were, and 

 had a first-class article to sell, you be- 

 littled your vocation, and disgraced 

 your manhood, and ought to fail. 



