THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



279 



ORGANIZATION. 



It Must lie Rroiiijlu to Heir upon oiir Sell- 

 ing Methods if tlie Higlicst Success is to 

 Come to our industry. 



I firnily believe that we are upon the 

 eve of the next great stage in apiculture, 

 viz., that of organization, particularly as 

 it may by applied to to the marketing of 

 our product. For instance, after reaching 

 home from the Denver convention, I look- 

 ed over the September issue of the Amer- 

 ican Bee Keeper, and found an editorial 

 in the same strain that prevailed in some 

 of the papers and discussions at the Na- 

 tional convention. Here is what Bro. 

 Hill has to say upon this most important 

 subject: — 



A writer in the Australasian Bee Keep- 

 er bewails the fact that while tons upon 

 tons of nectar are wasted annually in that 

 country, for the watit of bees to gather 

 it, there are those who seek to discourage 

 others from embarking in the business of 

 honey production. This condition of af- 

 fairs is by no means confined to the Is- 

 land Conlinent. A cjuite general miscon- 

 ception of the situation in our own coun- 

 try is responsible for the cry of over pro- 

 duction which we frequently hear. The 

 fact is, taken as a whole, American bee 

 keepers are falling behind other honey 

 producing countries in the matter of de- 

 veloping the market. The same haphaz- 

 zard, unbusinesslike manner of honey 

 selling which prevailed in our grandfath- 

 er's day, still prevails in the United States. 

 There are a few isolated exceptions, of 

 cour.se, where honey exchanges have tak- 

 en in hand the local case, and strive 

 against great odds to better the financial 

 condition of its patrons through a system 

 which is capable of elTectitig much ben- 

 efit 10 the fraternity if it were but Nation- 

 al in its scope. 



The market problem is today the par- 

 amount (lueslion which confronts llie 

 honey producer of the United States. 

 Large hives, small hives, when to put on 

 supers, how to clip queens, the winter 

 problem, etc., etc., all lose their interest 

 if there is no demand awaiting the prod- 

 uct. If the bee keeiiers of the United 

 States would throw one-half the energy 

 an<l pluck into this question that is dis- 



played b}' the hone}- producers of the 

 little Island of Jamaica, the National Bee 

 Keepers' Association would hold in its 

 treasury manj' thousands of dollars, and 

 maintain permanently upon the road at 

 least two expert salesmen whose business 

 it would be to see to a proper distribution 

 of our honev crops. I'raudulent goods 

 exposed for sale throughout the country 

 would fall under their official eye, and 

 the perpetrators of the fraud traced and 

 brought to the attention of the Associa- 

 tion's attorney. 



A National association with warehouses 

 and permanent officers advantageously 

 located, to whom every member may ship 

 his product with a feeling of a.ssurance 

 that it will be so placed as to yield the 

 best returns is what is needed. A system 

 of management in the distribution of the 

 Nation's honey product, that will see to it 

 tha't American producers profit b}' every 

 advantage afforded in the world's market. 

 As it appears to the American Bee Keep- 

 er such a course must necessarily precede 

 any substantial condition of apiculture. 

 We must see, first, to the outlet, system- 

 ize our marketing operations, and lay 

 our plans sufficiently broad to accomo- 

 date and facilitate a work of this magni- 

 tude. 



Whatever may be said of Yankee in- 

 genuity and progress in other lines, when 

 restricted to the bee keeping frjiternity, 

 and applied to the marketing of his prod- 

 uct, he must plead guilty of being deci- 

 dedly a back number. He can look to and 

 learn something along this line from any 

 one of the British colonies. Ireland can 

 give him pointers; Australia has her 

 board of exports; Canada had, and we 

 think, still has, a government appropria- 

 tion especially for this work; Jamaica 

 sends her representative to England to 

 look after the bee keepers' interests; but 

 the proverbial Yankee contents himself 

 with methods of his ancestors — though 

 accepting one-third to a halt less for his 

 goods — and attributes the dullness of 

 trade to overproduction. 



How long is such a condition of affairs 

 to continue .■* The answer is not difficult: 

 Just so long as bee keepers maintain their 

 present indifference. It may be terminat- 

 ed at any time. Is the reader taking any- 

 hand in the upbuilding of the industry? 



Here is the most hopeful field for the 

 National Association. We need a leader, 

 an organizer. Where is the Moses that 

 will lead us out of the wilderness? We 

 need a plan to follow. The first step is 

 to see the need of this help. We are now 



