20 THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



This is the season when good resolutions are made for the com- 

 ing year. Let us as honey producers resolve to keep bees better, and 

 produce more and better honey during the season of 1914 than during 

 1913. Now is the opportune time to make plans for the season's 

 work. Now is the time to decide upon how much increase we will 

 make next Summer, and provide hives and equipment for them before 

 the busy season approaches. If we expect to produce better honey 

 than heretofore, enough upper stories of extracting frames filled with 

 full sheets of foundation should be provided to hold our entire crop 

 of extracted honey. If you produce comb honey, even more of the 

 supplies should be set up during the leisure of Winter, before the 

 honey season is on. 



Our period of doing shop work, such as setting up hives and 

 supers, is during the months of February and March. We try to 

 have everything ready for the paint by April first. We do no paint- 

 ings during freezing winter, but do most of this during the months of 

 April and May. Foundation can be put into sections during Winter, 

 but we prefer to wait until warm weather before putting our founda- 

 tion into our brood and extracting frames. 



The Central Packing House Selling Honey Direct to Consumer. 



A member was in St. Louis, Mo., in November, with a car of 

 honey for sale. As it happened, through our own individual and 

 National advertising three calls for honey came to this office from 

 this point during the week the member was there selling his hone3^ 

 Those three inquiries were turned over to this member to make sales 

 to as best he could. 



This only illustrates in a small way what would be possible for 

 the National to do by having a packing house in the large centers, say 

 one in each state, where members' honey could be sent, properly 

 graded so the customer would be sure of getting good goods and 

 correct weights, and with the National guarantee of purity behind 

 it customers would, without a doubt, have confidence to buy. This 

 is an opportune time to launch such a project, and but little advertis- 

 ing would be necessary, for nearly all periodicals are crying "high 

 cost of living," "buy direct from the producer," etc. 



Extracted honey by parcel post, in screw-cap syrup cans, cased in 

 double corrugated paper carriers, as introduced by the National Asso- 

 ciation, have proven a success, so now honey can be delivered 150 

 miles to our customers at a very nominal expense, being but 18c per 

 gallon can of 13 pounds, or only one and a half cents a pound, which 

 makes this system of selling practical. The postal department will 

 deliver the honey to the door of your customer, collect the pay and 

 return your money, less 3 cents, the fee for the money order they 

 return you. One could hardly ask more. 



