10 THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



mobile wreck with the man, baby, pup and woman scattered over 

 the landscape in a laughable way and big sign reading, "If anything 

 happens when you are traveling near Buck Grove, Iowa, stop and 

 get some BONNEY HONEY," and send one of them to the Post 

 Office in Council Bluffs and from it get orders for honey amounting 

 to several dollars, as I did, and also sent one to the editor of Farmer 

 and Breeder in Sioux City and got a call for a hundred pounds, as i 

 did, I decide that it is a better postcard for advertising than some 

 other I had made. 



We cannot key the pamphlets, and while I cannot believe it a 

 good way to advertise I cannot prove it except by inference, so will 

 pass on. 



As to honey being advertised as a food, I think it a wrong idea, 

 for it is not a food, as people look at it. People buy honey because 

 it is a delicious sweet; it is honey. They know and care nothing 

 about its food value. They do not buy it as a food, hence it is a waste 

 of money to advertise it for a food product. 



The United States Dispensatory, which is authority on drugs of 



all kinds, considered as medicinal substances, says of honey: 



"Honey possesses the same medical properties as sugar, but is more disposed 

 to affect the bowels. Though largely consumed as an article of food, it is seldom 

 employed medicinally, except as a vehicle. Its taste and demulcent qualities ren- 

 ders it a useful addition to gargles; and it is sometimes employed as an application 

 to foul ulcers." 



That is all it does say, and I may add that at the present time it 

 is practically not used at all, the various "confections" of the past 

 century being practically in total disuse. 



Such being the case, why vie with the "patent medicine" fakirs 

 in vaunting" honey untruthfully? 



There arc a few things so well known to ad. writers that they 

 smile when they see pamphlets like the one I allude to, no matter 

 how honest the advertisers, and hoping to do a little good to the bee- 

 keeping world I will give a few ad. writing laws, as follows : 



1. The shorter an ad. the more it will be read. One person will 

 read 2,000 words, two may see to notice 1,000, four may peruse a 

 500-word ad. story, 100 may pay attention to 100 words, 10,000' will 

 see 50 words, a million will stop at two lines, while even the kids 

 playing in the street will stop to look at the word HONEY, for they 

 know what it is, and they want it — to eat. 



2. An ad. should be true — for truth's sake. 



3. It is hard to advertise continuously unless you have a con- 

 tinuous supply. Honey is hard to advertise continuously, for often 

 the local crop is exhausted early in the season, and to advertise when 

 you cannot supply demand is an utter waste of money. Vide 

 pamphlets. 



4. Advertising must be individual. I should be very foolish to 

 advertise to help my competitor, and for that reason the idea of a 



