386 THE BEEKEEPERS' REVIEW 



Selling Extracted Honey Direct to the Consumer 



JOHN KNESER, West Allis, Wisconsin 



Editor Review : — 



I have read with interest some of the interesting articles in 

 the September Review. It certainly would be interesting to have 

 the opinion of beekeepers who sell honey direct to the consum.er 

 in five and ten pound pails as to what should constitute the price, 

 or what should be the minimum price per pound or pail. 



I know that a large number of beekeepers believe as I do and 

 that is, that $1.25 is much too low for a ten pound pail. 



In Sears & Roebuck's catalogue I notice the following prices: 

 5 pound pail, 83 cents ; 10 pound pail, $1.57. I am getting more 

 than that but there are others that get much more and sell it by 

 the ton, too ; (but only put up in five and tens) . 



If Sears & Roebuck get the above price for their California 

 honey we certainly ought and can get more for our good clover 

 and bass-wood honey. 



(We are glad to give place to the above letter, for it shows a growing sentiment among 

 producers of extracted honey to sell direct to the consumer. This is a fitting time just now to 

 launch the enterprise, when the large buyers seem determined to "bear" the price unreasonably 

 low. Put up a good article of table honey in five pound and ten pound friction top pails ; then 

 charge a living price, so wages can be made during the time of putting it up and selling and 

 delivering. We cannot conceive a condition where one could sell honey in five and ten pound 

 packages direct to the consumer for less than 1214 per pound and it is presumed that more 

 would be necessary, under some conditions. Ed.) 



(Continued fi'om page 375) 



my colonies every three weeks to prevent swarming and to stimulate 

 the bees to do their best, and they do it. Today I have three to 

 four supers on forty-two hives. Some hives have two L. ten- 

 frame hive bodies for supers, others the L. supers with two shal- 

 low supers, extracting, five and eight inches deep. The latter 

 Danz. hives converted. (I never think of a Danz. hive but what 

 I want to swear.) I have taken ofi" one-hundred-fifty pounds 

 from four hives for immediate sale, and while some were but three- 

 fourths capped the most of them were entirely sealed and a couple of 

 days in the tank put the honey in good shape to send out. 



I am putting Caucasian bees in. Argument. 



This is the fourth, in succession, day of rain and everything is 

 sodden. If I can have three weeks of bright, warm weather be- 

 tween now and September first to fifteenth, I'll have four thous- 

 and pounds more honey, I think. 



Yours truly, 



DR. A. F. BONNEY. 

 Buck Grove, Iowa, 7-28-15 



