60 ALEXANDER'S WRITINGS ON PRACTICAL BEE CULTURE 



water rather freely, and it makes the finest feed to stimulate early 

 breeding that we ever tried. In this way you save every bit of the 

 honey from the cappings, with but very little trouble. I think if you 

 will try this another season you will never again set out your cappings 

 for your bees and your neighbors' bees to clean up, nor go to the trouble 

 of making (to my mind) a very poor substitute for vinegar. I will 

 admit that honey vinegar is sour enough, but I for one can not go 

 that unpleasant taste. 



Still another subject I wish to speak of is this: During those cold 

 stormy days of winter, when time hangs heavy on your hands, and espe- 

 cially winter evenings, get out a lot of those old back numbers of bee- 

 journals and look them over. You will be surprised to see how many 

 good ideas you can pick up from them, especially the summer numbers 

 that came when you were so hurried about your work that you hardly 

 took the necessary time to read them, and still less time to remember 

 and put those good points into practice. To sum it all up in a few 

 words, don't waste any time in worrying about good or bad luck, but 

 put yourself at the head of your business and realize that it is according 

 to your skill and intellect that you either succeed or fail. 



October, 1906. 



SECURING CUSTOMERS. 



According to what experience we have had in advertising our honey, 

 there seems to be no trouble in disposing of a large surplus; and I am 

 quite sure that a few dollars spent in this way will soon bring the 

 producer and consumer or dealer together, and be a mutual benefit to 

 each. 



During the past three years we have sold honey in nearly every 

 State east of the Mississippi River, and in a few States west of it. "We 

 have had some large orders from parties in Illinois and Minnesota. 

 These customers we got by placing a small notice in the bee journals. 

 If we would all try as hard to sell our honey as we do to produce it we 

 should soon find a good market for the most of it. I hope to hear from 

 others this winter on this subject, for surely we can not do anything 

 of more importance to our business than to prepare ourselves for a 

 large surplus before it comes, for come it will, and then we shall wish 

 we had customers ready to take our whole crop. So, lose no time, but 

 make it a point to secure some customers every season. The time has 

 now come when we must advertise our produce in some way, if we 

 expect to make a success of our business. I am sure I can see no other 

 way to work off this surplus. Our village grocer can retail quite a 

 quantity of extracted honey if we will furnish a keg to commence with. 

 I know one party who sells nearly 1000 lbs. a season in a village of less 

 than 600 inhabitants. He pays us 6% cents, and sells for 10. His comb- 

 honey sales are not as large nor as profitable as his sales of extracted 

 honey. Give them a chance to make three or four cents a pound on 



