ADVANCED BEE-CULTURE. 



67 



objections to this ? Yes. One objection 

 is the opportunity for dissatisfaction. 

 Some bee-keepers think their honey first- 

 class, when it isn't. They see the quo- 

 tations of some commission man, and 

 send their honey to hitn, expecting to get 

 the highest price. If they don't get it, 

 they are disappointed and say unpleasant 

 things. The bee-keeper never knows 

 how much his honey is going to bring 

 him. The price may decline in the mar- 

 ket to which he has sent his honey. 

 When he sent it, the market may have 

 been the best. Now some other market 

 may be the best, but it may not pay him 

 to have the honey re-shipped; besides, 

 bv the time the honey is being sold in 

 the new market, the price may have de- 

 clined there. In other words, by the com- 

 mission way of doing business, the bee- 

 keeper cannot select his market at the 

 time of sale. He can limit his commis- 

 sion man, that is, tell him not to sell un- 

 less he gets a certain price. But this is 

 not always wise; for, as a rule, the com- 

 mission man knows, better than the far 

 away owner, at what price honey can be 

 sold. When there is an out and out sale, 

 at a certain price, there can be no doubt 

 as to whether hone.st returns are made. 

 When sold on commission, there is only 

 the seller's word that the honey sold for 

 so much. Of course it is possible to prove 

 the truth or falsity of returns, but the 

 trouble would be too great, unless in ex- 

 treme cases. I don't wish to insinuate 

 that commission men are more dishonest 

 than the rest of humanity, but the oppor- 

 tunities for fraud are greater than in some 

 lines of business. I believe that some 

 commission men, perhaps the majority of 

 them, are honest; the difficulties arise 



from the circumstances that furnish con- 

 ditions for the growth of a doubt. It is 

 for such reasons as these that it would be 

 desirable if the commission business 

 could be avoided; but, whether desirable 

 or not, the honev . trade has fallen into 

 the hands of commission men, and the 

 prospects are that it will remain there for 

 some time to come, and perhaps the best 

 that most of us can do is to send our hon- 

 ey to those in whom we have the most 

 confidence that they will get good prices 

 and make honest returns. 



Quite a little was said at one time 

 about co-operation in some form, as an 

 aid to marketing I have little faith in 

 this sort of thing when applied to honey 

 producers. They are too numerous and 

 too scattered. The peach growers of New 

 Jersey improved their market by forming 

 an "Exchange." The fruit is all sent to 

 a central point, to which buyers resort, 

 where it is sold at auction. If peach 

 growing extended all over the United 

 States, this could not be done. 



I have already mentioned the peddling 

 of honey in large cities. Bee-keepers 

 who have facilities, and a taste for such 

 work, may do something in this direction, 

 during the fall and winter, by going from 

 village to village, having a regular 

 route and going over it at regular inter- 

 vals. 



As to the time of selling, it is usually 

 well to have the honey on the market as 

 soon as berries are out of the way, and the 

 cool of fall begins to be felt. Some mar- 

 kets are good even earlier. Don't hold 

 honey until winter is half over, waiting 

 for better prices. The prospects of loss 

 overbalance those for gain. 



