Texas Beekeeping. 89 



is produced, and then devote his time to other things that may be 

 worth more than the difference in the price obtained. 



A large number of beekeepers ship their honey direct to jobbers, 

 retailers, or consumers, as the case may be, instead of selling to the 

 honey buyers. This enables them to get a good price for their crops, 

 as they receive the difference in "the price of honey or, in other words, 

 save the middle men 's profits. It takes time and experience for a bee- 

 keeper to work up such a market for his product. Once obtained, how- 

 ever, and always supplied with a first-class article of honey, it is not 

 difficult to not only hold the trade, but advertise him so favorably that 

 the demand for his product will increase from year to year. 



Never ship honey to a commission man on commission. Although 

 there are honest commission merchants in the state, that is not 

 a practice in Texas. When honey is shipped to a distant market, every 

 precaution should be taken to ascertain whether it is going to a reliable 

 dealer. 



LOW HONEY PRICES. 



Compared with most other commodities that come in the same class 

 as honey, the price of honey is lower than it ought to be. Although the 

 argument is often made that this is due to honey being a luxury, rather 

 than a necessary, it is not well grounded. There is little doubt that, 

 with the proper and more general distribution of the honey crop, the 

 price would be higher, which it should be — T£ for no other reason, 

 because it is one of the most nutritious, healthful and economical of 

 all foods. 



The beekeepers are much to blame for the low prices of honey. 

 One cause is that a large majority of them dump their honey crops 

 on the general market at about the same time. This keeps prices 

 down, as would be the case with any other commodity if so disposed 

 of. By keeping more of the honey off the general market, and dis- 

 tributing its sale over vast areas where it is seldom found on the 

 tables of consumers, for no other reason than that it has never 

 reached these places, the prices would be better. In this connec- 

 tion, judicious advertising and education regarding the true value 

 of honey would help much. 



A more serious reason is that of some producers quoting their 

 honey lower than the general market prices. There is no excuse for 

 this, except in the case of the inexperienced beekeeper who does so 

 for lack of knowledge regarding the honey markets and prices. What- 

 ever the cause, the evil effects of such action are the same. It is 

 advisable for new as well as veteran producers to keep posted by 

 reading bee journals. The beekeeper who does not read one or more 

 bee journals is nearly always a detriment to the honey market, while 

 the extra price that might be obtained by perusing them would pay for 

 more than a dozen subscriptions. However, there are some beekeepers 

 with experience who are guilty of keeping the price of honey down. 



It is to be regretted that the blame for the low prices of honey, as 

 compared with other similar commodities, rests with the beekeepers 

 themselves, and it is hoped that the time is not far distant when a 

 stronger effort will be made toward remedying this fault. Co-opera- 

 tion in the direction of raising the prices of honey gradually to a 



