April. '09] JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 119 



with the postmasters, the writer feels sure that this would be the most 

 efficient and rapid course. 



As fast as the addresses were received they were transferred to cards 

 for filing. Two kinds of cards were used ;* one set served as an index 

 to the bee keepers of the .state, and were filed alphabetically according 

 to name. The other set constituted the record file and were arranged 

 geographically by county and town. In this way there was a double 

 and automatic check on duplicating entries. In transferring the ad- 

 dresses both cards were struck off on the typewriter at one operation, 

 which not alone saved time but made certain that one card bore the 

 exact inscription of the other. Experience taught that the work of 

 locating the bee keepers should be begun several months before send- 

 ing out the Ciuestions to the bee keepers. 



Each bee keeper thus located was sent a list of questions to answer 

 and return. This was brief, worded so as to be impossible of misin- 

 terpretation, and answerable by yes or -no, by figures, or by a few 

 words, such as the name of a hive. The order of the questions cor- 

 responded with the order of the columns and spacing on the record 

 card. This, with the brief answers, facilitated the recording of data. 

 At the end there was a request for names and addresses of bee keep- 

 ers. It also proved advisable to give a chance for "remarks," which 

 brought out much information not prompted by the questions. 



Printed at the head was a list of the available publications of the 

 Bureau of Entomology relating to apiculture, together with directions 

 for obtaining them. The bee keeper was permitted to check such free 

 bulletins as he desired. In this there was an incentive to reply to the 

 questions, acting similar to a "free premium" in advertising. Fur- 

 thermore, as a result, hundreds of bulletins were placed directly in the 

 hands of those who wanted and appreciated them, circumstances which 

 do not always prevail with government and experiment station liter- 

 ature. 



After two or three weeks, if no reply was received from the bee 

 keeper, a duplicate copy, on the corner of which was stamped in red 

 ink, "Second Request. An Immediate Beply Is Earnestly Requested," 

 was sent out. This stirred up delinquents, amply paying for the time 

 and labor. Finally from sixty to seventy per cent, of those listed in 

 the files were heard from. The remainder were probabh^ small, one or 

 two hive bee keepers, and consequently did not materially affect the 

 results. 



*Cards used for the address file were about 3x5 inches (Library Bureau 

 Standard). The record cards were about 5x8 inches. (Library Bureau 

 Standard ) . 



