282 



GLEANINGS IN MEE CVLTVUE. 



JUNi: 



forward as soon as possible. My postofflce is Hope- 

 well, Bedford Co., Pa. 

 Hopewell, Pa., March 3, 1883. 



We are very mucli obliged indeed for tell- 

 ing so plainly where your postoffice is, but 

 you see, friend 8., a postofflce without a man 

 to it doesn't do us very much good. 



H. A. BURCH & CO. 



GOOD NEWS THIS TIME. 



f'HE following in substance was received 

 , a few days ago : — 



I wrote H. A. Burch & Co. that I would take 16 lbs. 

 of fdn. for the $7.00 they owed me, aad they sent mc 

 161/^ lbs. Edw. Williams. 



Fish Hook, Pike Co., 111., May 12, 1883. 



On receipt of it we at once wrote to Jiurch 

 & Co., telling them how we rejoiced to hear 

 such reports, and asking if we could be of 

 any assistance in any way. The following 

 is their reply: — 



Yours of the 17th came duly. In reply we will say, 

 that we are doing now, as we did last season, all in 

 our power to satisfy all just claims against us. The 

 same day we shipped Mr. Williams his fdn., we sent 

 to three others, to all of whom we put in extra 

 weight. We claim nothing more than common hon- 

 esty in doing this, and only regret that we are un- 

 able to meet all claims in the same way. While this 

 subject has been so kindly brought to our notice^ by 

 yourself, we can not refrain from saying a word 

 about the events of 1881. While the loss of our bees, 

 and other untoward circumstances, had materially 

 delayed us in filling orders, a year ago we were 

 straining every nerve to catch up with orders, and 

 had given every assurance in our power, both to our 

 customers and to yourself, that every order should 

 be faithfully filled, and as speedily as possible. All 

 we needed was the patience and confidence of our 

 patrons in order to work out of the dilemma. But, 

 as you well know. Gleanings contained statements 

 which aroused suspicion and inflamed prejudice, and 

 we were at once placed in a position from which we 

 could not extricate ourselves. While this worked 

 great injustice to ourselves, we did not then, nor do 

 we now, regret it so much on[that account as we did 

 for the loss and hardships which it entailed upon our 

 customers. But the past has fled, and can never be 

 recalled; and we have no further complaints to 

 make, no reproaches to offer. We have set reso- 

 lutely to work to do whatever lies in our power to 

 satisfy those who sent us money in good faith for 

 the goods we offered for sale. 



So far as assistance is concerned, there is nothing 

 that would so effectively aid us as to be set right be- 

 fore the bee fraternity, whose good opinion we shall 

 ever strive to merit, and for whom we cherish a fra- 

 ternal regard. H. A. Burch & Co. 



South Haven, Mich., May 30, 1882. 



Now, friends, inasmuch as nothing will 

 contribute so much to this conlidence men- 

 tioned, as a knowledge of the fact that or- 

 ders are being filled, we request you will all 

 send us a brief note, as .fast as your orders 

 are filled. I, too, think no good can come 

 from any moire reproaches and fault-finding; 

 and as our friends are again filling orders, 

 why not, at least for the present, let the past 

 drop? 



FRA^IES OF FDN. MADE ON THF GIVEN 

 PRESS. 



WILL THEY STAND SHIPMENT? 



KECEIVED 100 L. frames from D. S. Given, 

 made on his press. There were about 25 per- 

 fect frames; 25 somewhat cracked, 25 badly 

 cracked, and torn from wires, and the rest of them 

 were useless. 1 cut them into starters for sections. 

 Those that were good, I liked better than the fdn. 

 made on rollers, as the bees worked them out soon- 

 er. I did not make much complaint to Mr. Given, 

 as I did not think he was so much to blame as the 

 railroad company was in handling them in trans- 

 portation. The frames mentioned above were used 

 last year. I for one do not think it very profitable 

 to buy them very far from home. 



C. H. Parker. 

 Coldbrook Springs, Mass., May 4, 1883. 



REPORT FROM ANOTHER FRIEND. 



In reply to your repeated inquiry for reports from 

 such as have bought frames of fdn. manufactured 

 by the Given process, I will say that I bought, last 

 year, 100, and have the greater part on hand now, 

 our last fall's crop being a total failure. Although 

 I like the fundamental idea of the Given process 

 very much, and find the fdn. very nice, the general 

 workmanship and condition of the goods is not such 

 as to induce me to buy more. The woodwork is 

 rough, now and then a wire broken, and nearly al- 

 ways 1 find the wires too loose to be of good service. 

 I take hold of the wire under the bottom-bar, and 

 twist a loop into it to tighten it. I think I could do a 

 better job, if I had a press myself. The great draw- 

 back in the present way of manufacturing wired 

 frames on the Given press is, in my humble opinion, 

 the necessity of pressing the fdn. on slack wires In 

 half-finished frames, and then finishing the frame. I 

 wire my frames by hand, so taut as to make them 

 sing, and then lay them on the fdn. and imbed the 

 wires by hand, and such a frame is a pleasure to 

 look at. The Given press is good enough to make 

 one wish for a press, even if the fdn. has to be fas- 

 tened by hand. But a hand wired and filled frame, 

 such as I make, is a hundred per cent superior to 

 those I bought ready made of Given. The frames 

 shipped tolerably well, but many sheets were par- 

 tially loose, and needed straightening and pressing 

 in of wires around the edges. If the Given press 

 were ever perfecteJ so as to press sheets of wax on 

 tightly strung wires in finished frames, it would be 

 the best fdn. machine in the world, and I would buy 

 no other, if I ever bought any. But I am afraid it 

 can never be so perfected. The wires would be cut, 

 and frames could not be got loose from the press. 



Terre Haute, Ind., May 9, 1883. T. H. Kloer. 



I fear your faith is small, friend Kloer, in 

 what the rising generation are going to do, 

 especially in the line of bee culture. If our 

 farming friends have got machinery to cut 

 and bind grain successfully, surely we can 

 turn out finished frames of wired fdn., suffi- 

 ciently perfect to please anybody, and we 

 are going to do it at a moderate price too. 

 We are working at it " like bees," all over 

 our land, and who will say what the next 

 few years will not do? Some other reports 

 have been received; but as their general 

 tenor is about the same, we do not give 

 them. 



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