308 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



AfR. 15. 



the industry at all which the class journal rep- 

 resents—yes, even teaching something that is 

 evil instead of good. Our bee-journals have 

 been kept remarkably free from things of this 

 sort. Our leading journals especially, contain 

 something good and valuable on every page 

 and column. It is not always exactly in line 

 with bee culture; but it is probably helpful to 

 the people who subscribe for the journals. 



Some years ago, at a State fair, in shaking 

 hands with different bee-keepers I got into a 

 crowd that was discussing bee- journals. Some 

 of them were acquainted with Gleanings, and 

 some were not. One man made a remark some- 

 thing like this: 



" Well, gentlemen, when you get right down 

 to it the old American Bee Journal contains 

 about all there is that is really valuable in re- 

 gard to bee-keeping. The others do not amount 

 to much." 



When he said it he gave me a glance that I 

 understood. If I remember correctly, he and I 

 had had some little dilferences in some former 

 deal. Now, that was an unkind speech, even if 

 it were true; and I think it must have troubled 

 him some afterward, especially as I made no 

 replv. A long time afterward, he asked me if I 

 remembered it. I told him I did. He said he 

 had often been sorry that he spoke as he did. I 

 know hov/ natural it is. in the rush of business, 

 to try to get all the trade you can, especially in 

 these times of sharp competition. A good many 

 times we pay out money for advertising that 

 does not seem to amount to much. It is getting 

 to be now one of the fine arts to attract atten- 

 tion by an advercisement; but, dear friends, let 

 us not forget that selfishness and greed do not 

 pay in the end. The selfish, greedy forms of 

 advertisements have been pretty well worked 

 up. The ground has been gone over again and 

 again. Once in a while we see an advertiser who 

 has Christian spirit enough to say, even in his 

 advertisements. " We do not want all the trade 

 nor all the business: but we should like our 

 share, and we should like to show you what we 

 can accomplish in the way of things to help 

 you along in your business." How I do like to 

 see this spirit! Another thing, once in a while 

 we find a man who does not promise very much 

 in his advertisements and circulars; but when 

 you send him an order he takes pains to show 

 that he not only lives up to the very letter of 

 his agreements, but that he does a little more. 

 By the way, let me give you. a little hint in the 

 way of securing and holding trade. A good 

 many commodities are constantly changing in 

 value. You have got out your printed price 

 list. Something happens that enables you to 

 either buy or produce at a cheaper figure the 

 article you sell. But the money comes accord- 

 ing to the advertisement. It is perfectly fair 

 and square for you to keep it; but you do not 

 know how much good it does your customer to 

 tell him that the goods have come down, and 

 that you are enabled to place a few cents or dol- 

 lars to his credit; or inclose some postage- 

 stamps in your letter. See what thanks you 

 get by such a method of doing business. Whv, 

 even our street-fakirs have eot hold of this 

 thing, and make capital out of it. A man stood 

 on the street selling lead-pencils from a wagon. 

 He said they were worth 10 cents apiece. He 

 made drawings with one of them on some heavy 

 cardboard, to show what a beautiful black 

 mark the pencil would make. Then he pushed 

 the slender point right through the cardboard, 

 again and again, to show how strong the lead 

 was. Then he played auctioneer, and asked 

 what he could get for a whole dozen. After he 

 had sold quite a lot of them at 40 cents a dozen 

 he just won that whole crowd of people by giv- 



ing back to each purchaser just half of his 

 money. The idea that an auctioneer, after he 

 had sold goods on honest bids, and got his 

 money in Ms pocket, should then turn around 

 and give back half of it! I suppose the fellow 

 made a small profit at even 30 cents a dozen; 

 but he broke the ice, as it were, got acquainted 

 with his audience, and sold a great wagonload 

 of goods before he left the spot. Now, this was 

 a trick. We need not stoop to tricks; but we 

 may make it a study to see if we can not make 

 friends, and please our customers, every day of 

 our lives, by unselfish acts. Fight down that 

 greedy, selfish spirit that would prompt us to 

 take every penny we can get hold of. Watch 

 for chances where you can safely— that is, with- 

 out loss— give a customer a little more than he 

 expects or bargained for. Let us make his in- 

 terest oitr interest. Let us '• do good, and lend." 

 If the man we lend to does not always return 

 the things, or pay us back in other generous 

 acts, the great Judge of all the earth will re- 

 member us, even if our neighbor does not; for 

 he has said in his message to us that he will see 

 to it that we shall receive in due time " good 

 measure, presssd down, shaken together, and 

 running over." 



MULCHING FALL-SET STRAWBERKY-PLANTS; A 

 NEW USE FOR THE NEW CRAIG POTATO. 



I have several times spoken of the enormous 

 amount of potato-tops produced by the Craig 

 Seedling. No other potato that I have ever 

 had any thing to do with comes anywhere near 

 it. Last fall, when showing visitors through 

 our grounds I would frequently take hold of a 

 Craig top and raise it up to show them that, 

 when stretched up, they are higher than my 

 head; and then 1 would reach down under the 

 vines where the ground was burst open, and 

 pick out a potato weighing a couple of pounds, 

 and hold it up. Well, after the frost killed the 

 vines we let them lie until they were perfectly 

 dry. for I am sure it pays the potato-grower to 

 leave his late potatoes until every bit of green 

 life has gone out of the stalk. The potatoes 

 certainly increase in size and maturity so long 

 as there is the least bit of life in the vines; but 

 after the vines were all dead there was such a 

 mass of the dry brush that it was a question 

 what to do with it. There were simply ivagon- 

 loads of the tops. As a patch of fall set straw- 

 berries was near by, I directed the boys to place 

 the dry tops nicely over the rows of plants. 

 There were so many of them that I thought 

 thny had got the strawberries covered pretty 

 thick, but I concluded to let them go. Well, at 

 the present writing, April 2, the strawberries 

 have done so nicely under the potato- tops, com- 

 pared with those that were uncovered, that I 

 am ready to declare I never want to winter an- 

 other row of fall-set strawberries without pro- 

 tection of some kind; and I would use potato- 

 tops every time if it is possible to get them. 

 They are absolutely free from either seeds of 

 weeds or grain; they lie up loose, so as not to 

 smother the plants, and yet they catch and hold 

 the snow, and prevent alternate freezing and 

 thawing. This has been a more serious matter 

 during the winter just past than I ever saw it 

 in my life in any' former season. AVhy ! not 

 only were my fall -set gooseberries, currants, 

 etc., clear on top of the ground, but a good 



