GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 15. 



Our indexes for this year's volume are unusu- 

 ally lull and complete. We have added anew 

 Index — that pertaining strictly to editorial 

 matter, not to speak of footnotes. Besides, 

 there is the usual index of illustrations. 



THE ABUSE OF THE CREDIT SYSTEM. 



The editor of the Progressive Bee keeper, 

 commenting on what I said on page 789 regard- 

 ing the relation of the manufacturer and the 

 dealer, and the folly of giving indiscriminate 

 credit, makes these very pertinent remarks, 

 which I indorse most heartily: 



It seems a little hard to say that a real good hon- 

 est man should noi eujoy the contidence due him 

 of liis neighbor, and that the deserving should 

 not get wliat they really deserve. But the real 

 trouble, the saddist tiutli, the most humiliating tact 

 is, while one good honest man will do justwljat he 

 says he wid, and meet his obligations, nine others, 

 slovenly, careless, devil may-care fellows will not do 

 so until they are dunned, bored, coaxed, and then 

 perhaps will not pay at all. All this is what makes 

 the credit-business unpleasant, very unprofitable, 

 and a curse to the debtor as well as to the creditor. 



T really believe some think that thej' accommodate 

 a merchant by buying from him on credit as against 

 not buying at all. This I believe to be an error. 

 Speaking for myself, I would prefer not to take the 

 chance of the credit system at all, only through the 

 regular channels of trade with parties who have 

 good ratings in the mercantile agencies, and who 

 understand when they buy a bill of goods on thirty 

 days' time, that it means thirty days, and not six 

 months or a year. Again, it would seem that a man 

 who is honorable, known among his neighbors as a 

 man who would not abuse an accommodation, 

 would better get that accommodation at home 

 where he is known, than by humbling himself to 

 strangers by asking for what he may be refused. 

 Nearly all over this broad land there are banks and 

 parties who loan money. Would it not be better, if 

 you must go in debt, to get the money from them, 

 pay them a little interest for the use of it, buy your 

 goods for cash (getting the benefits of the dis- 

 counts), maintain your dignity, uphold your good 

 name, and be a man ? There are some we know 

 could not get accommodation at home, for the same 

 reason that we have stated in the beginning of 

 these remarks; but, dear friends, if you are one of 

 this kind, ive do not care to credit you either. We 

 have some of your kind on our books now. We like 

 to help a worthy, deserving man, but we must know 

 him to be such before we extend our hand and our 

 pocket-book. 



BEES AND GRAPES AT THE MICHIGAN EXPERI- 

 MENT STATION. 



Experimenter Taylor, it seems, has for 

 some years been greatly interested in the pro- 

 duction of fine grapes, grow'ng as many as 30 

 different varieties. Observing the bees at work 

 on some of the kinds at various times, almost 

 led him to believe that the bees might be and 

 probably were guilty of doing some damage. 



This season he conducted a series of experi- 

 ments, the results of which not only exonerated 

 the bees, but actually proved that they were of 

 great value in preventing the decay of sound 

 grapes. He had observed that different varie- 

 ties crack in different ways: "that is, some 

 crack, so to speak, longitudinally and some 

 crosswise, and that they also crack from a 

 somewhat different combination of causes. 

 These, as I judge, are three: moisture from 

 without, moisture from within, and external 

 pressure." The Ulster and Niagara had a skin 



of such toughness as to be able to resist these 

 forces, but not so with the Delaware and the 

 Lady; and during the past year the Dutchess 

 and Salem have to be added to the list, owing to 

 the wetness of the season. 



To determine just what effect the bees did 

 have, he put bags on some dozen different va- 

 rieties in order to shut the bees out. A small 

 slit was cut in the bottom of each sack to per- 

 mit the escape of any water that might gain 

 admittance. In all, there were upward of a 

 thousand sacks put on the grapes. The result 

 was tabulated, and Mr. Taylor, in the -Remew, 

 concludes in this way: 



Jn the case of the three kinds much injured, it be- 

 came constantly more evident that the damage to 

 those in bags was greater than to those to which 

 the bees had access. This was especially true of the 

 Dutchess and the Delaware. So evident was it that 

 the reason of this lay in the fact that the juice ooz- 

 ing from cracked grapes in the bags was communi- 

 cated to neighboring grapes causing incipient de- 

 cay, a weakness of sliin and cracking where other- 

 wise cracking would not have occurred, that, by the 

 middle of the month, I hastened to remove the bags 

 from these varieties that the bees might gather the 

 juice from the broken grapes. 



To my mind the conclusion is inevitable, that not 

 only do bees not injure grapes, but that lay gather- 

 ing the juices of cracked ones thej' prevent decay 

 and thereby the destruction of sound ones. 



SHAPE AND WEIGHT OF SECTIONS: TALL VS. 

 THE SQUARE SECTIONS. 



In the last Bee-keepers' Review there is an 

 editorial under this heading. Mr. Hutchinson, 

 during the past fall, has attended the fairs of 

 several different States. He has met grocers 

 and commission men, and has found that, al- 

 most without exception, the light-weight sec- 

 tion had the preference. Much to his surprise 

 the goods were almost invariably sold by the 

 piece. While this was true, they were bought 

 by the dealer by weight. It therefore followed 

 that a thin section looked just as large as the 

 old pound section; and being sold by the piece 

 it netted the retailer a little more profit; that 

 thin sections, or, rather, thin combs, were more 

 quickly drawn out, filled, and sealed over. 



In referring to the talT sections that have 

 been receiving some prominence of latehesays: 



It may not be worth while to change the shape of 

 our sections, but, under present conditions, a sec- 

 tion an inch and a half in thickness, about three 

 and a half inches wide and about five inches in 

 height, used without separators, would be the one 

 that would bring the most money. With separators, 

 the width ought to be one and three-fourths, or sev- 

 en-to-the-toot. 



Then, there is the question of right and wrong. 

 The wliole thing is in line with the making of bot- 

 tles with the sunken sides and raised bottoms, the 

 bottles being used in selling flavoring-extracts, 

 medicines, etc.; the making of berry-boxes with 

 raised bottoms; the putting of the largest berries 

 on top; " facing" barrels of apples with the best 

 apples; putting the sections in a case next the glass 

 etc. In short, it is putting the best side out. 



The use of thin sections of standard size may 

 be in a line with the making of bottles with 

 sunken sides, but it is not altogether so, I am 

 sure. The factor hinted at by Mr. Hutchinson, 

 to the effect that a thin comb would be drawn 

 out and filled quicker, has, I am sure, a great 



