804 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 15. 



honest commission mercliant wrote us when we 

 aslvcd him why it was his returns were so accu- 

 rate, seldom falling short any in the least. The 

 just weights, with fractions thei-eof, should be 

 plainly marked on one end of the box of honey, 

 and the commission merchant's address sten- 

 ciled or plainly written on top, not on the side, 

 so that the case need not be turned over to hunt 

 the name. 



Do not send very large shipments at first un- 

 til you can trust your man, and then it is better 

 to have less at a time, and quick returns, if one 

 wishes the money to use; and the apiarist can 

 care for the bulk of his honey better at home 

 than the commission merchant can, only seeing 

 to it that he has it as fast as he can sell it. 

 There is one advantage in sending large ship- 

 ments — it is not quite so apt to be changed from 

 one car to another, and consequently it is not so 

 apt to be broken up. 



If an apiarist has honey enough to furnish a 

 commission man all he can sell, so that he han- 

 dles no other honey, that also is an advantage 

 both to him and you. In that case it is well to 

 ship to him just before he is out. 



Always write him kindly and firmly, as if you 

 expected him to do what is fair and honest. 

 Unless you are personally acquainted, never 

 take a note from him after the honey is sold. If 

 he has used your money, and says he can not 

 pay you, it is a criminal act; for it is criminal 

 to sell on commission and use that money to 

 carry on his business. And if. after all care 

 and painstaking, you are about to lose your 

 money (which you will not do once in a hundred 

 times, and perhaps never), you can put your 

 case into the hands of a trusty attorney, to col- 

 lect for you. He will charge about 30 per cent, 

 which seems high; but sometimes he will do it 

 for less, which probably would be cheaper for 

 you than to make a trip to the city, if far off, 

 and you are pressed with business at home. 

 More than likely it would never have to be tak- 

 en to court. If the attorney simply states the 

 case to him plainly, the man would see that the 

 better way would be to get the money for you. 

 In Chicago, 5 per cent is rulable for selling on 

 commission. 



In case of a loss when honey is shipped, get a 

 statement from the freight agent where the 

 honey was shipped or started, the numl^er of 

 cases sent, and in what condition, and put it in 

 a letter, with a statement from your commis- 

 sion merchant of the amount of loss, and inclose 

 with it th*e original expense bill, and send to the 

 freight agent where the honey was consigned, 

 for him to forward to the general freight agent 

 of the railroad company. Do not send in an 

 extravagant bill, but just what the lost honey 

 would bring you, and you will always, in time, 

 get your pay— at least, such has been our expe- 

 rience. At one time we sent honey to two com- 

 mission men. It was put together in the same 

 cai'. One was received all right, and the other 

 was badly broken up— so much so that 1500 lbs. 

 was unsalable. In that case it was probably 

 broken by the drayman, in transit from the car 

 to the commission liouse. 



In very cold weather, several days before we 

 ship honey we bring the cases of honey into a 

 warm room, so that they may be thoroughly 

 warmed through before starting; and, if packed 

 compactly in a car, we think it not so apt to 

 break down as to ship frosty combs. At any 

 rate, we like to have it in the very best shape 

 when it leaves our hands. We generally try to 

 ship at the close of a cold spell, just as the 

 weather begins to grow warmer, so that the 

 honey may not be out in the coldest of the 

 weather. Mrs. L. C. Axteli,. 



Roseville, 111., Oct. 22. 



My good friend Mrs. A., you have given us 



one of the best papers on this matter of selling 

 honey on commission that we have ever got 

 hold of. I was obliged to smile several times to 

 see how thoroughly you have taken hold of 

 evei-y little point; and 1 am glad to know that 

 you enjoin more charity, and do not rush to the 

 conclusion that all commission men are cor- 

 rupt because a few of them are. 



A GOLDEN BEE-HIVE DISSECTED. 



NOTES FHOM THE SADDLE, AMONG THE MOUN- 

 TAINS OF KENTUCKY. 



The writer, being engaged in the lumber and 

 stave business among the mountains of Ken- 

 tucky, meets with some novel sights and ex- 

 periences. Perhaps a short sketch of some of 

 these will not be without interest to the readers 



of Gl.EANIN(;S. 



Menifee County is the smallest, and, I dare 

 say. the poorest county, in the State. It con- 

 sists chiefly of extremely large hills or small 

 mountains. Its mineral resources are fairly 

 good, but entirely undeveloped. Timber is at 

 present about the only available product. 

 Large bodies of poplar, and much linn, besides 

 a vast amount of other bee pasturage, doubt- 

 less makes it a good locality for bee-keeping, 

 and one bee-keeper informs me there is a 

 " right smart of bees in Menifee;" but, so far as 

 I can learn, they are almost entirely in anti'- 

 quated box hives, or the still more primitive 

 section of hollow log called a "gum." I talked 

 recently with one man who has been keeping 

 bees for many years, and who has yet to see a 

 queen for the first time. 



A very common method of taking honey is to 

 destroy the bees with brimstone, or, with bold- 

 er ones, by breaking up the hives. Many bee- 

 trees are to be found in the woods; and it seems 

 to me that, if the little fellows were as shrewd 

 as intelligent they would all, long ere this, have 

 deserted their masters and commenced business 

 on their own account. They could fare no 

 worse, with a fair chance of very much improv- 

 ing their condition by so doing. I thus far 

 have met with but one man wlio has movable- 

 frame hives. He has ten colonies, partly in 

 box hives and partly in the notorious Golden 

 hive, vended by Pickerl. 



Riding along the road with " Langstroth on 

 the Honey-Bee " strapped to the pommel of my 

 saddle (to while away the time while feeding 

 and resting my horse, you know) I came upon 

 this little apiary, with hives scattered about on 

 stumps and rocks in the yard. Such a sight, 

 sandwiched in between high hills and forests, 

 as it was, had a peculiar charm for me; and 

 seeing the owner near by I cordially greeted 

 him with " How do you do, sir?" and met with 

 the characteristic Southern response, " How 

 d"y ?" After this, conversation ensued some- 

 thing as follows: 



" How are your bees doing this season ?" 



"Oh, tolerable well." 



"I see you have some Golden hives. How do 

 you like them '?" 



" Oh ! fine. They be the best tricks for keep- 

 ing bees I've ever seed. One can take 'em all 

 apart, and git right inside of 'em. They've got 

 frames in 'em that come right out, and gives a 

 chance to clean out the weevil that gets in 'em." 



"I think I see they are marked patented." 



"Yes, they're patented in 1877. Guess the 

 patent 's about out on 'em. Man by the name 

 of Pickerl 's bought the right for three States, 

 Kentucky among 'em, and sold the right fur 

 this county to Mr. , over on Slate. He sells 



