1880 



GLEANINGS IK BEE CULTUEE. 



4(59 



This department is to lie kept for the benefit of those who are 

 dissatisfied; and when anything is amiss, I hope you will "talk 

 li^ht out." As a rule, we will omit names ana addresses, t<> 

 a\ oiil being too personal. 



And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go 

 with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee and 

 from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou 

 away.— Matt. v. 41 , 42. 



N taking these sketches from real life, 

 and from real business transactions, as 

 I do, I trust no one will think I do it, 

 with a view of showing how I am right, and 

 everybody else wrong, nor by any means, 

 with a view of telling how I have been ill- 

 used ; but on the contrary I have been well- 

 used, and feel thankful to you all, even the 

 ones whose letters have appeared in these 

 columns, for they have taught me excellent 

 lessons. I feel as happy over these new dis- 

 coveries (that are as wonderful to me, as 

 to any of you) as I should over any new de- 

 velopment just brought to light in the way 

 of honey plants. 



Many times, after putting a thing in the 

 price lists, I find it does not work as well un- 

 der more extended tests as it did at first. 

 and in trying to remedy the difficulties, I 

 often send you something a little different 

 from what the advertisement reads, and per- 

 haps different from what you have had be- 

 fore. I strive not to do this, for I dislike 

 changes as much as anybody, but I can not 

 always avoid it. This spring we ran out of 

 sections with a little honey in them to send 

 with 4 a lb. of bees, and Will advised that 

 we should send a full-size comb instead, es- 

 pecially as it was so much easier to get the 

 bees in the package. Nearly all our cus- 

 tomers thanked us, and one or more offered 

 to pay for the nice large comb, that often 

 contained some brood too, even, when none 

 was expected. One friend, however, you 

 will see from the following letter, was not 

 pleased. 



I was much disappointed in receiving from you a 

 box 20x4, as an apology for a "lb. of bees and queen." 

 I never ordered "any such truck" from you, and 

 how, in the name of common sense, you should send 

 me such a thing will always be a mystery to me. I 

 supposed that I knew what I wanted, and if that 

 box is anything like this cut (which I enclose), please 

 get on your specs and tell me where the resem- 

 blance is. 



Why did you not write me about it on the card 

 you sent? Did you know that I had any hive that 

 would take such a frame? You did not know, and 

 oared less. It came here and I had no hive it would 

 fit, and I undertook to make the best of it, but it 

 was no use. I set it up edgewise in an American 

 hive, and a fearful gale of wind came from the 

 north, with very heavy rain, and upset the hive, and 

 the whole thing was lost. 



Had I known you were going to send such a thing, 

 I could have been prepared and had a hive fitted for 

 it. If that box, comb, and wire are worth anything 

 to you, I will send it. back by express, you paying 

 the charges. You may not be to blame in this mat- 

 ter, as it may be some of your hands, for it seems 

 incredible that you should go to the trouble of print- 

 ing a cut like the one enclosed here, and then, when 



a person orders one of them, and pays you in ad- 

 vance, to send them as you did me a frame 1854 inch- 

 es long and call it a lb. of bees. If you can't send 

 what is ordered, never send anything till you know 

 if it can be used. W. R. L. 



June 12, 1880. 



I explained the matter as well as I could, 

 plead that I was not to blame for the storm, 

 and asked what would make the matter sat- 

 isfactory. Here is the reply : 



Yours to hand, and I feel no better over that 

 affair than I did at first, for the reason that you had 

 no right to send me any such truck without writing 

 me. I do not blame you for the storm. You ask me 

 why I did not brush the bees off. There were some 

 bees on the comb (not half as many as you sent me 

 last year), and I thought there was some brood in 

 the comb, and I could see no queen, and that is the 

 reason I did not shake them off. You ask what will 

 satisfy me. I want a queen and eight ounces of frees, 

 just the same as you sent me last year; and I want 

 you to send it the first day of July or not at all. This 

 will satisfy me; nothing more, nothing less. 



June 26, 1880. W. R. L. 



This was a pretty hard one. I bad to send 

 them all over again, when I had been doing 

 him, as I thought, a kindness by the differ- 

 ent package. I felt very much like being 

 stubborn, but sent them along, in as nice 

 shape as I knew how, and drew a long sigh, 

 as I thought of tbe losses that came one way 

 and another, until it really seemed, some 

 days, as if our business would break down, 

 unless the Lord interfered, and held it up. 

 I guess he heard the prayer. Read : 



I received the package of bees all right, and there 

 was double the bees that there was on that comb (to 

 my view), and a splendid queen. I put them in a 

 hive that I had prepared to put the pound of bees 

 into, and they have gone to work all right. Now 

 you have satisfied me. As I never worshiped gold, 

 and you have satisfied me, which is worth more than 

 money, please write me what will satisfy you, and I 

 will see if I can do it. Had I known what you was 

 going to send, it would have been all right. As it 

 was, I had fixed a hive for the pound of bees, and 

 the comb would not go into it at all. I am convinced 

 that the comb is the best arrangement. Enclosed 

 is a card; write me what will satisfy you, as I 

 pride myself in not being outdone in fair dealing. 



July 7, 1880. W. R. L. 



"Well, I declare, truly the Lord does pro- 

 vide,'' was my thought, and I thanked 

 friend L., and told him if he would be so 

 kind he might send me i price, 75c. 



You say you will be satisfied with 75c. Well, that 

 is not enough. You satisfied me without any expec- 

 tation of getting paid, which is more than the price 

 of all the bees to me. Enclosed, please find $2.00— 

 $1.50 for the bees, and 50c. for Gleanings for 6 

 months. I rejoice to find an honorable man in this 

 age of selfishness. W. R. L. 



July 16, 1880. 



And I, friend L., thank you for the lesson 

 you have taught me, and rejoice to find that 

 this is a better world than I thought, it it is 

 met with the spirit that Christ taught when 

 he uttered the words of our opening text. I 

 feel that T know you, now, and you know 

 me ; and if we should have any future deal- 

 ings, I think we can feel that we are old 

 friends. May the kind Master help us all to 

 get along with each other, in the way he in- 

 tended us to live together. 



