36 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Ja>«-. 



and when I laughed at tliis new feature, he said 

 with great earnestness he eould assure lue the herb- 

 age was kept clean, clear around the pond. Vou 

 see, they want vefretable food, and he has not lU'o- 

 vided it for them, and so they come around the wa- 

 ter's edge as cows g-o around tlie cmn-field, nipping 

 olV every tliiiiK- within reach. He says they are the 

 l>est fish for I'ood he ever ate in his life. They have 

 used ijerhajis half a dozen of theni, some of them 

 ;; real big strapping fellows. His |)ond has no run- 

 ning stream, but is simjily a cavity between the 

 liills. filled with rain water. He has had a large- 

 sized car]) for some time in a large tub or tank, 

 perhai)s 8 feet across, where he waters his cattle 

 anil horses, and his dog sometimes tries to worry it. 

 The carp and dog make a regular show of fight on 

 lioth sides. When you come to see me we will take 

 the horse an<l buggy, and go over and look at all 

 these funny things, providing it is warm weatiier. 



I-riTI.V - IIKAI,EU.S, AND THE BK.\1)ST1{EKT MKK- 

 C.VNTILE .VGESC'Y. 



< »i i( I ri(ii(l> may not all be aware, that as s(jon as 

 I licy get to doing business, and begin to advertise 

 iM'e-su|iplies, their standing will soon be quoted in 

 Itradstreefs ^lercantile Agency. As a rule, these 

 ditlerent agencies endeavor to give the best report 

 of a man that they can consistently; that is, with- 

 out doing harm by recommending a man who is not 

 worthy of confidence. I need hardly say, that it be- 

 hooves every one to work for a good record or re- 

 jiort. Well, we are, at the present time, having 

 <iuite a little business with the Bradstreet Com- 

 pany; and as we are better able, perhaps, to (juote 

 the standing of the bee-keepers than any other in- 

 stitution in the world, this company desires us to 

 correct their rei)orts when they are wrong. Now, I 

 am vei-y sorry to be obliged to tell them that they 

 have got any bee-nnui too high; but when jjublic 

 safety demands it, we shall do this without fear or 

 l'a\"or. The man wlio will not answer inquiries in 

 regard to bills he is owing is not worthy of being re- 

 ported trustworthy. A year ago 1 mentioned that 

 there were two parties contracting debts for honej% 

 who could not or would not i)ay. 1 believe these 

 two parties have nuide no new debts since then; 

 but there are one or two others whose names have 

 ai)|)eared in the bee-journals, even in the pages of 

 (ii.KAMNMis; iind these men have obtained credit, 

 probably because we had ))ermitted their articles to 

 aiijiear in print, and it begins to look as though 

 pul)lic safety demanded that our friends should be 

 warned against trusting them. I shall be very sor- 

 !•>•, as I have told you, to be obliged to do this; but 

 it is not only right and proper, but it is customary 

 in all kinds of business. It has often l)een said, 

 that bee-men are a little above the average in intel- 

 ligence and respectability. Can't we keep so clean 

 a record that the same may be said in regard to 

 prom])1ness ami resijonsibilityy 



AIDS 1(1 IIIDSK WHO I'lM) TlllOll! ( < I K It KSf ( ).\ D- 

 ENCE IHKUENSO.MK. 



Wheneveh you have occasion to write to certain 

 parties freciuently, it will bo ijuite a help to have 

 addres.sed and stamped envelopes lying handily, so 

 that all you have to do is to slip your letter into one 

 of these envelopes, and it is ready for the i)ostofHce. 

 Tliis also saves mistakes in addi-essing your matter. 

 <,)uite a breeze hapj)ened at our postottice a few 

 days ago, because a man sent a letter containing 

 money, and I'orgot to put on (lie Stale. Another 



party even sent for the postoffice detectives, to 

 have them recover a lost letter; and when found, 

 the woman who sent it addressed it, by mistake, to 

 a firm that had no existence. Now, then, how shall 

 wc get a sui)ply of envelopes and postal cards with 

 the addresses i)lainly printed'/ Why, let each man 

 who has something to sell furnish them to his cus- 

 tomers free. Our clerk who sends out orders, by 

 my advice wrote to the principal firms of whom we 

 buy goods, and asked for a few envelopes bearing 

 their name and address. Almost without exception 

 they came promptly; and where we have been in 

 the habit of sending a good many t>rdcrs, they were 

 all stamped ready to mail. We finally found we 

 had so many of them, that Mr. Gray made a sort of 

 revolving book-rack, with pigeon-holes in it. There 

 are 48 of the pigeon-holes, and a great part of them 

 are now full, and the stam|)s that are on the envel- 

 opes will go a good way toward paying for the whole 

 institution. Now, then, if we want to get an order 

 olf in a hurry, we just jot it down on a piece of pa- 

 per, and push it into the jtroper envelope, and it is 

 all ready for the postottice. Any man who is doing 

 business can well afford to furnish stamped envel- 

 opes to those who buy goods of him. Another 

 thing: It takes a mental effort to remember ad- 

 dresses, and write them )i(jlit. By the arrangement 

 I have suggested, a great part of the labor of corre- 

 spondence is done by the printing-press, and done 

 nicely. Every clerk in the office now has envelopes 

 and postal cards printed to all parties with whom 

 she is likely to have much business. 



CONVENTION NOTICES. 



The Champlaiu-Valley Bee-Keepers" Association 

 will meet at Addison House, Jliddlebury, Vt., on 

 Thursday, Jan. 8, 1885. J. E. Ckane, Sec. 



The annual meeting of the Maine Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will be held at De.xter, Me., Jan. 20, 21, 

 and 22. F. O. Additon. Pres. 

 W.M. HOYT, Sec. 



The 'ith aiuiual meeting of the Nebraska State 

 B. K. A. will be held at Tecumseh, Neb., on Wed., 

 Thurs., and P'riday, Jan. 14, ].">, and 16, 1885. 



M. L. TuESTEU, Sec. 



The Mahoning- Valley Bee-Keepers' Association 

 will hold its next meetina- in the Town Hall at New- 

 ton Falls, on the third Thursday, Jan. 15, 1885. The 

 meeting will be instructive as well as interesting. 



Lordstown, O., Dec. 15, 1884. E. W. Turner, Sec. 



The North-Eastern Ohio and North-Western Pa. 

 Bee-keepei"s' Association will hold its sixth annual 

 convention in the Y. M. C. A. Rooms, corner of lOth 

 and Peach Sts., Erie, Pa., Wednesday and Thursday, 

 Jan. 14tli and 1.5th, 1885. First-class hotel accoinmo- 

 datin)is at the Wilcox House, igl.OO per day. to those 

 attendiiiL;- the convention. A general invitation is 

 extended to all. C. H. Coon, Sec. 



New Lyme, Ohio. 



north-eastern bee-keepeks' convention.. 



The sixteenth aiuiual convention of the North- 

 Eastei-n Hec-Keejiers' .Association will be held in 

 the Citv Hall itt Syracuse. N. Y., on the 21st, ^12(1, 

 and :':M ilays <it .lanuary, iss.y The e.\ecuti\(' com- 

 mittee are determined to maintain the high stand- 

 ing and enviable reputation thi' association has 

 justly gaiiUMl in the past, and jiroposes to outdo all 

 former ellorls, at X\u; coming conxcntiou. The 

 miM'ting will surely be the largest and most inter- 

 esting ex'er held in .Vmerica. No bee-keejx'r can af- 

 ford to stay at home. All are invited. .All imple- 

 ments of the ai)iMry sent to the socii'ty will be prop- 

 erly arranged, to compare favoral)ly with others on 

 exhibition, and will be dis])osed of or returned as 

 the owner directs. Reduced rates for board at 

 hotels. fi. ('. Root. Pres. 



(;i:o. W. HoiSE, Poc. 



