82 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb 1 



experimental feature. I enquired for an observation 

 hive, and he showed me a hive with eight or nine 

 frames with glass all around. What one could observe 

 with such a hive is more than I could say. I was told 

 that lessons in . bee culture were given every two 

 weeks, in thi^ place, during the summer. I doubt that 

 any experiments of value are ever made there. 

 France can afford something better. 



Mr. Dadant ascended the Eiffel Tower with 

 his daughter and Mr. Calvert. After reaching 

 the third platform, 1000 feet high, the view 

 below flattens out. The monuments, the 

 hills, the white ribbon of the Ssine, seem only 

 like a living map. The houses make a sea of 

 r^d tiles, the river is a silver thread, and the 

 parks are green spots here and there. 



The wretched habit of tipping waiters, 

 which is showing its hydra head in this coun- 

 try, is thus graphically described by Mr. Da- 

 dant : 



I earnestly hope that we are not going to take the 

 habit of " tipping " the waiters and servants as they 

 do over there. It is sickening. You eat dinner— tip. 

 You ride half a mile and discharge the cabman, pay — 

 and— tip. You go to the theater, buy your ticket, and 

 tip the ushers. You leave the hotel, tip the servants, 

 the boot-black, the chamber-maid, the porter. Tip, 

 tip, tip. Ivuckily they do not expect silver in every 

 case, and thi-. is the principal use of coppers. Two 

 cents, three cents, make a very passable tip. If you 

 give a dime, you get a smile. If you give a quarter, 

 you g t a fine bow. But if you give nothing, you had 

 best not look behind, for a look of contempt will fol- 

 low you till you are out of sight. ' 



CO-OPERATIVE ORGANIZATION. 



Plans Outlined ; Intelligence Bureau ; Why Sim- 

 ple Co-operation Fails ; Business must be 

 at the Bottom ; Government's Duty. 



BY R. C. AIKIN. 



The first work in organizing is to make a 

 head. From a head, or central place and 

 body, go out and spread to all the people the 

 benefits. We can not begin at the out edges 

 and build in to the center, but the center first 

 and then the outer parts. 



My plan is that there be a business organi- 

 zation for the whole nation, with a general 

 head at some stated place. In conjunction 

 with this head will be branch ofiices in all the 

 principal producing districts, and a system of 

 communication between the central office and 

 all the branches. This contemplates that no 

 producing territory be left out — al/ must be 

 constantly in touch with the central. Also the 

 consuini?!^ districts must be in touch with the 

 central office, that the needs of the consumer 

 may be known too. We may call this phase 

 of the plan an "intelligence organization." 



It shall be the business of the central office 

 to keep constantly in communication with all 

 branches, and the branch manager shall dis- 

 tribute all necessary information to the indi- 

 vidual producers. Each local or branch office 

 shall report to the central the conditions of 

 stock in spring, the progress of honey-flows, 

 the harvesting of the crops, the movement of 

 the honey, prices obtained, etc., and the cen- 

 tral shall in turn give to the branches reports 

 of all compiled. 



The object of this reporting is that all con- 

 cerned may know about the prevailing condi- 

 tions. Just this fall, buyers were making 

 quite an effort to make producers believe there 

 was a large crop — at least enough so that they 

 could buy all they needed, at moderate prices. 

 The average buyer can, if he iries^ know bet- 

 ter than the average producer whether there 

 is a good crop or not ; but the producers, be- 

 ing informed by means of the intelligence de- 

 partment of the organization, will make quo- 

 tations and sales more in accord with the pre- 

 vailing conditions. 



But with the completing of the intelligence 

 machinery the work is not much more than 

 well begun. There is need of a complete and 

 extensive business organization. The central 

 office need not be a warehouse, but the branch 

 offices should be regular depots or places for 

 handling honey, wax, and supplies. To illus- 

 trate, we will suppose the Root establishment 

 is the head office. They, of all those connect- 

 ed with apicultural matters, are in a position 

 to know of the flows, of harvests, and the 

 moving of the crop to market. The California 

 marketing association (have forgotten its 

 name), "The Colorado Honey-producers' As- 

 sociation," and many others that are yet to be 

 organized, each reporting to Medina office the 

 amount of honey in sight, and kind and 

 quality, can keep the central posted as to what 

 is going on. 



Now, the central should have a list of all 

 honey-dealers in every city and town of im- 

 portance all over the country, and these deal- 

 ers could find out by applying to central 

 where they could get the needed supply. The 

 general manager at Medina could bring togeth- 

 er the buyer and producer, and thus there 

 could and would be a much more equal and 

 intelligent distribution. Not onlv this, but 

 the price would be more even and just. 



There should be a branch office and depot 

 and packing-house in every large city or dis- 

 tributing center. Denver, Omaha, Kansas 

 City, St. Joseph, Chicago, St. Louis, etc., 

 should each have a depot for handling the prod- 

 uct of the territory tributary. There sVould 

 be storage depots in every heavy producing 

 district, and in all cases have storage rooms as 

 near as may be to the producing field. The 

 object is twofold at least — to save freights by 

 enabling producers to deliver in person by 

 wagon where it can be so done, and that there 

 may be accumulated enough at one point to 

 make it possible to ship in car lots. 



All honey to be transported to distant mar- 

 kets should go in carloads, both for economy 

 in freights and safe shipping. It is possible 

 for wheat-speculators to gamble, buying and 



