758 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



A GOOD REPORT FROM I>H. MILLER. 



/ ■'/ a iid A. I.:— I don't know how many times dur- 

 ing the last few weeks Mrs. Miller has said to me 

 something like this: " Why don't you write a note 

 to Mr. Root, telling- him of your success? He seem- 

 ed much pleased and interested when here, in the 

 honey-flow you were getting." Well, you know that 

 at the time you were here the bees were taking a 

 fresh start at'storing. Since that time they kept it 

 up straight along, although rather slowly, still with- 

 out stop, till last week, about Sept. 5. So I have 

 taken 11,000 or 12,003 lbs. of honey, and have sold it, 

 and am now crowded to get it ready for shipment. 

 You're glad, aren't you V C. C. Miller. 



The above came in a private letter; but I am sure 

 the doctor will pardon us for letting some other 

 friends of his have a glimpse at it. To be sure, we 

 are glad, old friend. 



SENDING BEES BY THE HALF-POUND THROUGH 

 THE MAILS. 



Our good friend Pratt, of Marlboro, Mass., has 

 actually succeeded in doing it; yes, even where the 

 bees were missent, so as to be out four or five days, 

 instead of two, and they came through with only 

 two or three dead bees. Full particulars are given 

 in the American Bee Journal for Sept. 14. Now, 

 while we are pleased to hear of the success of this 

 experiment, we are greatly troubled, for fear the 

 postal authorities may not only rule out bees by 

 the half-pound, but bees and queens. In fact, 

 queens have been sent us repeatedly in such shape 

 that I would not blame the department for shutting 

 down on us. If friend Pratt is permitted to send 

 half-pounds through the mails, other bee-keepers 

 must of course have the same permission; and per- 

 haps not one in a thousand is as well able to put up 

 their bees as is friend Pratt. I do not exactly see 

 how half a pound of bees can well be put up so that 

 the package may not be smashed by some accident; 

 and one such smash-up would perhaps finish the 

 business for us. As Prof. Cook was instrumental 

 in getting queens through the mails when they 

 were once cut off, I should very much like to know 

 his opinion in regard to the matter. Friend Doolit- 

 tle, who writes the matter up, as well as the editor 

 of the American Bee Journal, do not either one seem 

 to apprehend very much trouble in the matter. 

 Besides, sending this trial package through the 

 mails is, if we are correct, a direct violation of our 

 present laws. We have this week received through 

 the mails a glass bottle containing a full half-pint of 

 honey. It did not get broken, but it is a wonder. 

 Friend Doolittle suggests that the powdered sugar 

 rattling down in the mail-bags would be an objec- 

 tion. So far as that is concerned, grinding the 

 sugar in a paint-mill, or otherwise, so that there are 

 no grains at all, will, I think, fix that part of it. 

 Sugar and honey ground together would be like 

 paint or cream. In that state, I feel sure the bees 

 would eat every particle, both of sugar and honey. 



gPECITIli ]S[0TOEg. 



WINTER ONION-SETS. 



These will do nicely if planted now. Price 10c per 

 quart, or 75c per peck. If wanted by mail, send 10c 



per quart e\l I a. 



GRAND RAPIDS LETTUCE. 



Now is the time to plant Grand Rapids lettuce in 

 the open ground, so as to have fine strong plants 

 for Betting in the greenhouse. It is economy to 

 have them make as much growth as possible out- 

 doors, on account of the comparative cheapness of 

 the ground and the saving in expense of watering, 

 airing, etc. With a little rude protection you can 

 get very nice lei luce Thanksgiving and Christmas 

 from seeds planted iti the open ground. 



STRAWBERRY-PLANTS IN SEPTEMBER. 



Since our bountiful rain we are fully supplied 

 with the very linest, well-rooted strawberry-plants, 



grown on our river-bottom. We can furnish Sharp- 

 ies at 10 cts. for 10; 50 cts. per LOO, or 84.00 per 1000; 

 Jersey Queen and Jessie, 10 cts. for 10; 75 cts. per 

 100, or $5.00 per 1000. At present writing we place 

 the Jessie ahead of every other strawberry we have 

 ever had, for general purposes. The new Bubach, 

 we have not tested as thoroughly as we have the 

 Jessie; but so far as we have tried it, it gives great 

 promise. Prices of the Bubach, 15 cts. for 10; $1 00 

 per 100, or $7.50 per 10iK). The latter is perhaps the 

 largest berry we have ever had any thing to do 

 with: but when ripe it is very soft, and must be 

 handled carefully. By using pint boxes, however, 

 and getting them before customers pretty quickly 

 after they are fully ripe, you can get along very 

 well. If you are having rain, 1 do not know any 

 better month to set out strawberries than Septem- 

 ber. We have been obliged to increase the postage 

 on our strawberry plants, because they are so much 

 larger and heavier than any we have ever before 

 raised. If wanted by mail, add 5 cts. extra for 10, 

 or 20 cts. for 100. __ 



DISCOUNTS TO THOSE WHO ORDER GOODS FOR 

 NEXT SEASON'S USE NOW. 



According to our usual custom, we offer the fol- 

 lowing discounts for early orders. The reasons for 

 this are many, and the reasons why you should 

 take advantage of our offer are many more. Our 

 main reason for making the offer is to divert as 

 much as possible of the trade out of the very 

 crowded months of the spring into the fall and win- 

 ter, and thus equalize business as much as possible. 

 If you know pretty well a large part of your next 

 spring's needs, you should, by all means, anticipate 

 these needs for these reasons, and many more that 

 might be named. 



1. It is to your profit, if you have the money to 

 invest, both in the first cost of the goods and in the 

 economy in preparing them for use. You can nail 

 your stuff together more economically iu the win- 

 ter time, when there is not much else to do, than at 

 any other time. Hives painted in the winter will 

 become thoroughly dry by the time you are ready 

 to use them, and will last much longer. 



2. By anticipating your needs you can give the 

 goods ample time to reach you by freight. Time 

 and again the past season, customers have sent 

 large orders for goods by express, and said they 

 knew the charges would be high, but they could 

 not wait for freight; they " must have the goods at 

 once." These high charges might have been saved 

 by a little forethought. 



3. By ordering early you avoid the danger and 

 worry of having your orders delayed, and the risk 

 of losing a large part of your honey crop thereby. 

 The past season, as near as we have been able to 

 learn, all supply-dealers were more or less behind 

 on their orders. This is no more than should be ex- 

 pected with such an unusual demand. Our goods, 

 from their nature, being bulky, it is manifestly im- 

 possible to stock up sufficiently to meet such a de- 

 mand, and it is also impossible to meet the demand 

 by extra help and machinery, because competent 

 help can not be had in a day, and the extra work 

 must necessarily be of poor quality. The easiest 

 and most sensible way out of the difficulty is for 

 you who know your needs to have them supplied 

 ahead; and if you haven't looked far enough, and 

 should want more goods in the spring in a hurry, 

 we will try to remember how you helped us out, 

 and will in return give you as prompt attention as 

 possible. 



We have decided on the following discounts, 

 which are sufficiently liberal to make it a profit- 

 able investment for you, and the discounts will 

 apply to every thing in our catalogue ordered for 

 next season's use. They can not, of course, apply to 

 large orders for counter goods or honey-packages; 

 but if only a few of them are included with an or- 

 der for hives, etc.. then the discount may be taken 

 from the whole bill. 



Up to November 1st, discount will be 5 per cent. 

 Alter that date, one per cent a month for each 

 month before March; i. e., 4 per cent in November, 

 :j per cent in December, 2 per cent in January, and 

 1 per cent in February. One per cent a month is 

 equal to 12 per cent per annum, and money can be 

 had in most places for fi and S pe>- cent, so that you 

 see that, although ouroffer is not quite as liberal as 

 formerly, it. is still profitable, and we trust that 

 many of you will find it to your advantage to avail 

 yourselves of it. Kemember. our discounts for 

 large orders on page 2 of catalogue are applicable 

 in addition to above discounts. 



