208 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 



queen-desk, aud over in the corner is tlif 

 express-desk. You see, dear friends, we 



tlie 



ipress-aesk. i ou see, aear inenas, we 

 are doing all we can to answer all your cor- 

 respondence, and to attend to all necessary 

 business with you. Every thing is arranged 

 in departments, and every thing works sys- 

 tematically. Each clerk has her particular 

 duties and her special instructions. 



We will now pass into the paper-room. 

 Avhtnt' from six to a dozen girls are at work 

 folding tlie papers and binding the A B C 

 book From this room we pass into the pa- 

 per-cuiter room, where Gleanings and all 

 our A IJ C books are trimmed. We next en- 

 ter a long hall where the names of all our 

 subscribers are standuig in type. Passing 

 out the east end we come into the geneial 

 job and composing room ; going furthei-,and 

 turning to the right, we enter another room 

 also a composing-room. At the end of 

 said room is still another stenographer (our 

 proof-reader) working busily ai his post. 

 He is no other than W. P. Root, with whom 

 our friends are now perhaps partially ac- 

 quainted. 



W^e will next enter the sample - room, 

 where samples of nearly all our apiarian 

 supplies are kept in stock. After looking 

 over the various implements, and explain- 

 ing their use to our bee-friends, we next en- 

 ter the smoker-room, in which from 10.000 

 to 18,000 smokers are put together annually. 

 Tliere are other rooms on this floor, but we 

 will not stop to go through them. We pass 

 down the stairway, and enter one of our 

 large packing-rooms which is 70x40 ft., and 

 f(nmerly was the old saw-room. Here a 

 large portion of the goods are packed, ready 

 for shipment, by experienced men. We 

 next pass into another packing-room, where 

 we find Bert, '' the clerk who never makes a 

 mistake," marking off goods for a customer. 

 The boxes and packages are stacked one 

 upon the other, and it is almost im- 

 possible for us to get through. Near this is 

 the expi'ess-room. in which all the goods are 

 put up that go by express. We next enter 

 the press-room, where Gleanings, our 

 price list, and the ABC book are printed. 

 The press is one of the best Cottrell & Bab- 

 cock makes. It not only runs nearly every 

 day in the year, but sometimes all night; 

 and the number of impressions it makes an- 

 nually, aggregate about 8,000,000. 



We will retrace our steps, edge around 

 the boxes, and pass down into the machine- 

 room. The first thing that greets our ears 

 is the perforating machine which "chanks, 

 chanks '' at the shining sheets of zinc. Here 

 is an iron-planer and three or four lathes. 

 In this room our repairing is done, the mak- 

 ing of mandrels and coiub-foundation mills, 

 besides other iron work connected with the 

 apiarian-supply business. Let us stop a mo- 

 ment and look at the comb - mills which 

 are in process of manufacture. The man 

 with the glasses stands watching the ma- 

 chine, with a lever in each hand, while the 

 cog-wheels and knives obey his will. We 

 can not stop longer. We enter the boiler- 

 roofu where all the steam is sup])lied for all 

 heating purposes, and for propelling the 

 machinery. There are two automatic feed- 

 pipes for conducting the sawdust, shavings, 



and sticks directly from the wood-working 

 machinery into the boiler-furnace; and all 

 that is necessary for the fireman to do is to 

 shovel in coal. While running the two 

 planers or the cutter-heads, the boiler is 

 nearly self -fcf ding. 



We now open the door, and pass back 

 again into the machine-room. The first thing 

 that confronts us is our deep well-pump. »6 

 feet deep, sui)plying all the water necessary 

 for propelling the machinery, and heating. 

 AVe pass into the wax-room, "where are from 

 10 to hi girls and young men busily at work 

 making foundation. Here is a couple of 

 dijtping - tanks, from which three or four 

 girls are dipping wax into long sheets. At 

 our left are two or three comb-mills running 

 out the thin foundation. At our right are 

 two machines running out heavy founda- 

 tion. The two latter are propelled by 

 steam. The girls complained last year 

 about its being hard to turn the rolls by 

 hand; but now we have called our big en- 

 gine to assist; and I tell you, friends, it is a 

 great help indeed. At the end of the wax- 

 room is a man making boxes, and boxing 

 foundation. 



We will now go through the underground 

 passageway where we have our underground 

 railway. Here you will find stacks and 

 stacks'of goods. We follow the track until 

 we come to what was originally our old tin- 

 room. This is now used exclusively for the 

 storage of counter goods and seeds. We 

 pass up the stairway, and, lo ! we are in the 

 counter store, pretty nearly back to where 

 we started. Here you will find two or three 

 ladies keeping the counters filled as packers 

 and customers take away the goods. You 

 exclaim, "How is it that you can furnish 

 such nice-looking goods for such a small 

 sura of money V' It does seem incredible, I 

 know ; but the secret is in knowing where 

 to get goods at a low cost, and in large quan- 

 tities. A man was in -Saturday to look after 

 the working of some of the new machinery 

 his house had put in. He went into the 

 counter store and picked up an adjustable 

 wrench. Pretty soon he came to me, saying, 

 " Mr. Root, what does Jt mean, that you sell 

 a good-sized, well-made adjustable wrench 

 like this for only 2-5 cts. V Do you really 

 steal them ?" 



" Why. no, my friend, we don't steal them, 

 but we I to this: VV^e write to some large 

 factory, and say, 'Gentlemen, how low will 

 you make us five gross of eight-inch wrench- 

 es, providing we will give the order away 

 ahead, so you can make them at your leisure 

 —during a dull spell, for instance ?' They 

 reply, that if they can take their own time, 

 and make, say, a part of them at one time 

 and a part at anothei", they will do so and 

 so, and that is the way we get low prices on 

 many things." But, to return. 



Thus far we have just gone through only 

 the main building. We will now retrace our 

 steps and pass through the packing-rooms 

 until we come out of the door seen just at 

 the right of the locomotive going up the 

 track. We pass along this elevated side- 

 walk and open a door at the end of the 

 new building. Here we are greeted by the 

 deafening roar of humming machinery. The 



