S64 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



A meinber of the Gleanings editorial 

 stait has simmered down the information in 

 the national and Ohio bulletins on sweet 

 clover and in the pamphlet, " The Truth 

 About Sweet Clover," written by A. 1. 

 Root. The writer has added some new 

 information wliich has been brought out of 

 late in farm magazines and in Gleanings. 



The wide adaptability of sweet clover, 

 its value as a soil-renewer, its usefulness 

 as pasture and hay, and the methods of 

 securing a good stand, have been featured 

 in a logical and readable manner. 



"^I'o individuals making application we 

 shall be glad to send these booklets for 

 one cent to cover postage. Organizations 

 can secure them in reasonable quantities 

 free of charge by giving the name of the 

 president and secretary and stating the 

 number desired. 



Fire Damage of $15,000 to R. G. Coombs 



It will be remembered that some time ago 

 a brother-in-law of Earl M. Nichols, Mr. 

 Herbert F. Gary, of Lyonsville, Mass., a 

 dealer in beekeepers' supplies, was killed in 

 an automobile accident — p. 878, 1914. The 

 death of this brother-in-law handling an- 

 other line of their business made it nec- 

 essary for Mr. Nichols, his partner, to give 

 up the bee suppUes, and he sold out to Mr. 

 Robert G. Coombs, of Guilford, Vt. Since 

 then, Mr. Coombs, on June 22, suf- 

 fered the loss bj^ fire of his factory build- 

 ing, containing some $15,000 worth of bee 

 supplies. In the mean time, he himself was 

 taken down with appendicitis. Fortunate- 

 ly the fire did not cause a total loss, as 

 some of the goods were stored in a private 

 dwelling. Nothing has been said as to 

 whether the pi'operty was covered by in- 

 surance. In the absence of any statement 

 to the contrary we assume that it Avas, and 

 that the business will be taken care of as 

 formerly as soon as Mr. Coombs recovers. 

 Further particulars will be given later. 



How Advertising Confidence is Created 



From breeders of bees and queens who 

 seek to use the advertising pages of Glean- 

 ings we have been expecting certain explic- 

 it information regarding their plans and 

 ability to back up their promises with per- 

 formances. 



We have been requiring to know of every 

 one taking space in our columns how large 

 his yard, the quality of his stock, when he 

 expects to make his deliveries, and especial- 

 ly have we required reliable information 

 regarding the character of the advertiser 



and his ability to refund promptly money 

 which has been placed in his hands for cer- 

 tain orders. 



The difficulties of the queen business in 

 this country are almost as great as those of 

 the king business in Europe. 



For the protection of subscribers, there- 

 fore, it is only fair that we scrutinize the 

 promises so closely. Since this reacts fa- 

 vorably on the value of the advertising it- 

 self we are not surprised to receive numer- 

 ous letters in the vein of the following fi-om 

 a well-known firm of queen-breeders: 



Permit us to express our most sincere esteem of 

 your firm. The stand you are taking in refusing 

 advertisments in Gleanings has increased our esti- 

 mation of that periodical more than we can tell you. 



Advertisers recognize that the appearance 

 of their announcement in Gleanings in 

 Bee Culture is itself a credit rating. Buy- 

 ers understand this, and are ordering in 

 confidence. 



Moving Bees in Carlots from North to 



South Not a Financial Success for 



Honey Alone 



Elsevi^here in this issue, page 587, will 

 be found a report by E. R. Root, of moving 

 bees from north to south. It is much easier 

 for one to tell about his successes rather 

 than his failures. Perhaps in this case we 

 should refer to what has not been a great 

 success. While we have not lost anything 

 in moving bees from south to north we 

 cannot say that we have made very much 

 money at it. The railroad companies charge 

 so high a rate on bees, plus the railroad 

 fai-e of the attendant, that they will shut 

 out migratory beekeeping on a large scale. 

 It cost us nearly $2 a colony to move a car- 

 load of bees from the North to the extreme 

 South, and of course it costs as much to get 

 them back. It goes without saying, that no 

 man who is working for honey alone can 

 afford to take the chance. Even if he can 

 get three dollars' worth of honey in the 

 South, and three dollars' worth again in the 

 North, after the bees are moved back, he 

 would hardly get enough to pay for his own 

 lime, for the simple reason that he would 

 have to pay out two-thirds of his gross 

 proceeds for transportation alone. But it 

 is quite a different proposition when one 

 moves bees south for making increase, and 

 then sells the bees at a fair price on arrival 

 back north. If he can secure a crop of 

 honey while in the South, he is so mucli 

 ahead. From Ihe first two cars we did this; 

 from the two cars last year we didn't; but 

 from the two cars this year we may do it 

 again. 



