GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 15 



stick by us; and, as one pleased customer will often 

 bring half a dozen more buyers, so one unsatisfied 

 customer will often deter half a dozen from buying. 



Mr. Facey's second point is: "Sales largely 

 depend upon pushing the goods." Concern- 

 ing this, he says: 



We must keep our goods before our customers. A 

 family promptly supplied will use several times as 

 much as one that has to hunt for the goods. I know 

 families which, when promptly supplied, will use 

 from twenty to thirty gallons of honey per year, who 

 otherwise do not use more than four or five gallons. 

 Honey is an article which is used by many people, or, 

 perhaps, by most people, largely in proportion as it is 

 drawn to their attention, and made easy to obtain. 

 Its sale must be push^ d; hence store-keepers often so 

 signally fail in building up a trade. It is a luxury, 

 but where constantly supplied it is then a necessity. 



I have not found the fear of adulteration much of an 

 obstacle in my trade. I am very particular as to the 

 purity of my honey, and I absolutely guarantee all I 

 sell. If any thing puzzles my customers I regard it as 

 a favor to be permitted to clear up the matter. We 

 often sell our honey to people who know nothing 

 about bees, and, therefore, when so many bee-keepers 

 know so little about honey, we can not expect them to 

 know much, except that it is pleasant to the taste and 

 a desirable article of food. I acquaint them with the 

 workings of the pure-food commission, and am always 

 pleased to have any test made. Our very willingness 

 to submit our goods to the test greatly increases con- 

 fidence in their quality and purity. We should avoid 

 trying to tear down another's reputation in order 

 to build up our own; and when I see this done my sus- 

 picions of the critic are always aroused, and I make 

 purchases of such people with extreme care. It cer- 

 tainly is no recommendation of our honey to say that 

 our neighbor's is poor. If it is poor, the people will 

 soon find it out without our officious declaration, and 

 the suspicion we attempt to place upon him will almost 

 invariably react upon ourselves. 



Previous favorable acquaintance with the 

 people along a given route goes far toward 

 making the machinery run easy in the sale 

 of honey. 



DEE KEEPING 



IN THE 30UTHVEST 



(Sfcv LOUfS SCfiOU 



A prosperous 1908 ! 



Save the pieces. It means much in the 

 course of time. 



All successful men have well-laid plans. 

 Have you? 



That Marbach queen-excluder seems to be 

 quite an improvement. I saw samples of it. 



Resolutions of the right kind are good if 

 carried out; so let us resolve to mace our 

 industry better than ever. Keep better bees, 

 and keep bees better. 



A mild winter and lots of rain here in the 

 South has given a new impetus to bee-keep- 

 ing. The bees are in fair condition; and 

 most of the main honey-yielding plants are 

 already well grown and bee-keepers are 

 hopeful. 



Plurality of queens has not appealed to 

 me. It may pan out something good later, 

 but at present it seems better to keep one 

 good queen in each separate colony. 



The divisible brood-chamber, after a ten- 

 years' trial and comparison with others, has 

 given excellent results. With me they are 

 time-savers, and afford me both pleasure 

 and profit. I can produce more honey with 

 them with less labor and expense. This 

 kind of hive is not a "new-fangled" thing 

 with me. 



"Sour clover" [Melilotus Indica), men- 

 tioned on page 1310, grows wild here, but is 

 not considered valuable for bees, as its 

 blooming period here is quite short, and bees 

 are not always present. It is an annual 

 here, naturalized along the southern borders 

 of Texas. When I first saw it before bloom- 

 ing it WMS mistaken fo. white sweet clover. 

 The fact that it grows so well indicates that 

 the other species, more valuable to the bee- 

 keepers, M. alba and M. officinalis, should 

 thrive here also. I will try them. 



Stachelhausen used divisible-brood-cham- 

 ber hives extensively for years: and with 

 these and shaking swarms he managed out- 

 apiaries auccpssfully. With these divisible 

 hives, swarming can be successfully con- 

 trolled whon running outyards for either ex- 

 tracted or comb honey. For years his aver- 

 age per cent of swarming has been onlv 2. 

 His son-in-law, Mr. Ed. Dietz, succeeds him 

 in his business, and is as enthusiastic about 

 such hives. When supplies are made at 

 home such hives are cheaper, for they may 

 be cut from narrow lumber. 



Organizing the bee-keeping forces for bet- 

 ter production, wiser distribution, profitable 

 prices, and better care of the apiary, is work 

 th^t should be given more attention. There 

 is no better time to begin this than now. 

 The time has come when organized efforts 

 will bring better results. Education is nec- 

 essary in all branches, and this should be 

 eminent in association work. It is not how 

 much honey is produced, but how much of 

 it is better, and then sold in such a way that 

 it will bring most profitable returns. By 

 beginning with the better care of the apiary 

 during 1908, and applying it to all the other 

 brancnes as well, a step would be made in 

 the right direction. 



Around to all the apiaries should be made 

 in early spring. The colonies should be ex- 

 amined for stores, queenlessness, and other 

 conditions, and noted. This will save many 

 colonies which often starve when the owner 

 thinks they have sufficient stores or are all 

 queenright and well. Take along an ax, a 

 hoe, and a rake, and cut off those low limbs 

 and trim up the trees where the veil caught 

 last summer. Cut out the stumps and other 

 rubbish; rake it off, and see the effect. It 

 shows upl^nicely. "Little drops of water. 



