1909 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 13 



AS THE ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT SEES IT 



All this is more interesting to the general public than the layman might at first 

 think. Were it not for the science to which modern advertising has been developed, 

 how should we in country and small towns know what is going on in the vast commer- 

 cial world beyond our ken ? If the fact were not heralded to us from the pages of 

 every magazine and newspaper we pick up, would we now be possessors of so many 

 modern improvements for the lessening of labor to the comfort of mankind.? Would 

 the average person know as much as he does about the necessity for sanitary surround- 

 ings, not only in our homes but in public places.!" Would there have been such a 

 movement as there has been recently for putting under ban all the various food prod- 

 ucts on the market which had not complied strictly with the laws of health .? 



There is also another view of the matter which frequently escapes attention: If it 

 were not for the revenue derived from the advertising pages of magazines and news- 

 papers these things themselves would be impossible. In a good many cases, at least, 

 the subscription prices would be beyond most of us. . Before advertising had reached 

 the place it has to-day, did we have as much valuable information distributed every 

 month for the small cost for which we now get it.? It is the advertiser who pays the 

 greater part of the actual cost of putting out the magazines which you read so carefully. 

 He is willing to pay for it, for he gets his value because of your interest in the space he 

 uses. For instance, in our own pap:r the amount of business sent us each year by the 

 large advertising agencies enables us to secure the best articles obtainable on bee cul- 

 ture, and to illustrate them as they should be, and to install machinery in our printing 

 department so that we may turn out our paper in the best shape. If it were not for the 

 advertisino; which we carry we should not be able to give our subscribers anywhere 

 near the value we do; and even if the subscription price were raised several times its 

 present rate we should have to run the paper at a loss if we carried no advertising. 



Another thing, you glance through the advertising pages of any standard maga- 

 zine of the better class and feel perfectly safe in ordering goods from the merchants who 

 advertise in them. You know that these advertisers are perfectly reliable financially, 

 and that their goods are as represented or their advertisement would not appear where 

 it does. 



We do not knowingly accept an order from an advertiser unless we know that he 

 is financially responsible, and that his product has the merit which he claims for it. 

 This is'one of the reasons why it is always best to mention the paper in which you saw 

 the advertisement when making an inquiry. If you mention Gleanings in Bee Cul- 

 ture each time that you write to its advertisers you will find that you will get prompt 

 attention and courteous treatment. The advertiser knows that we are personally inter- 

 ested in every one of our subscribers, and he will take pains to please you because he 

 has invested his money in space in our paper, and he naturally wants to get the best 

 returns from it possible. Of course, if he gets good returns you get good service, and 

 he is pleased with the investment in Gleanings, and renews his contract for another 

 season. 



