THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



51 



arguing" this question. Both sides of 

 the question have been very fairly pre- 

 sented. The manufacturers admit that 

 there are instances in which it is ad- 

 visable for bee-keepers to make their 

 own hives, and there is no question 

 that there are instances in which it is 

 miore advisable to buy them of the man- 

 ufacturer, and the only waj' is for each 

 man to investig-ate and experiment, 

 until he finds out which is the better 

 way for him. 



A PROTEST FROM A SUPPLY DEALER. 



I am g'etting a vast amount of letters 

 and articles on this subject of home- 

 made hives versus the factory-made, 

 and, while I can't find room for one- 

 fourth of the matter, I do wish to g'ive, 

 if possible, tlie views of those who dif- 

 fer from me. It is a pleasure to pub- 

 lish a man's views when they differ 

 from mine, and, when they are so 

 pleasantlj^ expressed as tlie following-, 

 the pleasure is doubled. 



Indianapolis, Ind., Jan. 13, 1<X)4. 



Friend W. Z. : — I want to take up a 

 few moments of 3rour valuable time 

 while I do some scolding. I have no 

 doubt but what you are getting- scolded 

 by others and that you know just what 

 is coming now. I refer to your opin- 

 ions expressed about the bee-keepers 

 making- their hives and fixtures. I 

 have been a great admirer of the Re- 

 view and one of the most admirable 

 thing:s about it has been that you have 

 always taug'-ht the art of order and 

 neatness in the bee 3'^ard and the honey 

 house. Now, you have just g-one and 

 upset everj^thing-. I have no doubt but 

 what you will have many followers, 

 but I can not see. for the life of me, 

 how you can. conscientiously, g-ive the 

 advice that j'ou have given. Is it not 

 an absolute fact, that to go to a plan- 

 ing- mill and have a few hives made to 

 order from g-ood lumber, the cost 

 would exceed the price of the g-oods 

 i-nade in some up-to-date factory? I 

 feiir that I am entitled to no voice in 

 this matter because I am a dealer. If 

 I were not a dealer my voice would re- 

 main the same. You certainly have 

 traveled and visited enoug-h to be 



thoroughly posted oh these points. I 

 have been over the ground, too. I have 

 had bitter experience with special 

 g-oods ordered at planing mills and box 

 factories, — goods made by men who 

 never heard tell of a bee-space. If all 

 the bee-keepers of our land would de- 

 cide to follow the advice g-iven in the 

 Review, what a slipshod state of af- 

 fairs the bee business would drift into'. 

 Bee-keepers would paj' more for their 

 goods than they do now, and what a 

 mix-up I The supplj- dealer, the very 

 ones who support the Review, would 

 be compelled to seek other imployment. 



Yours, 



Walter S. Pouder. 



I have had the pleasure of compet- 

 ing at fairs with Bro. Pouder, of cor- 

 responding with him, and of doing 

 business with him ever since the Re- 

 view started. No man pays his bills 

 quite so promptly as does Mr. Pouder. 

 He has a warm place in my heart, and 

 it is indeed a pleasure to make room 

 for his letter, even if he is a supply 

 dealer, as he puts it. 



One other correspondent, whose 

 communication I am unable to use in 

 this issue, takes the same ground as 

 does Mr. Pouder, viz., that the making 

 of hives at home would lead to, and go 

 hand in hand with, slip-shod, slovenly 

 methods. It is true that some of the 

 apiaries with home-made hives have 

 been of the ram-shackle st3'le, but 

 truth compels me to say that some of 

 those furnished with factory-made 

 hives also belonged in the same cate- 

 gory, while some of the neatest, yes 

 the very neatest, apiaries and hives 

 that I ever beheld, were those where 

 the hives had been made at home. 

 Candidly. I think that this matter of 

 where the hives are made has very 

 little bearing on this point. If a man 

 is neat, orderl}', methodical and ac- 

 curate, his apiary will show it, re- 

 gardless of where his hives are made. 



Mr. Pouder asks if it is not an abso- 

 lute fact that it will cost more to go to 

 a planing mill and have a few hives 

 made than it would to buy them at 

 factory' prices. It is possible that it 



