18556 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



277 



er to lliem, unless made very lieavy, and also 

 because they are not conveniently iiooked or 

 unhooked \vlien you are in a hurry. The 

 devi'ce shown above possesses great strength 

 because the point of the hook is held by a 

 projecting arm of the iron. This projecting 

 arm is arched over so it can not hit against 

 the screw-head. This arch also serves as a 

 projecton to strike against when you wish to 

 dra\v the clasp up tighter, or to release it. 

 On the opposite corner a similar projection 

 answers the same purpose. If you can not 

 get hold of a stone or piece of brick to drive 

 them off or on. you can almost always make 

 your boot -heel" hit one projection or the 

 other; and the machine is so stout that 

 there is no danger of breaking it. Since 

 iron has come down in price, we are now en- 

 abled to sell these clasps for 2 cts. each, with 

 a couple of strong screws included. In lots 

 of ten, 18 cts.; or lUO. Sl.-'O. If wanted by 

 mail, the postage will be 2 cts. each extra. 

 Where you want lUOO clasps, without screws, 

 w-e can furnish them for an even ^10. UO, or 

 at a cost of onlv 1 cent each. 



PERTAINING TO BEE CULTURE. 



We respectfully solicit the aid of our friends in conducting 

 this department, and wouid consider it a favor lo have them 

 send us all circulars that have a deceptive appearance. The 

 greatest care will be at all times maintained to prevent injus- 

 tice being done any on». 



N. C. MITCHELL, AGAIN. 



fRIEND ROOT:— Do you know any thing about 

 the National Bee-way Co., with N. C. Mitchell 

 lor manager? He gave a lecture here the 

 other evening-, and wants to introduce his 

 house here. It is patented. He wants to 

 sell rights to use, etc. I should like information. 

 Plymouth, Richhind Co., O. John Edwin. 



Friend E..you are evidently not conver- 

 sant with our back volumes, or you would 

 have known that N. C. Mitchell lias been ad- 

 vertised as a fraud and swindler for years 

 together. For some time past, however, we 

 have heard little about him ; but of late I 

 have had several notices that he was at work 

 around Cincinnati. Do not, under any cir- 

 cumstances, pay him any money. He is not 

 in accordance with modern bee-keeping, and 

 any money sent to him, or given to him, is 

 lost. Some years ago I told the friends that 

 it was like pouring water into a tunnel. The 

 money is gone as soon as it is out of your 

 hands, and you have nothing in the way of 

 an equivalent, and no means of getting it 

 back. 



BLUEUEI(HV-P1,ANTS AND DELOS STAPLES. 



1 bought .")(10 blueberry-plants of D. Staples, Mich- 

 igan, last year, and liave none left to tell the tale, 

 although carefully set. The plants looked like 

 huckleberr\-bushes pulled up in some swamp, that 

 were three or lour years old, and from 4 in. to 18 in. 

 high. 1 think he is a fraud. C. A. Hatch. 



Ithaca, Wis., Mar. 2;2, 1886. 



In rci)ly to y<.vtr inquii-ics about blueberry-iilants, 

 we would say that we purchased one dozen from 

 Deles Staples. They were r-cnt liy mail, and when 



received they were as dry as last year's pca-bi-ush. 

 They had neither oiled paper nOr moss around them, 

 but were wrapped In a piece of old newspaper. 

 We made up our minds that ho belonged to that 

 great army of frauds our country is cursed with, 

 and did not care to waste a postage-stamp writing 

 about the matter. A. H. & G. B. W^)rthen. 



Warsaw, 111., March 30, 1886. 



At the time Mr. Staples tirst advertised 

 blueberry-plants in our journal, we ordered 

 some for our own use. They were simply 

 dry sticks, with scarcely any thing on them 

 that could be called a root. I wrote to him, 

 I'emonstrating. lie said they would grow, 

 even if they had no roots. By great care 

 and sutllcient watering, we got a little start 

 on a few^ of the sticks; but, with all our 

 care, none of them lived. In the tirst place, 

 it is preposterous to call dry brush " plants.'' 

 The reason 1 asked for reports from others 

 was because I wanted to see whether that 

 was his fashion of doing business. The 

 above letters, it seems, settle the matter 

 sutiiciently. If the friends will tell us what 

 they paid "for their plants, we will pay them 

 back their money; and, inasmuch as Mr. 

 Staples has advertised blueberry - plants 

 quite extensively through all of our agricul- 

 tural papers, I would ask that he be as wide- 

 ly advertised as a humbug and swindler. 

 Several of our agricultural papers have 

 already published him as above, and that is 

 wiiat called my attention to the matter. I 

 very much doubt wiiether blueberry -plants 

 will grow on ani/ soil, as he asserts, even if 

 good strong plants with roots were fur- 

 nished. Will our nursery friends please 

 say if I am not right ? 



THE GKEAT "acme PENETRATIVE," FOK BURNING 

 STUMPS, ONCE MORE. 



We copy the following from the American 

 Agriculturist : 



Subscribers are receiving a glowing circular print- 

 ed on L)lue paper, describing the virtues of the 

 "Great Acme Penetrative." of New Carlisle, Ohio. 

 The circular sets forth, that "this penetrative actu- 

 allj' burns stumps," and "good, honest agents arc 

 wanted." Then follows a long list of indorsements 

 from people who have used the Great Acme Pene- 

 trative; but, unfortunately for Messrs F. E. Fross 

 & Co., of New Carlisle, who claim to manufacture 

 this i)enetrative, they have foi-gotton to give the 

 liostoflKcc address of a single individual who indors- 

 es their combustible. 



The friends will notice that it is much in 

 line with what we said on page 44, in our 

 issue for Jan. 15, 188(). This F. E. Fross has 

 also been offering seed-corn, possessing re- 

 markable virtues. Many of our agricultural 

 papers have advertisetl the corn. Fross 

 claims that he offers the seed at a price that 

 would pay only for the packing and postage, 

 in his zeal to have farmers test it through- 

 out the dilferent parts of the countiy ; but 

 complaints have become so numerous, say- 

 ing tliat that lie never sent any corn at all, 

 that the editors receiving his advertisements 

 have lieen obliged to apologize for them. 

 We have private advices, saying that the 

 corn .lie has advertised so extensively was 

 purchased by him out of the farmers' cribs, 

 anywhere he could lind it in his, own vicini- 

 ty. Will our agricultural friends please 

 pass him around until he discovers that the 

 way cf tlie transgressor is hard? 



