122 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



I'eB. 



%ii^ "pcmm. 



This department Is to be kept for the benefit of those who are 

 dissatisfied; and when anything is amiss, 1 hope you will "talk 

 right out. " As a lule, we will omit names and addresses, to 

 avoid being too personal. 



fjIllS time it is not an individual, but it is 

 a convention of individuals, it would 

 — seem, and we lind it in the Syracuse 

 Standnrd of .Jan. 24. At the head of the ar- 

 ticle we read, 'Motion taken by the North- 

 Eastern Bee - Keepers' Association. We 

 extract as below : 



Mr. Benedict said that A. I. Root, publisher of 

 Gleanings in Bee Cultcthb, has proclaimed that 

 his journal has 1.50.IJ00 readers. The speaker said 

 that Mr. Root will give some iDticlc, he has to sell an 

 editorial puff. Five thousand leaders will think that 

 the article is a grood thing, and will send Mr. Root a 

 dollar apiece. 3Ir. Root will be in *5n(in, and 5000 

 liard-working men will be out a dnUar ai>iicc. In the 

 speaker's opinion. Mr. Root and hia magazine arc 

 liurtful to hee-heavrs. 



A member said he did not believe that the maga- 

 zine has more than 6000 subscriber?. Several mem- 

 bers expressed opinions uncomplimentary to Mr. 

 Root and his Gleaiiings. 



Now, friends, it seems to me that is naugh- 

 ty. We have never had l.')U,000 subscribers, 

 " nohow," and I am sure I never tliought or 

 said we had l.jO.OOO readers ; and, by the way, 

 my good friend Benedict, is not your logic, 

 on the face of it, spiteful just a little bit? 

 If those articles which I so wickedly offer 

 for sale did not cost me "ary red," and every 

 one of our -'MM) readers (by (he way, how did 

 the readers shrink down to -lOOO so quickly V) 

 bought them at a dollar apiece, it might be 

 true. It seems to me the remarks are the 

 more unkind and thoughtless, because I 

 have, almost since the commencement of 

 Gleanings, given the exact number of sub- 

 scribers in every monthly issue. If tlie 

 friend who made the above remarks is a sub- 

 scriber to Gleanings, he would have seen 

 that our number in the .Januiiry number 

 was given at 427-"). 1 believe that our pur- 

 chasers are usually satislied that the goods 

 they buy of me are sold at a very small prof- 

 it, instead of vn.^tlng iiothiity and selling at a 

 dollar. And another thing, I believe (tLeax- 

 iNGs has always been ready to advertise any 

 good thing that comes up, no matter who 

 made it or where. It is true, I liave very 

 often added, after a description, that if the 

 friends wished, I would get the articles for 

 them at such and such a price, and perhaps 

 I have really illustrated too many wares in 

 this way that I have had for sale, or perhaps 

 I have undertaken to sell too many things. 

 In extenuation, let me illustrate it by tihe 

 following letter that was in my hand when I 

 picked up the Syracuse paper. It is in re- 

 gard to Sturvvorld's case for exhibitinsr and 

 selling honey, illustrated on page 11. When 

 I illustrated this case I spoke of its good 

 points, and did not say a word about making 

 them or having them for sale, as some of the 

 friends complain I have so often done. I 

 was not surprised, then, when (lueries began 

 to come in like the-following : 



What is just such a show case for honey as Stur- 

 wold's Worth, as illustrated on pag-e 11 of the Janu- 

 ary number? Do you intend to make them? 



John W. Ni.man. 



Spring Mill, Richland Co., O., Jan., 1884. 



Now, our friend is not unreasonable. He 

 knows that I could have the cases made by 

 the dozen or hundred, for perhaps half what 

 ic would cost bee-keepers to have them got- 

 ten up singly, and therefore he with others 

 would like to have me do it. Were it possi- 

 ble for me to compass so many things, no 

 doubt I should be doing them a favor and a 

 kindness by getting competent manufactu- 

 rers to give us a price on them by the quan- 

 tity. I admit, that my project of making 

 manufacturers name a low figure for any 

 thing that bee-keepers might want has been 

 a successful one, and I thank God for hav- 

 ing placed it in my power to help my friends 

 and customers in just that way. Neverthe- 

 less, there may be some truth in the charge 

 brought against me, and I will think it over 

 carefully ; for when people speak ill of us 

 they often utter truths that our friends would 

 hesitate to speak. 



A GOOD TETTER FROM AN A B C SCHOI^- 

 AR OF ONIiY ONE YEAR'S GROWTH. 



ALSO A GOOD SUGGESTION IN REGARD TO THE 

 STURWOLD HONEY SHOAV-CASE. 



fAM a new subscriber to your journal. I com- 

 menced with the first number of this year. I 

 ■ am well pleased with your paper; besides, I 

 think that I am already doubly paid my subscrip- 

 tlon'price by the suggestions of friend Sturwold, of 

 Raymond, Jnd., in regard to making honey sell. I 

 see from his article that he gives his plan to the 

 bee-keepers of your particular family. I have adopt- 

 ed it, with a small improvement (I think); viz., be- 

 low the show-case proper I have made a cabinet 

 large enough to hold a 2l-lb. case of comb honey, in 

 a drawer that opens on the back side of case under 

 the door, so that the grocer can keep his honey for 

 retailing, free from Hies, dirt, etc. You can give 

 the above improvement, if it is one, to your readers. 



I notice in your paper the success of different bee- 

 keepers, so I will give you mine. Last spring I 

 transferred, from old log and box hives, 8 colonies, 

 while the apples were in bloom. We had a very wet, 

 backward spring after that, and I fed back 7.5 or 100 

 lbs. honey. My apiary increased by natural swarms 

 to 19 colonies. As soon as white clover was in 

 bloom I placed caps with section boxes with founda- 

 tion in them. I have had very good success. I have 

 sold f 100 worth of honey at ].">c. per lb.; have had all 

 the honey that we wanted to use on the table, and 

 have 100 lbs. on hand yet, besides 2,")0 partly filled 

 sections. My outlay is, for section boxes and foun- 

 dation, $11.2,'). I made enough hives for my neigh- 

 bors, so that I am out (besides my work) only Sets, for 

 my hives. I had 13 swarms: doubled two of them 

 when they came out; have lost one this winter; 

 have two Italianized. All are in good condition Jan. 

 10. I made from one hive of black bees, 231 lbs. 

 comb honey, in 1-lb .sections, but no swarms. 



This is my first year with bees in the movable- 

 frame hives. I will try feeding back honey (to fin- 

 ish up sections) on a small scale. I feel my way as I 

 go. and try not to jump at conclugions. 



Belle Prairie, 111., Jan. 28. Adam Crouch. 



Your idea is an excellent one, friend C, 

 and it begins to look now as if bee-keepers 

 would have tQ prepare something of that 

 kind to put in some suitable grocery or store 

 near them. If they keep supplies, and have 

 a sort of shop near the road, of their own, 

 perhai)S they might have such a case fixed 

 up in the front part of this shop. 



