1899 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



24o 



■M^f^k ° _ - BUSINESS, MAMA 



BY K 



SUPER SPRING WEDGES. 



The new springs for side compression in our supers 

 are not quoted in the catalog. We have them in two 

 lengths for the shallow and deep supers. Price lc 

 each; 75c per 100; by mail, 10c per 1(X1 extra. 



no. 2 SECTIONS. 

 We are so much oversold on No. 2 sections that we 

 have ordered over half a million from another manu- 

 facturer who has a surplus. Bven with this help we 

 shall not be able to furnish as many of this grade as 

 are ordered. 



N-EW EDITION OF THE A B C OF BEE CULTURE 



The present edition of the A B C is almost exhaust- 

 ed, and will be all gone before we can get a new edi- 

 tion from the press. We expect to issue a new edi- 

 tion during the summer. It is likely to be July or 

 August before it is completed. In the meantime let 

 dealers order sparingly, to make the present edition 

 last till the new is ready. 



MAPLE SUGAR AND SYRUP. 



The season is favorable in this vicinity for maple 

 products; and while we are not handling them to the 

 extent we have sometimes done in the past, still we 

 can supply those who have been accustomed to send 

 to us for sugar and syrup. Choice syrup will be $1.00 

 per gal.; 89.00 for 10 gallons. Sugar'at 10, 9. and 8 cts. 

 per lb., according to quality; 50-lb. lots %c less; barrel 

 lots of about 300 lbs. 1 ct. less. 



ADVANCING PRICES. 



The upward move in prices of all metal goods is 

 something phenomenal. Inside of three months the 

 price of tin plates has advanced fully 25 per cent, and 

 this affects the price of all articles of tinware. The 

 advance in wire and wire nails has been even greater, 

 figured in per cents, and the end is not yet. This ad- 

 vancing movement may be expecied to continue for 

 some time to come, for the lately formed trusts have 

 every thing their own way, and competition will re- 

 quire many months to get started. The trusts are not 

 primai ily responsible for the advancing prices — they 

 are simply taking advantage of a condition. Prices 

 on iron and steel had gone so low that many old-time 

 establishments for turning out iron products had to 

 shut down because they could not compete with more 

 modern plants where the cost of production was re- 

 duced to a much lower point. The enormous increase 

 in demand in recent months has used up the surplus 

 so that there is an actual famine in steel billets, and 

 the plants now in operation running day and night 

 can not make them in the quantities required to sup- 

 ply the demand. Supply and demand are the source 

 of the upward move in prices, and the trusts will see 

 to it that prices stav up as long as possible. This con- 

 dition is not without its blessings, for thousands of 

 workingmen have had their wages raised voluntarily 

 by these large corporations, who are thus sharing 

 their prosperity with their^workmen. 



THIN-BASE FOUNDATION. 



The new foundation that is set forth in this issue we 

 call "thin-base" to distinguish it from the former 

 products of drawn foundation and deep-cell founda- 

 tion, as well as to emphasize the particular feature 

 that we've sought to accomplish. It is made in squares 

 just right to fill a pound sec ion, and there are 90 of 

 these pieces for a 4% section in a pound box. We can 

 furnish it also for the 4x5 or 3 5 sx5 when so ordered. 

 The cost of experimenting has been very heavy, and 

 the co-t of making, for the present, is no small item. 

 We are furnishing the power and the sheeted wax, 

 and piying Mr. Weed 50 cts. a pound for the first 1000 

 pounds, so that we are hardly getting more than cost 

 when we sell it at $1.00 a pound. You can afford to 

 pay this price for it in limited quantities to test; and 

 if it proves valuable, as we have every reason to be- 

 lieve it will, the cost of making can be greatly reduc 

 ed by a larger expenditure in machinerv to turn it out 

 more rapidly, and the price may be reduced to 75 cts., 

 but not this season. We will furnish 7 or 8 pieces put 



up in a section, inside a carton, for 15 cts. postpaid; 24 

 pieces, prepaid, for 40 cts.: 48 pieces, prepaid, for 75 

 cts.; lib. box. prepaid, for $1.25. Bv express o- freight 

 with other goods. 81.00 per pound, "in lots of % pound 

 or more We have in stock, readv to ship at once, 

 about 200 lbs., and are turning out over 20 pounds a 

 day, so that we hope to be able to supplv it as needed, 

 and we trust a large number will get sufficient to ex- 

 periment with, and report after the season is over. 

 The larger the number who do so, the more valuable 

 the result in determining its real value and worth. 



Special Notices by A. I. Root. 



WANTED — SEEDS OF HONEY-PLANTS. 



We are just out of fresh seeds of both spider-plant 

 and figwort. If any of our readers have some seeds 

 that have been recently gathered, so that they will be 

 sure to germinate, we shall be glad to hear from them. 



OUR NEW SPRAYERS. 



Since advertising these at 60 cts. for the tin ones, 

 and 25 cents more for the same made of biass, I have 

 been a good deal surprised to see that three-fourths of 

 our customers pay the 25 cts. extra, and take the brass 

 one. And I think this is reallv a wise thing to do, for 

 i he brass one ought to last a lifetime A nother thing, 

 although there is no end to these makes of cheap 

 spray-pumps I believe ours is the lowest in price of 

 any made all of brass ; and at only $7.50 a dozen there 

 ought to be a big demand for them during the coming 

 season. 



SOJA BEANS. 



We have a nice lot of fresh seed. Pint, 10 cts.; peck, 

 75 cts.; bushel, $2.50. If wanted by mail, add at the 

 rate of 8 cts. a pint for postage. I "believe our experi- 

 ment stations are all giving favorable reports of this 

 new leguminous plant, and several have written us 

 that the beans picked green, or even cooked dry, are 

 not only sustaining, but really good, when properlv 

 cooked. This beau contains so much oil that no fa"t 

 pork need be added when cooking. We also have a 

 good stock of American coffee-berry, which is a small 

 variety of the snja bean. Price: l A pint, 10 cts.; pint, 

 15 cts.: quatt. 25 cts. Its value for coffee need not be 

 discussed now, for almost everybody has tried it, and, 

 I might say, almost approved of it. 



SEED POTATOES. 



At one time I began to fear that potatoes were going 

 to be low again this spring; but since the big freeze in 

 February prices have gone up steadily, and at the 

 pre-ent writing good table potatoes are'quoted in the 

 Cleveland market at from 60 to 65 cts. per bushel. 

 This, y u see, is about the same as our lowest prices 

 on seed potatoes — $2.00 a barrel. As a consequence we 

 are sold out of Carman No. 1, Mills' Prize, and State 

 of Maine. Of the Monroe Seedling and Rural New- 

 Yorker we still have a few left at $2.00 a bushel. 

 White Triumph, Early Ohio, and Burpee's Extra Ear- 

 ly, are also gone: but we have a very good stock of 

 the following: Bovee, Thoroughbred, New Queen, 

 Carman No. 3, and Manum's Enormous For prices 

 see catalog, which will be sent on application. 



SORGHUM FOR STOCK : BEETS; STRAWBERRIES; 

 CEMENT FLOORS. 



The above is the title of a valuable little book by 

 our veteran institute worker Waldo F. Brown. Price 

 10 cents. The article on cement floors is worth the 10 

 cents ever so many times over. It tells how to make 

 substantial cement floors for stables, pigpens, side- 

 walks, around the well, or anywhere else. The direc- 

 tions are so plain that any one who owns a home 

 ought to be able to do the work himself ; and he tells 

 you how to make a substantial floor at a comparative- 

 ly small expense for material. A good many masons 

 who undertake to do this kind of work waste material, 

 and do not get a good job then, as I happen to know 

 by experience. If you are going to do any work of 

 that sort, or even have it done, this booklet may save 

 you dollars. 



The article on growing sorghum for sto^k, and also 

 the one on growing beets, may be equally valuable. 

 The directions for growing strawb rries for home use 

 are up to the very latest teachings, and it is boiled 

 down into a small compass. As I read it through I 

 kept saying to myself all along, " There, that is exact- 

 ly as I would advise." May be friend B. will not feel 



