1899 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



481 



sorts of people — big and little, old and young, 

 black and white ; but for all that, every thing 

 seemed to go on very harmoniously and quiet- 

 ly. Little colored boys, who seemed hardly 

 big enough to carry a quart of berries, would 

 march in with a tray on their heads, and offer 

 their filled quart boxes and get their tickets. 

 Some of them did not have very elaborate 

 clothing, but they always arranged to have a 

 pocket that would carry their tickets safely. A 

 smart colored man received the boxes on a 

 scrt of counter, letting the picker take his 

 tray back to the field. The proprietor's son 

 was stationed near by with tickets of different 

 values stowed in hand)' pockets ; and he al- 

 ways had the proper ticket or tickets to hand 

 out just as soon as the picker was ready to go 

 back. 



We happened to be there just as the dinner- 

 bell sounded, and it was a treat to me to see 

 that motlev crowd come in. God knows I am 

 interested in human beings as well as in straw- 

 berries ; and I was greatly pleased to see the 

 pleasant feeling that seemed to exist between 

 employer and employee. Friend Trotman pays 

 two cents a quart right through for picking 

 the berries. He said it was a little more than 

 some others paid, but he liked to have his 

 workmen satisfied. I asked him where he 

 found his most expert pickers — among the 

 men, women, or children. He said a colored 

 widow woman and her two little bits of chil- 

 dren (it might have been three) were about 

 the best pickers he had in his employ. He 

 said he had recently paid her $23 in cash for 

 one week's work with herself and children. 

 Some of those little colored boys and girls 

 were remarkably quick and handy at the busi- 

 ness. You see it is not so much work for 

 them to double up and stoop over as it is for 

 older people. In the rush at noon time it was 

 almost impossible to prevent some confusion 

 and disorder. I was pleased to see Mr. Trot- 

 man gently reprove a colored man for tramp- 

 ing on a good new berry-box. Somebody tip- 

 ped them over, and in the hurry to get ready 

 for dinner they were not picked up The 

 man put his foot on a nice clean box. Now, 

 the value of these boxes is not much over a 

 quarter of a cent each ; but letting the people 

 trample the boxes under foot, even if they 

 represent only a small value, establishes a bad 

 precedent. It always pains me to see property 

 wasted. Waste not, want not. We received 

 a warm invitation to take dinner with the 

 proprietor ; but other plans for dinner had 

 been made. 



Special Notices by A. I. Root. 



THE BRANDYWINE STRAWBERRY. 



At this date, June 13, the greater part of our straw- 

 berry-picking is over: but to-dav we a;e picking 

 Brandywines almost as large as small peaches, and 

 ever so much more luscious than any peach, in my 

 opinion, and we are selling them at the ridiculously 

 low price of 5 cts. a quart: half-bushel. 4 cts. a quart. 

 The Brandywine. besides its other good qualities, can 

 remain on the vines, without rotting or getting soft, 

 longer than anv other variety I know of; and this has 

 been an exceedingly valuable quality during this year 

 of gluts in the markets and exceedingly low prices. 



STRAWBERRY-PLANTS IN JUNE AND JULY. 



Yes, new plants can be furnished, but it is pretty ex- 

 pensive business: because, if you take off the "first 

 plant as soon as it is firmly rooted, it spoils all that is 

 beyond it; and you have to hunt < ver your patch even 

 then in order to find them sufficiently well rooted to 

 be sent safely by mail: and, in fact, the only way to 

 send them out so there is almost no danger at all from 

 losses in planting during the hottest month of the 

 year is tq send potted plants: and to go by mail they 

 need to go potted in jadoo fiber. We are now ready 

 to fill orders for a few kinds, potted in jadoo fiber, say 

 Nick Ohmer, Carrie, and Margaret; and we can fur- 

 nish any of them in our list on ten days' notice; but 

 we should not like to sell them at this season of the 

 year for less than 5 cts. each, postpaid by mail. Nick 

 Ohmer will be 10 cts. each. In the latter part of July 

 and August we shall be able to make better prices. I 

 suppose the friends know, of course, that a strawber- 

 ry-plant put out the first of July, or a little earlier, 

 will make a great number of plants before winter if it 

 is properly cared for. 



m^^^: 



SPECIAI^NOT.ICES 



*" t - w " BUSINESS MANA 



BY 



HIGHER PRICES ON ALL WIRE GOODS. 



Owing to continued advances in the price of wire 

 we are obliged to withdraw all prices on wire nails 

 and wire goods, and will quote prices on application. 

 We will try to have new lists of prices made up for 

 next issue. In the meantime orders will be filled at 

 the lcwest price we can make, consistent with the 

 market. 



WANTED, QUEENS. 



We are having an exceptionally large call for queens 

 this season, and are not able to supply the demand; 

 and, worse still, we are not able to get queens from 

 the South from regular breeders as fast as we can use 

 them If there are others who have good untested 

 queens to spare we wish thev would send in their 

 names at once, with price asked in dozen lots. Inferi- 

 or queens, old queens, scrubby queens, little and 

 black queens, we will not take at any price. 



ADVANCING PRICES. 



Owing to the continued advance in price of all 

 kinds of metals, a general revision of prices of arti- 

 cles, composed principally of metals, will have to be 

 made in the near future. The prices of all kinds of 

 lumber have already advanced an average of about 

 ^4.00 per 1000 feet, and the upward trend in prices 

 still continues. This will make necessary a revision 

 in prices of almost every thing in our catalog. If you 

 are at all likely to need supplies of any kind in our 

 catalog, you will not buy cheaper than now, but are 

 likely to pay higher prices before another season rolls 

 round. 



A B C OF BEE CULTURE OUT OE PRINT. 



The demand for this popular work has been so 

 brisk for the past year that the edition was entirely 

 exhausted several weeks ago. At the rate it had been 

 selling we calculated that we should have enough to 

 last till next fall. It is desirable to have each new 

 edition fully up to date, and we did not begin the new 

 edition till March, believing that would be time 

 enough to get it completed before the old edition was 

 sold out. A large amount of revising and rewr ting is 

 needed, and the work progresses si 'wly. It is likely 

 to be September before the new edition is complete. 

 In the meantime we have orders booked for hundreds 

 of copies, many of which are urgently needed. If 

 any of our readers know of any books that are avail- 

 able we should like to get track of them. We will 

 trade a copy of the new edition, when done, for new 

 books of the old edition. If you have any to spare, 

 write us; but don't send the books, as we raav want 

 them sent direct to customers, and thus avoid one 

 mailing with the necessary stamps In this trade we 

 should expect you to pay one postage at least. We 

 want to accommodate those who are in urgent need of 

 the books, and can not well wait till the new edition 

 is completed. 



