GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



has proven tliem wrong, for they are now 

 sold by the millions, and the demand is in- 

 creasing, I am informed. 



The suggestion has been made that we 

 beekeepers put out a writing-tablet with a 

 honey advertisement on the cover. The first 

 question that arises is: "Who will pay for 

 printing the covers"? " In our store we sell 

 a writing-tablet 6 x 9 inches in size, 1% 

 inches thick, weighing li/4 pounds, for five 

 cents, and make 20 per cent profit. It has 

 a red cover on which is printed " I am it." 



What could be put on the cover that 

 would convey any message of value to chil- 

 dren under fourteen years'? and out of an 

 assortment of twenty makes of tablets how 

 could we induce the child to buy any par- 

 ticular make? 



Like the little red sticker, " Eat Honey," 

 scriptural quotations regarding honey, and 



literature regarding the food value of hon- 

 ey, there is an element of good in the idea ; 

 but the only way to use it will be to induce 

 some manufacturer of tablets to get out a 

 natural-history series of tablets with perti- 

 nent paragraphs about bees and honey, if 

 it is possible to do so. 



The tablets cannot be sold by dealers in 

 beekeejDers' supplies, for children do not go 

 there. Drugstores, bookstores, and general 

 stores are where such things are most sold 

 and must be kept. I do not know how many 

 school children there are in this county, but 

 there are thousands. 



Personally I think a sign on a building, 

 " Eat Honey," where the children can see it 

 daily, would do as much good as a few 

 writing-tablets scattered about the county. 

 However, advertise, and keep eternally at it. 



Buckgrove, la. 



CHEAP ADVERTISING 



BY TARLTON-RAYMENT 



When we are of an analytical turn of 

 mind and probe into some of the weaknesses 

 on the business side of apiculture, the first 

 thing that arrests our attention is the negli- 

 gence of many apiarists regarding the value 

 of their stationery as a means of advertise- 

 ment. Some may suggest that we attach far 

 too much importance to mere scraps of pa- 

 per; but from our viewpoint the subject is 

 well worthy of more earnest thought than is 

 usually bestowed upon it. To enter upon a 

 disquisition as to the value of judicious 

 advertising would be to labor the point un- 

 necessarily ; but since striking, well-printed 

 stationery (labels of all kinds are included 

 in the category) may be the means of scor- 

 ing some beneficial publicity, not to provide 

 it is to throw away foolishly that which 

 more astute managers spend huge sums to 

 secure. 



Of course there are thousands of keen 

 bee-farmers who fully realize the advantages 

 to be thus gained, and who incur consider- 

 able expense; but I am honestly of the 

 opinion that the average " honey-grubber " 

 is far and away too careless. I frequently 

 receive communications that give anything 

 but a good impression of the writer's busi- 

 ness — usually a cheap plain envelope desti- 

 tute of any attempt to keep the sender's 

 business before the recipient. The same 

 criticism can be directed at the writing- 

 paper. 



The printing of gaudy, bombastic claims, 

 and hyperbole, ■ is ill aclvised at any time; 

 but a well-set-up head, especially a neat 



pictorial one, nowise detracts from the bus- 

 inesslike appearance of the epistle. 



A large number show a predilection for a 

 " cut " depicting a queen-bee. However, 

 such a picture conveys but little to the out- 

 sider; and, if of small size, often passes 

 quite unnoticed. On the contrary, a neat 

 etching of the apiary may be made to exhib- 

 it notable esthetic judgment on the part of 

 the owner, and, as such, arrests attention 

 and evokes admiration. The latter are the 

 prime requisites in all successful advertising 

 schemes. 



Some make use of a " catchy " word or 

 phrase, very successfully, tho of course the 

 benefit that follows is not then due to any 

 artistic appeal but to the whimsical or other 

 pre.sentation. Some few refrain from print- 

 ing anything other than a bald announce- 

 ment of name and address, arguing that 

 such a course is undignified. Many would 

 suggest a hesitancy on the apiarist's part to 

 acknowledge the source of his livelihood. 

 From time imiuemorial apiculture has claim- 

 ed among its devotees men of high attain- 

 ments. Then why should not we, humble 

 " grubbers of honey," extol the wonders of 

 the bee? All the foregoing remarks apply 

 with equal force to bill-heads, menus, labels, 

 etc. 



In the every-day conduct of our business 

 we are particularly careful to see that all 

 correspondence and goods are despatched 

 with a tradesmanlike finish. Shall we be 

 pardoned if we suggest that a streak of the 

 ai'tistie in onr composition is, perhaps, re- 



