540 



GLEANINGS IN 



EE CULTURE 



August, 1922 



season the bees made about a ton and one-half 

 of honey, which I sold for about $150. 



That fall I was a little past 21 and I went to 

 the Eastman Business College. I didn't know how 

 much it was going to cost me, so I had talked 

 with my father and he said he would help me 

 through if I didn't have enough. It cost $126 for 

 a four months' bookkeeping course, so I had some 

 money left. I started out and did several things 

 for about two years and then got a job as book- 

 keeper in a hardware store — was there two years 

 and two months, which gave me an opportunity 

 to learn some things about that business. After 

 that job I traveled out of Wilkesbarre, which was 

 only 19 miles from Scrauton. I traveled for five 

 years and two months and during that time I 

 sold to all kinds of stores — large department 

 stores, small retail stores, wholesale hardware, 

 wholesale druggists, meat packers, etc. During 

 this time I sold to Woolworth and Knox who 

 were then in the 5 and 10 cent business. Wool- 

 worth was at that time (1894) opening his twenty- 

 third store in Albany, New York. He gave me 

 an order of one gross of a certain article for each 

 of the nineteen stores, which led me to believe 

 that there was quite a volume in the chain store 

 ijusiness. After traveling five years and two 

 months I had saved up some money, working on 

 salai-y and commission basis, and I left the road 

 and went into the five and ten cent store busi- 

 ness myself. That was 25 years ago last March. 

 I have built a business which year after year 

 has been increasing to greater volume. For the 

 last dozen years there has been no recession. Some 

 years are better than others ; but, on the whole, 

 the volume and net have been in excess of the 

 next preceding year. There were 199 stores op- 

 erating the first of this year, doing a business 

 last year of almost $56,000,000. 



I do not know but this plant of yours at Me- 

 dina had considerable to do with my start in life. 

 I really think it helped me to pay dividends on 

 the five and ten cent store business. I am going 

 to say to all of you that I am just as fond of 

 bees today as ever and am still keeping them as 

 a pastime and have just been trying to get official 

 information, asking all sorts of schoolboy ques- 

 tions, which might appear to you people here as 

 foolish. But when I go into a thing, I am not 

 satisfied until I know just about as much as the 

 other fellow. I am glad to have had this oppor- 

 tunity of meeting all of you, and, if anything I 

 have said is worth anything to you, you are wel- 

 come to it. 



'MEND YOUK OWN TINWARE." 



"All's Not Gold That Glitters." 



The article with the above heading in our 

 issue for June illustrates something I have 

 several times mentioned on these pages. 

 Whatever success I have so far achieved 

 during my busy life in bee culture, exposing 

 frauds, or anything else, has been largely 

 due to the kind friends scattered all over 

 our land (and sometimes other lands) who 

 have been so ready to turn in and help me 

 in my efforts to help my fellow-men. A re- 

 markable letter right along this line is at 

 hand. Perhaps I should explain that I 

 found Ave have seven subscribers in Atlan- 

 ta, Ga. As soon as the article was in type 

 I mailed to each one a copy of it. The let- 

 ter below is the only one we have room for. 

 If the good friend who writes this is a sam- 

 ple of the family doctors, let me say once 

 more, "May God be praised for our fam- 

 ily physicians. ' ' 

 Mr. A. I. Root, Medina, Ohio. 



My dear friend: — Your favor asking informa- 

 tion regarding the "United Specialty Company" of 

 Atlanta received yesterday. They are not listed 



in either the telephone or city directory, and a 

 friend of mine in the postofflce says that they 

 have no record of any such concern ever having 

 been here, and the license department of the city 

 has never in the last five years issued a license 

 to such a firm. I have seen a man selling such a 

 solder on the streets of Atlanta only a few months 

 ago, but he evidently was doing business without 

 a license or his license was obtained under some 

 other name. Today I had a man cover the busi- 

 ness section of Atlanta thoroughly, and he reports 

 that there is no such material being sold at the 

 present. Therefore I have only one chance of 

 getting the information that you desire, and that 

 is to get the chief of police to take the matter 

 up with his three watches and maybe in that way 

 we can obtain some information. This will re- 

 quire action by the police commission, but I ex- 

 pect to have such permission within a few days. 

 I am sorry that I have not been able to obtain 

 any information, but if I do in the future I will 

 immediately write to you. 



Thanking you for allowing me to attempt to do 

 a favor for the man who writes "Our Homes," 

 and ■vvho preaches the best sermons that I read or 

 hear, I am, with my very best wishes, 

 Yours very truly, 



Linton Smith, M.D. 



67 Mayson Ave., Atlanta, Ga., May 20, 1922. 



Right along in line with the above comes 

 one from a chemist. 



I chanced to see your request for information 

 on Solderine. A similar article, used in identic- 

 ally the same way, has been sold by street ped- 

 dlers in Montreal for some years. I purchased 

 some a few years ago and tried it out. Since it 

 appeared to do the work I analyzed some of it, 

 but will have to rely on my memory for the re- 

 sults. It consisted chiefly of sulphur (in fact, the 

 solder would take fire) through which was inti- 

 mately distributed finely divided metal. This metal 

 was chiefly aluminum with small amounts of mag- 

 nesium and iron. Approximately the per cent 

 composition was sulphur, 60%; aluminum, 30%; 

 magnesium, etc., 10%. When heated the sulphur 

 is melted and on cooling forms for the hole a 

 plastic plug which may be hammered and roughly 

 treated when freshly applied. This makes a great 

 sale's point. However, as you know, plastic 

 sulphur will soon change to the common brittle 

 form which can not be knocked around. 



P. P. G. Shaw, M. A., M.Sc. 

 1022 Dorchester St., Montreal, June 9, 1922. 



In my article referred to in the June issue 

 I said: "It seems to me the invention may 

 be worth millions of dollars." I am glad I 

 put in the words "It seems to me." One 

 other friend whose letter I have not retain- 

 ed said something like this: 



"Mr. Root, the soldering process icorks 

 all right and looJcs all right; but. sad to tell, 

 it does not stand." 



Now, the reason it does not "stand" has 

 been explained by the chemist. I saw the 

 man on the fairground solder up breaks in 

 all kinds of metal. The liquid metal, so it 

 looked to outsiders, flowed beautifully, ran 

 into cracks of rusty tinware, and seemed to 

 work exactly like melted tinner's solder. I 

 learn that the thing has been done by ped- 

 dlers and hawkers on fairgrounds, and even 

 in cities, all over this land of ours. Why 

 is it not on sale by our hardware men, tin- 

 smiths and others? I will tell you. By some 

 process, unknown to me just now, aluminum 

 is easily procured in the form of a very fine 

 powder, exactly like dust. To my surprise 

 we have been using it for years to make the 

 "aluminum paint" for lettering our honey- 

 extractors. Well, somebody without con- 

 science, or at least not much conscience, dis- 



