462 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CUJ.TUilE. 



Skpt. 



bee-keepers your method of dealing with one wliom 

 ,\ou did not lilsc, and whom you wished to destroy if 

 possible. 



In reply to this letter, we. sent the following. We 

 omit the lady's name, as she may dislike so much 

 publicity. 



So. HavKN. Auk' I',. ISSl. 

 YoTirsof tlK' loth iiist. Willi I'xplanatiDii, <'ai!ic duly to liniid. 

 yi> far, so Kood. But how about the othors in the list, to which 

 von iTfev. wlio never sent us a dollar forbees, or, in 'art. forany 

 thiUK else; We suppose of eourse vo)i a<'te(l under Jtr. Root's 

 instiiietious. and it seeins that he was anxio\i Un make the list 

 as lar^e as possible. We ean anive at no other eonelusion. sini'e 

 .Mr. lioot has not seen lit to eorreet the inisstatenuMits eoneei'u- 

 iufJTUs in .July i;i.EVNiNos. even alter his attention was ilireeted 

 to the same." We do not blame you at all feu- youi jiart in this 

 matter, anil only reuret that Mr. ISoot should have adopted the 

 plan he has outlined in tin- last two nuuibei-s of (;i.r..*XiXGs; for 

 one who makes the professions of Mr. A . 1. Root, to willfully and 

 nuilieiously attempt to blast the reputation of a brother, and 

 seek to destroy his business, is |iast our understandinK. We 

 shall, durintftlie present week, preliare and forward Mr. Root 

 an artiele for ))ublleation in Septendier (iLE.\NlNu<. 



Yours very reipertfiilly, H. A. Kviaii & i.'n. 



The only reply received to the above was, that 

 space had been reserved for an article from us in 

 Sept. Gleanings. Now, Mr. Hoot, you have repeat- 

 edly stated that you were doing all you coul 1 to as- 

 sist us; but does not what you have done look like a 

 queer sort of assistancfV If inquiries of parties 

 here, whether the sum of $.100 could he collected of 

 us, professing that you wished the information for 

 our best good, insisting that you were doing and liad 

 (/OHc your best to aid us; if advising our customers 

 to sue and collect the amounts sent u^, if possible; 

 if publicly misrepresenting us and our business c.in 

 be called assistance, then indeed you are a " friend 

 that sticketh closer than a brother." Then, and in 

 that case, your efforts are deserving of unbounded 

 praise, and should ever be held in grateful remem- 

 brance. In fact, such an instance of unselfish devo- 

 tion, so rarely met in the varied walics of life, is 

 worthy the attention of a Shakespeare, a Byron, or 

 a Milton, and should be immortalized in enchanting 

 story and classic verse, tmd the name of the bene- 

 factor inscribed high on the scroll of fame. 



Both in July Gle.\nings and in j'our letters to us, 

 you insist that it was but little, if any, short of a 

 crime for us to continue doing business after we had 

 lost a portion of our bees. In other words, because 

 we had met with flnaneial misfortune, we should re- 

 tire from business, leaving the field to yourself and 

 our creditors to take care of themselves. Perhaps 

 we should have done so. Perhaps we were wrong, in 

 the belief that our family had a .iust demand upon 

 us: an obligation that required the best efforts of 

 both body and mind to discharge. 



Since you have called in question the quality of 

 our strain of Italians, perhaps we may be pardoned 

 for a brief allusion thereto. For many years past, 

 we have earnestly labored to perfect the best traits 

 of the Italian race, and to weed out their objection- 

 able features; in short, to produce the best bees ob- 

 tainable. We have been assured, by scores of our 

 brother bee-keepers who have purchased queens 

 from our stock, that r,ur elforts in this direction 

 have not been devoiil of success. That we have had 

 an abundant stock of bees that dUl survive the rig- 

 ors of last winter's cold-the most disastrous on rec- 

 ord—is well known here; and although we have 

 shipped largely during the past two months, our 

 yard to-day contains more than '~oo colonies, which 

 for practical, desirable qualities, we are willing to 

 compare with any apiary in this or any other coun- 

 try. 



In regard to filling orders, we have done all that it 

 was possible for us to do, working constantly 18 to 

 :iO hours per day, until, from sheer exhaii-tion, we 

 were forced to desist. That we did our best to pro- 

 cure suitable assistance is evidenced by the fact, 

 that we offered as high its $50 per month and board, 

 for help; which, at even that high figure, could not 

 be obtained. Early in the season we wrote you, 

 stating that we wei-e short of help, and asking you 

 if you could not inform us of some one whom we 

 could employ to work in our apiary; and although 

 we have been informed that Mr. Koot had more ap- 

 plicants than he could furnish employment, he did 

 not ffive us the desired information. About the 10th 

 of June we succeeded in ol>taining one hand who 

 would work with bees. Could we have had two more 

 equally as good, we should not have been behind our 

 orders to-day. Having done all in our power to do 

 to fill our orders, and as it was evident to us that Mr. 

 Koot was determined to annoy and hinder us, and 

 secure our trade if possible, we sent out the follow- 

 ing, printed on a postal card, to the larger part of 

 our customers whose orders were unfilled:- 



SoiTii Haven, ilteii,, Au«. l.'i, 1881. 

 Notwithst.andiuH' that we have labored earnestly and constant - 

 Iv the present season to till all cmr orders, our books show many 

 that ai'e yet imtilled, youis being anioUK' the nnmlier. In view 

 of what Mr. A. I. KoiJt, of Medina, (I., has seen lit to say about 

 us and our bu .incss in the .hUv and .\u^'ust numbers of his 

 liLEANINiis, we reipu'st vmi to make out n strtti'mcut of your ac- 

 ecmnt with us, and nuul him at once for payment, which he will 

 do as per aKreemeat. We will settle with him for the same In 

 case he reluscs to do this, pleise rejiort it to us at once, our 

 reasons for takinfi' Mr. Koi>t at his woi d will he given to you all 

 iK'fore many months. Youis truly, H A . BfKcu & (.'o. 



In view of all the facts in this cise as narrated 

 above, we leave it for those who peruse this article 

 to .iudge whether it was .iust or otherwise for us to 

 take Mr. Koot at bis word. 



Now a few words to you. Mr. U )of, and we are 

 done. Can jou honestly and truthfully say that you 

 have not desired to injure us; ihatyou would not re- 

 joice to see us driven from the apiarian -supply 

 trade? If you wished us well, why did you publish 

 an absolute" fnlsehood regarding us in your Glean- 

 ings of N"v.. IfeTti? That you did so, we positively 

 alhrm; and also that it has nevtr yet been corrected. 

 If you desired to be just and iinpiuMial, why did you 

 puijlish si.v untruthful statements in your Glean- 

 ings for July, l«81,-stiitements which you could not 

 verify? If. in your every ac'ioii, you are imbued 

 with "the spirit (if charity and love, why did you pub- 

 lish statements concerning us in the list issue of 

 Gleanings, which you can not substantiate? Per- 

 haps you can also tell us why you failed to publish 

 the letter of a brother bee-keeper, after you had 

 agreed to do s i. when you found it was favorable to 

 ourselves. On the other hand, does not your Glean- 

 ings plainly show that your action was conceived in 

 malic^e, and consummated in hatred; that, while j'ou 

 boastingly fiaunt the motto, " Peace on earth, good 

 will toward men," you have so shaped your course, 

 hoping to destroy us without incurring the displea- 

 sure of those who possess a spirit of justice and fair 

 plav ? 



We are aware that, with a bee j lurnal to back you, 

 the advantage is all upon your side; and when, by an 

 unsparing use of the whip, you have accomplished 

 the long-desired result, we trust you may be in a fit- 

 ting frame of mind to sweetly discourse on the sub- 

 ject of charity; that charity that is kind, that behav- 

 eth itself not unseemly, ih it =s not puffed up, and 

 seeketh not her own. 



Your efforts to injure us may prove a benefit to 

 others; for, as ti sequel to this unfortunate state of 

 affairs which you have forced upon us, we venture 

 the prediction, that the bee-keepers of the United 

 States will purchase their supplies during the com- 

 ing season cheaper than ever before. 



llEltUEIlT A. BUItCH. 



South Haven, Mich., Aug. 19, 1881. 



I really must beg pardon of our readers for 

 thus occupying the reading pages of our 

 journal in ihis manner. Mr. Ikirch asked 

 ifor space in the journal, and I told him it 

 would be gladly given, if it were' not- too 

 long, and that t would reply, or jiublish it 

 without comment, as he should decide. I 

 can only make the simple statement, that I 

 have felt no prejudice or jealousy in the 

 least toward Mr. Ihirch. I do not "want the 

 trade in bees, as I have told our friends all 

 along, and I have put my prices high, that 

 they might buy of our advertisers rather than 

 us. I liave also given free advertisements to 

 all who would sell bees by tlie pound. Errors 

 and mistakes will probably be found in all 

 the work 1 have ever done, and Mr. 15. has 

 gone over the whole, and heajied up all he 

 could probably find by a good deal of study. 

 I iiresume tiur friends know, without my 

 telling them, that not one of these was in- 

 tentional. JJrierty : The ^fay No. of (Clean- 

 ings contains exactly the words I tjuoted ; 

 but I now notice, for the lirst time, tliat the 

 wording of tlie advertisement was changed 

 in the June No. If I am correct, I only re- 

 fused to give the names of the neighbors. I 

 may be stupid, but it never occurred to me 

 once that the letter of July 4th was intended 

 for an article in (tLEANinos. Neither difi \ 



