412 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 15 



the extortion is here. But it should not be 

 forgotten that the hives of 1879 and early 

 80's contained knots— in short, a very infe- 

 rior grade of lumber. Those of to-day are 

 almost entirely of clear stock ; but between 

 1880 and the present time there was an in- 

 termediate price, and that was just before 

 the advance in labor and material. Turning 

 to our catalog for 18i^2 we find nearly this 

 same Dovetailed hive, without foundation 

 starters and nails, single rates, $1.40. Com- 

 paring this price, $1.40, with the price of a 

 similar hive to-day, and we have a price of 

 $2.30, but this $1.40 price does not include 

 by any means all the value represented in 

 the $2. 30 hive. The latter has foundation start- 

 ers in the brood-nest, nails complete for every 

 part, hand-hole cleats, and a far better 

 grade of lumber, which the $1.40 hive did 

 not have. To make the comparison fair, the 

 $1.40 hive, if it had contained the same 

 value as represented in the $2.30 hive, should 

 be listed at $1.60, not $1.40, so that the real 

 advance has been from $1.60 to $2.30, or an 

 advance of kk per cent instead of 100 per 

 cent or 200 -per cent, as claimed by Mr. 

 Morgan. Lumber has advanced over 50 per 

 cent, so that our Uh per cent is not out of the 

 way. 



If we compare the 50 and 100 rate on this 

 same hive, the relative difference will be 

 much less than the single rates as above 

 shown. 



Some may say that these particular in- 

 stances showing prices picked out at differ- 

 ent dates are selected to prove our side of 

 the case. This is not the fact. They are 

 only an average, as any one can prove by 

 looking up. 



In the line of metal goods made almost 

 exclusively by The A. I. Root Co., and sold 

 to our competitors, there has been only a 

 very slight advance, and in some cases no 

 advance at all. The price of the raw mate- 

 rial, while it has fluctuated, has advanced 

 only slightly as compared with lumber. For 

 example: The Clark smoker has been sold 

 for about twenty years at 50 cents each, 

 and has been 55 cents ^or the past two 

 years; Novice honey-knife was 75 cents for 

 twenty years, now 80 cents ; No. 5 Novice 

 extractor was for twenty years sold at $7.00 

 each. It is now $8.50, and made very much 

 superior to what it was formerly. So with 

 other extractors. There has been an ad- 

 vance in price of about ]5 per cent, and 

 they have likewise been greatly improved. 

 Comb-foundation mills, of which we are 

 exclusive manufacturers, are practically the 

 same in price they have been for years. 

 The 2X10 mill was sold years ago at $20.00 

 —now $25.00 Still earlier we sold the same 

 mill at $50.00; then when we had worked 

 out a cheaper process we reduced the price 

 accordingly. The mills now turned out are 

 so far superior to those made years ago at 

 $20.00 that they hardly furnish a compar- 

 ison. Parker's machine, Coggshall brushes, 

 T tins, rabbets, comb-buckets, etc., are 

 selling at the same prices that they have 

 always been. 



If we were actuated by the report from 

 Washington, as stated by friend M., would 

 we not more likely advance such articles as 

 we manufacture exclusively and supply to 

 other manufacturers and dealers because 

 we more completely control the price of such 

 goods? The fact that the greatest advances 

 have been made in articles in which there is 

 the widest competition ought to be evidence 

 to any candid mind that the advance is due 

 to other causes than a desire to enrich our- 

 selves unduly at the expense of bee-keepers. 



Every year we have been in business smce 

 1878 goods have been sold cheaper than we 

 sell them, and the same is true at the pres- 

 ent time. We have always had all the bus- 

 iness we could do, and much of the time 

 more than we could do and do well. We 

 have had opportunities to buy out compet- 

 itors, but so far have absorbed none of 

 them. We do not believe in the principle of 

 these great trusts that swallow up the little 

 concerns and crowd the rest to the wall. 

 This country is large enough in every way 

 to support a number of large and small 

 manufacturers of bee - keepers' supplies, 

 each one of them working un an indepen- 

 dent basis. 



It is proper to remark, too, that, during 

 the period of intermediate prices, we were 

 compelled to skimp the workmanship and 

 material somewhat until we got protests to 

 the effect that our customers would rather 

 pay more and get better goods. We finally 

 changed our policy, making the best goods 

 that machinery, material, and brains could 

 turn out, and advanced the price to cover 

 the increased cost. We were praised for 

 our efforts until Root's goods have a dis- 

 tinct reputation of their own. 



There has been another statement made, 

 to the effect that dealers' catalogs are all 

 printed on the same type. Of course, the 

 catalogs of the Root Co.'s dealers are print- 

 ed right here at our own factory, and why 

 should they not be? Of course, all of these 

 dealers sell at our prices where the freights 

 will permit. 



Even our old friend E. E. Hasty has fallen 

 into the swim of a few of the discontents. 

 In one of his late articles he says that "a 

 well-ordered twentieth-century hive-factory 

 should be ashamed of itself if a single indi- 

 vidual, without a bit of machinery, can 

 make his own hives and make more than 

 wages at it." Now, dear friend Hasty, are 

 you not "hasty" in making that remark? 

 Do you absolutely know, beyond hearsay, 

 that you or any one else, using the same 

 quality of lumber, and workmanship of ex- 

 actly the same style throughout, can make 

 "more than wages"? If it were true, it 

 would indeed be a shame. If you can, we 

 will make you a present of 25 of our com- 

 plete hives, you to take your pick. We ad- 

 mit that one might make good wages if he 

 is willing to put up with poor workmanship, 

 and hives full of knots, loose and sound. It 

 is not fair to compare a hive of that kind 

 with the hives of to-day, made of practically 

 clear stock, and fits that are guaranteed. 



i 



