1898 



fHE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



121 



fangled." We believe in progress, heoce we are trying to help 

 It on a little by uniting with some 300 other publishers, edi- 

 tors, etc., to simplify and shorten our way of spelling the 

 English language by taking a certain class of words first. 

 "Shipt" certainly is simpler than "shipped." "Shox" is 

 your own idea, not ours, Mr. Jenkins. But we prefer it to 

 "shocks," tho "shoks" would bo better, and we hope the day 

 may come when it will be in good form to so use it. Two or 

 three of oilr subscribers stopt their subscriptions because we 

 were trying to help on what we considered a good thing in the 

 way of an improved spelling. But the Bee Journal was not 

 entirely dependent upon such unprogressive folks, so it has 

 just kept right on in its weekly appearance, and likely will 

 continue to do so. We may not be very large in size ourselves, 

 but we are not easily frightened, particularly when we know 

 we are on the right track. 



2. This is a matter wherein our readers may do exactly 

 as they please. We would have no objections if they, like the 

 old colored brother, should prefer to read the Bee. Journal 

 toottomside up, " so as to get the bottom facts first !" 



3. Here is a thing that seems to bother one or two others 

 besides Mr. Jenkins. But when you subscribe for any paper, 

 it is no part of the contract that you shall have the post-oQice 

 address of a7ij/ of its correspondents. We agree to furnish 

 you a first-class paper for a year. Our contract is confined to 

 the paper. It doesn't go outside. Hundreds seek free advertis- 

 ing in this way, and if we give one address we are bound, in 

 some degree, to give all. We are constantly annoyed by this 

 class of correspondents. We save no manuscripts, and a week 

 following we may not remember the address of any particular 

 correspondent. Our mailing list is arranged by post-offices, 

 not names of individuals. If one asks for the post-office of a 

 particular correspondent, we often can't give it unless it hap- 

 pens to beone we know, and we can't find it on the list with- 

 out going through the whole of it — like looking for a needle 

 in a haystack. The proper way for a publisher is to give the 

 county and State ; that gives the location of the writer, and 

 beyond that no subscriber has any legal demands. If any 

 one has any advertising to do in our paper, to make any money 

 out of it, he must pay for it. It would be wrong for us to 

 charge one man regular rates and admit another man's adver- 

 tisement free — and in the best and most expensive locations, 

 in pure reading matter. No man wants his post-olfice address 

 publisht unless he has some object in view that has no con- 

 nection with the paper. All proper inquiries can be made 

 through the columns of the Bee Journal, and all replies of 

 general interest, also. By giving the county and State, we 

 give all that any reader has any right to demand; by sup- 

 pressing the post-office we save writers, who have no adver- 

 tising in view, an endless amount of trouble and annoyance, 

 and checkmate the free-advertising fiend. One of our corres- 

 pondents once received 50 letters in reply to an article he 

 wrote for the Bee Journal, and he hadn't paid one cent for 

 advertising! Right is right. We believe in justice to all, 

 hence we stopt the free-advertising business for one person 

 and charging another man for the same thing. We don't pro- 

 pose to give one person any advantage over another in the 

 columns of the Bee Journal, however others may do. 



4. Exparienced publishers, and honorable ones, too, have 

 soue respect for libel laws, as well as for other good laws. We 

 cannot publish all that wa would, some times. 



5. By consulting the advertising columns you will find the 

 names and addresses of commission-men and other dealers 

 who are regarded as "honest and reliable," else they wouldn't 

 be found there. It will hardly do to boom commission-men in 

 a miscellaneous or particular fashion, for you can't tell how 

 soon some of them may be found doing a crooked business. Of 

 course, just as soon as we discover such we drop them, as we 

 have done in several instances the past few years. 



Now, we want to say that we are glad Mr. Jenkins sent 



in his "kicks and growls," for it has given us a chance to 

 'give a]reis3a for the fiitn th it Is in u?." W) want all our 

 'readers to know just why we do such and such things, so that 

 they may see that it is not because we wish to be whimsical, 

 or to annoy or " discomf uddle " them, but to simply carry out 

 our idea of doing or showing justice to all and impartiality to 

 none. We want to be and do right, but do our best we cannot 

 hope to please all. In fact, you wouldn't read a paper three 

 months that was edited by a man who tried to please all, and 

 had no backbone, or mind of his own. We are simply trying 

 to make the old American Bee Journal as nearly as we know 

 how, just what it [ought to be. We sometimes fondly hope 

 that we are succeeding. Then again, like Dr. Miller, we 

 " don't know " about it. 



Rev. a. B. Mettler, of Will Co., III., called on us when 

 in Chicago, Feb. 16. Mr. Mettler is a bee-keeper of three 

 years' experience, and is making a success of it. He finds 

 that preaching and bee-keeping go well together. 



Simpson HoNEr-PLANT Seed, or Figwort, we have been 

 out of for a long time. As we are not able to fill any more 

 orders for it at present, we trust no more requests will be sent 

 In for it until we again announce that we have a supply of 

 the seed. Just now we do not expect to have any more. 



Mr. Chas. a. Holmes, of Suffolk Co., Mass., makes an 

 exclusive business of furnishing strong colonies of bees for use 

 in greenhouses, preferring that those who may need them 

 should give their orders the fall previous. No doubt the 

 greenhouse people will be after Mr. Holmes, when they 

 once learn that he is ready to supply them with the busy bees. 

 They are put into the greenhouses on or about March 10, to 

 work on cucumber blossoms. 



Mr. Jas. a. Stone, of Sangamon Co., III., Secretary of 

 the Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Association, reports Feb. 9, 

 that his bees were wintering nicely— so quiet that they could 

 hardly be heard. Mr. Stone also seni us the report of the late 

 convention at Springfield, which will be found in this number. 

 Referring to it, Mr. S. says : "It is not long; but if any 

 wanted to hear more of it, tell them they ought to have at- 

 tended the meeting." 



Catalogs for 1898 are on our desk from the following 

 who patronize our advertising columns; 



John Nebel & Son, High Hill, Mo.— Bee-Keepers' Supplies. 



Page Woven Wire Fenced), Adrian, Mich.— Wire Fences. 



F. A. Crowell, Granger, Minn.— Bees and Queens. 



F. Danzenbaker, Washington, D. C — Danzenbaker Hive. 



John Bauscher, Jr., Freeport, III.— Poultry. 



Geo. H. Stahl, Quincy, III.- Incubators. 



Geo. W. Hufstedler, Beeville. Tex.— Bees and Queens. 



August Weiss, Hortonville, Wis. — Bee-Keepers' Supplies. 



E. Kretchmer, Red Oak, Iowa— Bee-Keepers' Supplies. 



Mr. a. W. Hart, of Stephenson Co., III., judging from 

 the following, is almost glad we made a few errors in his first 

 communication, as the correction seems to have afforded some 



fun : 



" Editor Bee Journal :— Permit me to say thanks for 

 the frank correction on page 73. I hardly knew which to 

 admire most, the hearty correction or the happy play on the 

 words. When my humorous bee-friend, the ex-secretary, re- 

 markt on the ' errors,' he said : 



'The editor knows Joliet [with its penitentiary] is In Will 

 county, and he probably thought you were there— or ought to 

 be; and you can't send any more articles as long as you are 

 there, and may be that is what the editor means.' 



" He thought he had a good joke on me, and we had a 

 good laugh." 



