1883 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



691 



profit of 25 cts. In smaller quantities, I presume he 

 would be willing to give you 80 cts., or even 85. One 

 hundred empty pails, covers and all, can be easily 

 packed in a good-sized barrel. Price per 100, barrel 

 and all. $9..50. 



Later: I have just discovered that the cover of an 

 ordinary 2-quart pail, just fits this pail also, so you 

 can have them with a raised cover, slipping inside the 

 pail, or the usual Dadant cover slipping over tliepail, 

 as you choose. 



SILK CULTURE. 



The new industry of raising silk right here in our 

 homes seems to be rapidly developing; and In our 

 letters from the bee-friends we hear it mentioned 

 quite often; and it has also been discovered that our 

 common hedge-plant, the osage-orange, furnishes 

 food for the silkworm that seems to answer equally 

 well with the mulberry. Most bee-keepers feel in- 

 terested in this matter, because it seems to be kin- 

 dred, as it were, to the study of bees. Our atten- 

 tion has been called to the matter by a neat little 

 pamphlet, entitled "Silk and the Silkworm," by Miss 

 Nellie L. Rossiter, and we have made arrangements 

 with the lady so that we can furnish the little book 

 to our subscribers for 15 cts. per copy. By mail, 16 

 cents. 



KEEPING COMB FOUNDATION OVER WINTER. 



There seems to be quite a little disagreemet in 

 thi^ matter. Some say if it is kept shut up close in 

 a box, so that the air does not dry out the surface, 

 it is every bit as good as if freshly made. I have 

 told you, also, what our friend D. A. Jones says 

 about annealing it by dipping it in hot water. So 

 far as my experience goes, I have never been able to 

 see any difference, but our fdn. is never left piled 

 around loosely where it can bleach and get dry on 

 the surface. There is one thing pretty certain, any 

 way, and that is. that you can buy fdn. a great deal 

 cheaper now than you will be likely to get it in the 

 spring. Another boom will soon commence on wax, 

 and no one knows how high it will go before next 

 June. Our wax-room is now almost idle, and we 

 shall be glad to fill orders for you, if you want it 

 now. 



THE new FACTORY. 



The new factory is now entirely occupied, with 

 the exception of the clerks' office. Mr. Gray is fit- 

 ting this up in nice style, I assure you. The differ- 

 ent desks are so arranged as to accommodate about 

 twenty clerks, and each clerk has a place by herself. 

 I say herself, for I presume about the only male oc- 

 cupants of the clerks' room will be myself and my 

 Stenographer. The book-keeper has two desks, 

 each about 14 feet long, to accommodate the piles 

 of ledgers. The clerk who opens the letters has a 

 desk made expressly for her; and every appliance 

 that we can devise is to be given her to enable her 

 to open, assort, and distribute the letters, without 

 the possibility of a mistake. The mailing clerks 

 have also a nice large desk, and all the requisite 

 machinery to do their work rapidly and correctly. 

 The whole east end of the large room is devoted to 

 flies and pigeon-holes for correspondence; and two 

 clerks will be employed during the busy season in 

 keeping in order the files of letters. 



ORDERS DURING NOVEMBER. 



I TELL you, friends, it is real fun to fill orders now 

 when we have plenty of time to attend to them, and 

 do it easily. Our old friend "Bert." who almost 

 newr makes a mistake, is now attending to the ship- 



ping of all orders, both by freight and express, and 

 it is really refreshing to know that our friends are 

 going to get just what they call for and no mistake. 

 The secret of it is, we have ample time to take things 

 one at a time, and do that right; and to encourage 

 you in giving us orders now, before we are so fear- 

 fully crowded again, we make the offer of allowing 

 5 per cent off on every thing in our price list, from 

 now until you receive your Nov. Juvenile. We 

 may continue it longer, but do not dare to promise, 

 until we see how much business we have. This dis- 

 count is in addition to all other discounts mentioned 

 in our price list. Those who are going to sell ex- 

 tractors next year would do well to order them 

 now, so as to take advantage of the low rates of 

 freight, and they would also have them in the spring, 

 just as soon as any customer called for them. To 

 those who keep them and advertise them in their 

 price lists, we offer 25 .' off, and the additional 5 ', I 

 have just mentioned. 



WARMING BY EXHAUST STEAM. 



At present we are rejoicing in a factory warmed en- 

 tirely by the exhaust, or waste steam from our engine. 

 Instead of spouting the heat and water out into the 

 air, as the old engine has done for the past five years, 

 the steam is now confined, and conducted through a 

 labyrinth of iron pipes to every part of the building , 

 even to all the upper rooms as well as the base- 

 ment. By a most wonderful mechanical arrange- 

 ment, after the heat has been taken from the steam 

 to warm the whole lai-ge building, the pure water 

 from the condensed steam is carried, by a series of 

 drip-pipes, back to the boiler; so that, instead of 

 feeding the boiler with cold water from the artesian 

 well, we use boiling hot and soft water from the 

 condensed steam. The result is, marvelous as it may 

 seem, an absolute saving of fuel, after having 

 warmed the whole establishment. The machinery 

 to accomplish this has cost something over flonO; 

 but I tell you it is refreshing to be able to dispense 

 with stoves and coal-hods and pokers, and have 

 nothing in the way more than the series of iron 

 pipes all around the outside of the building. As the 

 heat costs nothing, any clerk who gets too warm 

 can open his window easier than to turn off the 

 steam, so we have outdoor air almost the year round. 

 One of the compositors has just now raised his win- 

 dow while I am writing, and in comes the sunshine 

 and pure air; and I have thanked God more than 

 once for this beautiful arrangement, and I thank 

 him again to-day for the beautiful sunshine and the 

 bracing air of this 30th day of October. 



CONVENTION NOTICES. 



the MICHIGAN CONVENTION. 



Dear Mr. Editor:— May I ask you to call special 

 attention to our next annual meeting to be held in 

 Flint, Dec. 6 and 7, of the Michigan Bee-Keepers' 

 Association? We exppct to have by far the best 

 meeting ever held in the State. It is expected that 

 the Rev. L. L. Langstroth will be present. To see 

 and hear him will pay any one for the trouble and 

 expense incident to the journey. We also expect 

 D. A. Jones, A. 1. Root. H. p. Muth. and hope to have 

 C. C. Miller and T. G. Newman. From what I hear, 

 Michigan bee-keepers are to be out in force. Hotel 

 rates are to be SPl.OU a day. Further particulars as 

 to programme will be given soon. We expect to get 

 reduced rates on the railroads. To aid in this, and 

 that I may know how many certificates on railroads 

 to ask for, will every one in this or other States who 

 expects to come, drop me a card at once to that ef- 

 fect? A. J. Cook, President. 



Lansing, Mich., Oct. 15, 1S83. 



