88 



THE HEK-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



The Frontispiece this month shows 

 the one-fourth-mile-long, covered track 

 on the 1,200-acre stock-farm of F. B. 

 Simpson, near Cuba, N. Y. This track 

 is used for breaking colts, exercising 

 horses, and training them in the v\ inter, 

 or at any other time when a track out of 

 doors would be muddy, rough or covered 

 with snow, or the weather unsuitable. 

 This covered track enables the trainer 

 to be independent of the season or weath- 

 er. When I visited Mr. Simpson last 

 fall we spent several hours at the farm, 

 and the time, on my part, at least, was 

 passed in admiring the trotting stock, 

 which is, practically, the only stock on 

 the farm. It is to the breethng of this 

 stock that Mr. Simpson has devoted a 

 good share of his life. He has the lead- 

 ing works and journals on breeiling, and 

 studies them just as we bee-keepers study 

 our books and journals. Not only are 

 the books and journals studied, but the 

 theories are actually tried. As I have 

 said before, I have never met a man who 

 more thoroughly understands the laws 

 of breeding. Of late he has become in- 

 terested in bees, and is studying them 

 more witli a view to fuiduig out things 

 in regard to them than because he ex- 

 pects to make any money out of them. I 

 wish that bee-keepers, or the I'. S. Gov- 

 ernment, Could afford to employ him to 

 make some experiments along this line. 

 They would be performed accunitely and 

 scientifically. This whole niatler of the 

 breeding of bees, the rearing of queens, 

 the feeding of the larvae, etc. is almost 

 an enlir( ly unexplored field. To use 

 another figure of speech, it is a beautiful 

 temple, as yet unentered, and the fore- 

 most of us are only halting on the sttps, 

 and peejiing in at the doms. 



I had expected Mr. Simpson to write 

 this itionth upon the subject of glosso- 

 meters, but he writes me that he wishes 

 to first get Some bees from Texas, that 

 he may make comparisons between the 

 tongue Itngih of Carniolans, Holy Lands 

 and Cyiirians. He v\islKS to give a fnll- 

 page illustration of a bee using the glos- 



someter, also of one using the "honey- 

 sac-measnrer" — as it seems that there 

 is as much difference in the capacity of 

 the honey-sac as there is the tongue- 

 length, or else there is a great difference 

 in the disposition to fill said sac. 



THE IMr'ORT.\NCE OF CONFIDENCE; IN 

 .\ M.\IL ORDER BUSINESS. 



Neatly all of the business of selling 

 apiarian supplies, bees, f|Ut'ens, bee books, 

 journals, etc., is done by mail, and the 

 foundation of this business is confidence. 

 In thesedavsof close competition, no man 

 can afford to ignore any element that will 

 aid in securing success— least of all, so 

 important an element as that of confi- 

 dence. Let me give an illustration: A 

 firm that manufactured fuinilure sent 

 out to their old custoint-rs a sjiecial offer 

 on tables. Of the 100 orders, or there- 

 abouts, that came in, they noticed that a 

 large percentage came from lawyers. A 

 large list of lawyers names and addresses 

 was secured fiom some firm tliat dealt in 

 names and addresses, and tliis special 

 offer sent out to the list. Only one table 

 was sold. These people had had no deal- 

 ings with this firm; llie\- knew nothing of 

 them; confidence was lacking. Confi- 

 dence is a plant of slow growtli. Only 

 years of fair, honorable, satisfaclory deal- 

 ing v.'ill .secure the implicit confidence of 

 a customer. One little lapse into unfair- 

 ness, and the confidence is g<jne. Possi- 

 bly It may be regaineil in a degree, but 

 that philos )pher and humorist. Josh Bill- 

 ings, covered this j^oint most completelj- 

 when he said "yes, a damageil reputation 

 may ])e repaired, but the public will al- 

 ways keep its eve on (he crack." 



There are sui^ply dealers to whom I 

 woulil unhesitatingly send #1000, know- 

 ing that I would receive my money's 

 wurlli as surtlv as the sun will rise to- 

 morrow morning. There are other firms 

 to whom I would prefer to seiul my 

 money, affcr I had received and seen the 

 goods. 



