THE BEE KEEPERS, REVIEW, 



89 



There is no royal road to securing the 

 confidence of customers. Simply deal 

 fairly with them year after year. Do all 

 you agree to do — a little more if possil)le. 

 Treat them exactly as you would like to 

 be treated. Simple isn't it? yet how 

 difficult it seems to he for some people to 

 learn how to do it. 



H.WK THK BKST TOOLS THAT 

 VOU CAN AFl-ORD. 



When a man with limited capital starts 

 in busines, he often finds it necessary to 

 emploj- inconvenient make-shifts in place 

 of first-class tools. When I began pub- 

 lishing the Review I actually made some 

 type-cases out of thin boards, frame-stuff, 

 and pieces of sections. I had a second- 

 hand "composing stick" (a shallow, 

 metal box in which type is set up) in 

 which it was necessary to tighten up the 

 set-screw with a pair of pliers, each time 

 the measure was changed, or it would 

 not stay "set." The "galleys" (long 

 shallow trays in which type is placed af- 

 ter it is set up) were wooden ones, and 

 would shrink, swell, warp and split. I 

 could go on and give a long list of the 

 cheap, inefficient tools that I put up with, 

 and of how I had to pull letters from one 

 form as soon as printed to get enough of 

 the right sort to set the ads in the next 

 form, and .so on; and, bv the way, as I 

 was obliged to put uj) with the.se incon- 

 veniences, instead of worrying over it, I 

 actually found myself glorying in seeing 

 what excellent results I could secure with 

 mv meager facilities. Gradually as the 

 Review and its editor prospered, new 

 tools of improved pattern have been 

 bought. I now have a new nickel plated 

 American job-stick that can instantly be 

 set to any measure by a graduated scale 

 engraved upon the stick, and when it is 

 set it is set to stay. My galleys now are 

 all brass. My cases now are all "bought- 

 en" and in a cabinet out of the dust. 

 There are still other conveniences and 

 labor-saving appliances that I would like. 

 A wiie-stitcher, for instance, for stitching 

 the Review. Some type for setting up 



the mailing list, and a mailer. These 

 will probably come in good time. Some 

 of these improvements, if attempted 

 when I first started, would have "swamped 

 me." 



It is all right for a man with limited 

 capital to put up with make-shifts. In 

 fact, he is compelled to or go in debt for 

 them, and now, at last, comes the point 

 that I started out to make— ^^Z improved 

 tools and machinery just as fast as the 

 profits of your business will justify the 

 expense. To squeeze along with imper- 

 fect tools, when the profits cf your busi- 

 ness will allow the purchase of good ones, 

 is the poorest kind of economy. Don't let 

 the habit of putting up with poor tools 

 become so fixed that it can not be chang- 

 ed when conditions change. Another 

 thing: Watch the conditions; study them 

 closely; they may change so gradually 

 that you do not realize the change. 



Carnegie, probably the most successful 

 manufacturer in this countr}^ would 

 never tolerate an inferior tool, machine, 

 or process. The moment he learned of 

 a machine that was even a trifle better 

 than his, the new machine was installed 

 in place of the old one. If necessary, he 

 would dismantle a whole factory, and re- 

 stock it with improved machinery. The 

 original cost is a small consideration com- 

 pared with .superior results. 



Eortunately, bee-keepers require few 

 tools, and there is little excuse for their 

 useing poor ones. No smoker is to good 

 for a bee-keeper. The same of a honey 

 knife. The best extractor — reversible, 

 ball-bearing, with a brake, is the one to 

 use. The hives, yes, and the bees should 

 be the best it is possible to obtain. The 

 largest factor in the production honey is 

 tatwr, and anything that tends to lessen 

 this factor should be given the most 

 thoughtful consideration. 



The comfort of working with efficient 

 tools, the greater quantity and superior 

 quality of the work produced, in short, 

 the actual economy that accompanies 

 their use, should lead every one to their 

 adoption at the earliest possible moment. 



