470 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
April 0, 
THE PARCELS-POST AND POSTAL EX¬ 
PRESS SITUATION. 
Part II. 
Why buy out the express companies you 
may say. Well, there are several reasons, 
serious and substantial ones, some of 
which only can be stated in so brief a 
space. They are: 
(a) In order to secure the express-rail¬ 
way contracts under which for distances 
of 200 miles and up the express-railway 
pay is a little less than one-half the postal¬ 
railway pay. 
(b) By taking over the express plants we 
do not disturb business, or encounter the 
objections of the country merchant, but 
by reducing express rates to the desirable 
point, he will share in the benefit, and 
will have the railway service brought to his 
door, along with the farmer. 
(c) We need adequate transportation for 
the small shipment. The railways refuse 
to treat it under 100 pounds. The postal 
system is the only one that can eliminate 
the accounting which makes the express- 
package charge so large. 
(d) By a complete system, and the pos¬ 
tal van, farmers can market their truck 
cheap direct to the consumer, and share 
with him the difference between what the 
consumer pays and the farmer now receives. 
No system of “parcels post’’ can accom¬ 
plish these things, in our country, in a 
sufficient way. The rate of express railway 
pay is vital to a reasonable rate. On a 
three-thousand mile journey the express 
company would be paying the railways less 
than six cents a pound, the “parcels post’’ 
would have to pay a little over 10 cents a 
pound, and on long journeys of the ship¬ 
ment nearly the whole charge would be 
that payable to the railways. Again, since 
it is the evils of the express charge that 
the remedy is designed to meet, it ought 
to be broad enough to extend to all express 
shippers, and give them the reduced rates 
to which they are equally entitled. The 
“parcels post” proposition and its flat rate 
seems to be designed, by the 11-pound limit, 
to be just big enough for the patron of 
the merchant to get to the mail-order 
house, and the flat rate to give the mail¬ 
order house, his distant rival, an unnatural 
equality. Nobody intended this, of course. 
But nobody has seriously intended anything 
in any of these “parcels post” schemes—I 
mean in the way of definite and specific 
rates and the remedy needed to secure re¬ 
lief from express charges. They are of as 
little practical service as the snow men we 
made as children. 
The trouble has been that people who 
"had not the time” to think this matter 
out have gone on the assumption that a 
“parcels post” was something definite, like 
a railway or steamboat service. But it is 
not If the rates proposed are too high, 
such “parcels post” is simply nothing; and 
to make it workable you will have to have 
a relatively low rate of railway pay. You 
would need, too, elastic rates adapted to 
moving the traffic and not killing it. Flat 
rates, such as proposed, would simply cheat 
the shipper on the short journey, and to 
some extent the Government on the long 
journey, for the benefit of the distant mer¬ 
chant and no one else, while killing more 
useful traffic than they would carry. 
One word more. The bill I have intro¬ 
duced in the Senate for postal express, and 
the elimination of the express companies, 
is identical with the Lewis and Goeke bills 
which have been introduced in the House. 
This movement is not an individual one, 
but represents the collaborative efforts of 
the members of Congress who wish to se¬ 
cure a real remedy for express conditions, 
really low rates as shown in the table, 
and transportation advantages for the small 
shipment which all elements of the people 
can share. These are the members of Con¬ 
gress who are working actively and mill- 
tantly for the cause. The others are mostly 
standing shivering between the demands of 
the friends of “parcels post” and the 
threats of the local merchants; and for 
the most part have not examined the sub¬ 
ject enough to know that the “parcels post” 
rates are much higher than the express 
rates they are intended to reduce. 
If you farmers do not wish to have 
served you, by this Congress, the meanest 
“lemon” in the history of legislation, you 
had better notify your Representatives and 
Senators at once. If you want a real 
"parcels post” tell them you want the ex¬ 
press companies eliminated, and the postal 
svstem substituted in their place. Act at 
once, for if you miss now it may be a gen¬ 
eration before Congress can be brought to 
the subject again. obadiah Gardner. 
BEE-KEEPERS’ NOTES. 
I suppose the month of January, 1912, 
will be noted by bee-keepers all over the 
northern part of North America as con¬ 
taining the longest cold spell of weather 
that has ever been witnessed by them; just 
about four weeks of zero weather, and 
sometimes greatly below zero. For those 
who are wintering their bees outdoors it 
certainly has been a time of anxiety. We 
are anxious to know how it has affected 
our little pets. I am never afraid of zero 
weather, or even 25 below, if only for short 
duration, but when it comes to be nearly 
four weeks of it then I am anxious to know 
how they have stood it. I do not believe 
it is possible to freeze a good strong colony 
that is well packed in chaff, but extremely 
cold weather so continued does not give the 
clustered bees a chance to move on to a 
fresh supply of stores, and they starve to 
death with plenty of honey all around them. 
Let me caution, especially beginners, not to 
open their hives to see how the bees are. 
I never believe in disturbing my bees at all 
during the Winter. We cannot do anything 
for them to help them, so we might just 
as well let them alone; looking into the 
hives disturbs them and only makes mat¬ 
ters worse. I never even shovel the snow 
off them, unless it comes it comes warm 
for a few days and I think they might have 
a chance to fly. 
How about those empty hives and supers; 
are they all ready for use when the honey 
flow comes next Summer? If not, you 
would better get busy. Don’t say there is 
plenty of time yet before next Summer; it 
will be upon us almost before we realize it. 
I suppose you have a nice shop in which 
to do your work. Every bee-keeper, and 
in fact every farmer, ought to have a nice 
comfortable workshop in which he can do 
such work as fixing hives, cleaning har¬ 
ness, repairing implements, etc. Be sure 
to have it made good and tight so the wind 
and snow will not blow in. I have mine all 
bricked up inside, and the bricks covered 
with a coat of plaster; you see I can now 
give it a coat of whitewash each year, thus 
keeping it sweet and clean. There are three 
large windows to give plenty of light, and 
a stove to keep me warm in cold weather. 
The weather can blow, and howl, or freeze 
as hard as it likes, I go into my workshop 
and start a fire and am as comfortable as 
a king. If you haven’t a shop get one as 
soon as you can. In the meantime I sup¬ 
pose you will have to crave the indulgence 
of the good lady of the house to let you 
have the use of the Summer kitchen or 
some room she can spare for the purpose. 
Be sure wnen overlooking those hives to 
see if there is any place where a nail 
would be an advantage. Sometimes the 
hives warp and draw away at the corners, 
which makes them look bad, and sometimes 
allows the robber bees to get in; a nail 
will bring it to place again and perhaps 
save a lot of trouble. See that all propolis 
is cleaned off of every part of the hives; 
frames, supers, and everything used in con¬ 
nection with them; it is so much nicer 
handling them when they are clean than 
it is when all stuck up with propolis. But 
some one may say, the bees will stick them 
all up with it again. Yes, but it takes them 
nearly all season to do so, so you have 
them clean for nearly all the season. I 
scrape my empty hive frames and supers 
every year, so when I want to use them are 
almost as clean as new ones, and it pays 
me to do it. The best tools I have found 
to do this work are a putty knife and a 
painter’s scraper. Neither of them costs 
very much, and can be got at any hardware 
store. 
Have you figured out how much founda¬ 
tion you are likely to need, also how many 
new hives, sections, etc.? Now is the time 
to do all such things. Send your order in 
at once for all the supplies you are likely 
to require for next season; if you don’t 
want them shipped to you at once, any 
supply dealer will accept your order and 
get the goods ready and ship them any 
time you ask them to. Don’t get caught 
like one of my neighbors did last season. 
He came to me in a rush at the commence¬ 
ment of the honey season and wanted to 
get some frames and some foundation. Now 
I always like to be neighborly and help a 
person when I can, but I had no more 
foundation or frames than I required for 
myself, and I knew they could not be had 
at that time from the manufacturers, for at 
least three weeks, so I had to refuse him. 
He thought it very hard that I would not 
lend him some for a few days, until he got 
some from the manufacturers, but was 
quite surprised when it took nearly a 
month to yet his order filled. Don’t be 
caught thus; have everything in readiness, 
so that when the honey season comes, and 
the bees swarm, you have only to go into 
the shop and get whatever is needed, and it 
is all ready to use. Just such little things 
as those mentioned oftentimes make all the 
difference between success and failure. 
Ontario. john myers. 
Send for this Catalog 
NEW YORK STATE WAGONS 
at Wholesale Prices 
Shows 200 Styles of Wagons—All 
High Grade 
We sell direct to you from our factory 
and thereby save you $20 to $40. Any 
wagon will be sent 
for free examina¬ 
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—no reference or 
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and every 
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one year 
$5350 
Ask for references—our customers. Write 
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ROCHESTER VEHICLE CO. 
360 Main Street, Rochester, N. V. 
mm 
Two gold medals , at two 
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country, but of every nation of the 
globe. THAT is real proof 
that the Waterloo Boy- 
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5-Year Guarantee. Catalog 
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'GOLD MEDAL> 
At 
INTERNATIONAL^ 
[Gasoline 
ENGINE SHOWj 
BUUAPfST, 
Y. 
WATERL00 GASOLINE 
ENGINE CO., 
W. 3rd Si., WATERLOO. IOWA. 
184 
AWARDED 
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set 
INTEMATIONAL 
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Learn bow you may save the whole cost of a UTrCA Engine by 
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XARGIL MANUFACTURING CO. 
f»d Lifav.'Mft St. I r en, N.Y. 
Ron oo gasoline,kerosene,dis¬ 
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Cost less to operate, develop 
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Write for catalogue. 
ELLIS ENGINE CO. 
15 Mullet St., Detroit, Mich. 
EXCELSIOR SWING STANCHION 
Warranted The Best. 30 Days’ Trial 
Unlike all others. Stationary when open 
Noiseless Simple Sanitary Durable 
The Wasson Stanchion Co., 
Box 60, Cuba, N. Y. 
Power at Low Cost 
Kerosene as Fuel 
H ERE Is Bower for you that can always be 
relied upon. The Colton Modern Kerosene 
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most reliable Farm Power IMuntyet invented. Its 
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Ret this wonderful engine demonstrate its unusual 
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The Colton opemtes perfectly on kerosene, the 
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Arthur Colton Co. 
201 Brush St. 
Detroit - Midi. 
WANTED—Local Agents to sell high grade 
Cream Separators. GOLDEN ROD SEPARA¬ 
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GREAT CULTIVATOR OFFER! 
Factory Price, 30 Days Trial, No Deposit, 
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8end postal by next mall. 
American Harrow Co.,1667 Hastings St., Detroit, Mich. 
Write! 
