36 



TWELFTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



system — their nerve sy^t^fn, and so on; 

 I gave them a lecture j^roCit g;n hour 

 and' a quarter long, and Ijad them ask 

 questions. It is surprising the points 

 they bring up in their questioning; 

 they ask things that you would hardly 

 expect them to ask. This was in the , 

 school room, in the winter time. It 

 was too late in the season to do anv 

 practical work, but before school is 

 through next spring, I am going to 

 have a class come to my yard, and 

 show them the practical workings of 

 the hive, and the manipulations and 

 everything in regard to it. 



I will endeavor to teach them that 

 they need not be afraid of the honey 

 bee. I have had old bee-keepers 

 scared stiff with the way I handle bees. 

 I have gone in their apiaries, and they 

 have asked me if I did not want a veil; 

 they would bring one out; and they 

 have told me that I would have to 

 "smoke" that particular colony. I 

 would handle them right, and have no 

 trouble whatever, and I would not have 

 to smoke them or to use a veil, and 

 didn't get any stings either. One old 

 fellow said to me — "You pay no more 

 attention to them than if they were a 

 lot of flies." 



That is another thing that can be 

 acomplished in the line of educating! 



Mr. Baxter — T went before the High 

 School, and they were very much in- 

 terested. 



Mr. Duby— In talking about the high 

 school: Only a few days ago I sup- 

 plied one of the school marms with a 

 queen and a drone. The assistant said 

 —"Oh, my, what Ij^^utif ul flies." They 

 have a big microsciope, and I suppose 

 it must be interesting to study the bee 

 in this way. 



They did not ask me to send them 

 these bees, ^but I knew they had a 

 class in that line and that they are 

 always looking for subjects for their 

 microscope. I think many of us can 

 do a great deal along these lines. 



Mr. Moore— My little girl, nine years 

 of age, in going to school; is aslced to 

 write essays; She was told to write 

 an essay on the honey bee, and she 

 came to me to get some thoughts and 

 she wrote an essay on thei subject. 



The people — educators — 'and the 

 children are becoming interested in 

 this subject, and I think the more we 

 can bring it to the attention of the 



public, the more will it help bee cul- 

 ture. 



Mr. Coppin — At my place — the pro- 

 fessor had his class there, and we 

 opened a hive — took the 'bees out, and 

 showed the class a queen and the 

 worker bees, and the drones, and the 

 drone comb, and the worker comb; the 

 scholars had blank books and pencils 

 and took notes; and the> professor 

 asked questions of the class, and if 

 could not answer them, I answered for 

 them. 



Pres. Dadant — Miss Coppin has a lit- 

 tle piece on the Usefulness of the Bee; 

 we would like to hear it 



Miss Coppin — The subject of my 

 piece is — Mr. Middleton's Experience as 

 a Sure Cure for Rheumatism. 



(Miss Coppin gives reading.) 



Mr. Duby — (of St. Anne) Mr. Chair- 

 man, I was telling you that I was out 

 of breath — and I have scarcely found 

 it yet, but that story reminded me of 

 a little incident; one day a traveling 

 man met two men and after they 

 talked a little while the traveling man 

 asked what nationality they were; one 

 said — "I am an Englishman." "Oh", 

 said the traveling man, "If you were 

 not an Englishman, what would you 

 be?" "I would be an Irishman." And 

 to the other, he said — "Well, sir, to 

 what nationality do you belong?" "Be 

 dad, and I am an Irishman." "And 

 if you were not an Iris'hman, what 

 nationality would you be?" He replied 

 "Be jabbers and I would be asihamed 

 of myself." 



In our town there was a man subject 

 to rheumatism. I told him I had heard 

 that the bee sting was a sure cure for 

 rheumatism; and he could come out 

 to my place if he cared to and we 

 would try it. He came: I said to him — 

 "Come right along, and we will go out 

 to the bees." We worked towards the 

 bees, and the closer he came to the 

 bees, the -more spry he began to walk ; 

 and when we came within fifty feet 

 of them, one bee ran across his nose; 

 and he said — "I have enough; I have 

 no more rheumatism. I am going 

 home," 



Mr. MOore — ^While we are talking on 

 the subject of bee stings for a cure 

 for rheumatism. 



We have had reports along that line, 

 both ways. Some say that it is a 

 benefit, and some say that it is not. 



