A Sweet Fraternity 



It is an oft-quoted sentiment as applied to the bee, that 

 " Our toil doth sweeten others." 



It is a beautiful tribute to this communal worker, and I 

 suspect that the Editor of the American Bee Journal is the 

 chap who gave the sentence birth and prominence. 



I wish to emphasize the fact that the bee-keeper also 

 illustrates the same truth. 



His toil is in answer to the universal taste for sweets. 



Whether one meets the highly organized Caucasian with 

 his acquired taste for many dainties, or the untutored darker 

 brother who knows not the things so fearfully and wonder- 

 fully made which his pale-faced brother calls the proofs of 

 civilization, one finds them both with a natural taste for 

 sweets. 



As old as historj- — and we know not how much longer — 

 this longing for saccharine matter in the animal system 

 seems to have been dominant. 



When Sam's son plucked the new honey-combs from the 

 dried carcass of the dead lion on his way to see his Philis- 

 tine sweetheart, he satisfied his hunger and the desire for 

 sweets at the same time, for honey is a food as well as a 

 condiment. 



.^nd when Jacob directed his sons, before starting on 

 that memorable trip to Egypt, to '^ take of the choice fruits of 

 the land in your t'csseis^ and cctrry dozi'tt the via n a f resent 

 of a little bairn and a little honey," he knew, or wisely conjec- 

 tured, that royalty as well as peasant loved the daintiest 

 morsel that God had provided in His storehouse of Nature; 

 and he wanted Pharaoh's prime minister mollified for an im- 

 portant occasion. 



John the Baptist advertised honey when he used it as 

 food and as relish for roasted grasshoppers. 



With our cultivated (or perverted ?) taste 7ve would want 

 to eat something good to cover up the locust flavor, and I 

 don't know anything quite so satisfactory as honey. 



If our mothers had only known the secret of thus hid- 

 ing the castor-oil taste that was an abomination in our 

 youthful estimation, what an improvement that would have 

 been on the old practice! 



But I maintain that the bee-keeper's toil not only sweet- 

 ens " others," but also himself. 



In proof of this, I only need to mention the fact that 

 bee-keepers are the most companionable fellows in the world. 



They are companionable because intelligent and com- 

 municative. 



By Hon. Eugene Secor 



They never tire of exploring the mysteries of the life and 

 labors and government of their protegees; and their studies 

 in natural history make them thinkers if not philosophers. 



This is a class of men with whom it is a pleasure to 

 come in contact. 



There are no secrets in their business which they are 

 keeping from the public, and they are all ready, at all times, 

 to dilate upon their favorite theme. 



Whether it be in company of a brother bee-keeper, or a 

 student of bee and plant life, or for the entertainment of 

 friends, they can be easily prevailed on to relate experiences 

 or to e.xploit theories. 



Another thing : Bee-keepers are temperate. 



When have you caught one visiting a saloon ? 



" There's a reason." 



When men have access to the_ nectar of heaven why 

 should they love the broth of hell ? 



Of all the bee-keepers' conventions that I have attended, 

 I remember but one instance, and one man, who showed any 

 sign of having indulged in anything stronger than argument. 



And the members of the fraternity are moral, and gen- 

 erally religious. 



They stand for the best things in life, and for the uplift 

 of society. 



The business in which they engage teaches patience and 

 self-control, which are prime factors in the education of 

 man. 



They know better than to arouse the ire of the com- 

 munity in which they labor, and accept philosophically the 

 discouraging seasons when nectar is as scarce as complete 

 unselfishness, and the bees are as cross as the booze-lover 

 "the dav after." 



As the holiday is in progress, and the Christmas spirit 

 of good-will and sweet fellowship is upon me, I recall the 

 beautiful friendships in the brotherhood of bee-men that 

 have been my privilege and good fortune to enjoy during my 

 brief career. 



The memory of it is like unto the fragrant breath of 

 June roses. 



How sweet is friendship ! 



How delightful are the recollections of happy days ! 



How endearing is the brotherhood of common endeavor ! 



Toil makes the toilers kin. 



If Hope and Faith be not dead, happy are we who work ! 

 Forest City, Iowa. 



