928 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 15. 



recognition for the services which he had ren- 

 dered to apiculture. 



There are not many bee-l<eopers of the pres- 

 ent day who can look back 40 years, or who 

 know how Mr. Langstroth was treated, even 

 by those who v\ero quick lo peTceive the advan- 

 .tages 10 be derived frum his invenllun; or how 

 they pilfered his best ideas, and even patented 

 them, and how he was defrauded of his just 

 dues. Nor do they know that these infringe- 

 ments of his rights led to costly litigation 

 which swallowed up all his well-merited gains. 

 As one of your own writers (Prof. Cook) has 

 wr tten in Gleaxtngs: "This whole matter 

 is the dark page in American bee-keeping his- 

 tory, and we gladly pass it by without further 

 comment." 



Langstroth was not in liuurishing circum- 

 stances; and although a fund was raised to 

 assist him in his old age, the sum realized fell 

 very far short of what it should have done, 

 more especially when we consider what benefit 

 has been derived from his invention. Although 

 bee-keeping here is not carried on as a business 

 — such as it is in America — it was a real plea- 

 sure to British bee-keepers to be allowed to 

 add their mite toward the fund raised. This 

 distinguished man would no doubt have suf- 

 fered less had he been in affluent circumstanc- 

 es, and able to take change of air at the ap- 

 proach of his periodical attacks of illness; but 

 his modesty prevented him liura appealing to 

 his friends. His allusion to this, and his grati- 

 tude to God for what had already been done 

 for him, was well expressed in his letter to 

 Gleanings in 1892, and will be found on page 

 609. 



My own acquaintance with Mr. Langstroth 

 was through our correspondence. I had al- 

 ways admired his book, not only for the infur- 

 mation it contained, but also for the purity of 

 its phraseology, which placed it at the head of 

 all American works on apiculture. In my cor- 

 respondence with him I found he was not only 

 a great bee-master, but also a thorough Chris- 

 tian gentleman. I have always regrened that. 

 when 1 was in America, I was not able to 

 see him, owing to his suffering at the time 

 from his head trouble. I have had a good 

 many letters from him, and on my return 

 from Africa he thanked me most heartily for 

 investigating and reporting upon the merits of 

 the bees of Northern Africa, it was only quite 

 recently that I had several letters from him, 

 and among other things he invited me lobe 

 present at the meeting of the North American 

 bee keepers' convention at Toronto. He also 

 asked me to make some experiments in feeding 

 bees with mailed milk, which he had been us- 

 ing with benetit to himself. He had been read- 

 ing my book, '"The Honey-bee," and, referring 

 to it. he observed, " What I wrote to you about 

 the malted milk meets with confirmation in 



wliat you say about chyle food. Let the mix- 

 ture be made with hot honey-water, and how 

 near it seems to come to chyle ! " I regret that 

 this was his last letter to me, and that, since 

 its receipt. I have not had the opportunity of 

 trying the (•xperiinent. He also told me that 

 he had written conlidiniially to several friends, 

 and had asked them also lo try the experi- 

 ments; so if any thing comes of ill hope Mr. 

 Langstroth's name will not be forgotten in con- 

 nection with it. 



1 hope you will excuse me for writing so long 

 a letter. I could say much more, but I am sure 

 there are others, much more qualified, who 

 have been intimately associated with him, who 

 could give far more interesting reminiscences 

 of him than I am able to do. I was, however, 

 glad to be able to write a few words in testimo- 

 ny of what Mr. Langstroth had done for api- 

 culture, and also lo show you the respect we 

 have entertained for him, and the admiration 

 with which we have looked upon him in this 

 country. 



We can truly sympathize with our American 

 brethren in the loss which they, as well as bee- 

 keepers generally, have sustained. 



31 Belsize Park Gardens, London, England. 



[Mr. Cowan refers to a letter of Mr. Lang- 

 stroth, regarding malted milk and its relation 

 to bee-food. A similai' one was sent to us; but 

 at the time he was not ready to have it made 

 public; but since his death we give it here just 

 as he wrote it.— Ed.] 



I have sometbing to communicate which may in- 

 terest you. A few nig-hts ago, as I lay upon my 

 bed, a tliought suddenly d;irted into my mind. I 

 have not time to tell you what suggested it, and 

 perliaps I have made a discovery which will be 

 hlglily importaut to bee-keepers. Read what Thos. 

 W, Cowan says about the chyle food the bees feed 

 to the larva,'. Then read what Horlick says about 

 malted milk. Now let the powdered article be di- 

 luted, not with simple hot water, but with hot 

 honey-water, and don't you see that you have al- 

 most tlie exact equivalent of the chyle food given 

 to the larvfe ? This is not an expensive food, and, 

 pollen or no pollen, weather good or bad, inside the 

 hive we can feed what may be the best stimulant to 

 brood-rearing. Given a food of sul-Ii value, not too 

 expensive, and so easily prepared, and what conse- 

 quences may not flow from it ? I need not attempt 

 to describe — tliey follow like tlie corollaries from 

 the demonstrated problem. 



I write to you, among other dear friends, to put 

 this thing at once to the test— feed as you know 

 how to do — note its effect upon brood-rearing as 

 you may easily do in a short time. The season is 

 right; the time before the Toronto convention suf- 

 ficient. Most experiments I'equire much time, pa- 

 tience, etc., before we can arrive at anj' certain 

 conditions; Ijutiflhad bees, and dared to do any 

 thing with them, without too much risk, I should be 

 able to say in less than two weeks, " Eureka ! " or 

 "fooled again." I have set so many .at work that 

 we must arrive at certainties. 



If it is a success I shall give it to tue bee-keeping 

 world, at the Toronto gathering. I would dicker 



