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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



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hear Prof. Cook talk is enough to make one 

 feel there is nothing in the world so pleas- 

 ant as bee-keeping, or experimenting upon 

 whatever line he is talking upon. I watch- 

 ed the faces of a good many while he was 

 talking, and I could see an enthusiasm and 

 a glow that showed that something of more 

 than ordinary interest was going on. Oh 

 dear ! there are so many others who deserve 

 personal mention, that I fear I must stop 

 short off, or some good brother will feel 

 hurt. 



I do not know of any thing at the conven- 

 tion that gave us more real pleasure, and 

 that made us wake up, if we were iaclined 

 to be sleepy, than the bee-keepers' songs. 

 Unfortunately our good friend Dr. C. C. 

 Miller was absent ; but very fortunately the 

 secretary, R. F. Holtermann, had secured 

 the services of the City Quartette. Every 

 time a song was rendered there was a quick 

 and hearty encore ; again and again they 

 were called up; and again they were en- 

 cored. The quick German wit of our friend 

 Eugene Secor's original songs, and the mel- 

 ody of the music composed for the occasion 

 by our own Dr. Miller, no doubt gave the 

 songs a freshness and newness that thev 

 possibly would not have had otherwise. 1 

 think our association ought to be proud of 

 two such men — a real poet and a real musi- 

 cian, either of them of no mean talent. 

 While I am dictating this my eyes rest 

 upon the report in the last American Bee 

 Journal. In touching upon this point 

 W. Z. II. says, " The session was opened 

 very pleasantly by singing several of the 

 bee-keepers' songs. The last one that was 

 sung was one that appears on page 772 of 

 the American Bee Journal. This w^as ren- 

 dered in such a way that it ' brought down 

 the house.' It did us good to see the old, 

 staid, and sober President Mason so far for- 

 get himself as to slap his knees, tip back his 

 head, and shake his sides with laughter." 

 You are just right, Bro. II. We all felt like 

 Dr. Mason, but we did not express it in the 

 hearty manner that he did. Don't let there 

 ever be held a convention again, without 

 the bee-keepers' songs being a prominent 

 feature. Sometimes it is a little tiresome to 

 sit for a couple of hours, without something 

 to enliven our spirits. The music will more 

 than offset the time it takes up by the 

 freshness and invigoration that will be sure 

 to follow in the discussion. 



I wish you could all have shaken hands 

 with those hearty Canucks. Well, I will 

 shortly introduce you to their faces. Bro. 

 Holtermann had arranged to have one of 

 the city artists take a picture of the conven- 

 tion. The picture was taken, and is a most 

 excellent one— a far better one than I could 

 have taken with my camera, even if the 

 Canadian officials had not put it in safe 

 keeping at the custom-house office. This 

 picture will be reproduced by the elegant 

 half-tone process, for the readers of Glean- 

 ings, and then we are goiijg to introduce 

 each of the members, one by one, to you 



After the convention closed, a party, con- 

 sisting of Mr. and Mrs. C P. Dadant, Mrs. 

 Root, and your humble servant, to )k in Niag- 

 ara Falls. We should have been glad if the 



party could have been made larger ; but the 

 other members, for various reasons, could 

 not go. On the way there I enjoye<l one of 

 those unconventional bee-talks with Mr. 

 Dadant, who, as you all know, is an extensive 

 bee-keeper, and the prince of foundation- 

 makers. As I neared Suspension Bridge I 

 began to have some misgivings about my 

 camera, which was, as you remember, in the 

 custom-house office. I took along my friend 

 Dadant to help me, and, if necessary, swear 

 that I was an honest man and never cheat- 

 ed any one — not even a custom-house officer. 

 I arrived at the office at 7 in the morning. 

 Yes, the camera was there all safe and 

 sound. On presenting my name I was duly 

 informed that I should have to wait until 11 

 o'clock, and go into the United States, 

 which was only a few hundred yards away, 

 over the bridge on the train. With some 

 reluctance I left, Mr. Dadant and I with our 

 better halves taking in the Canadian side of 

 the Falls in -the mean time. At the ap- 

 pointed time I returned ; and after what I 

 thought was some red tape, I was handed 

 over to the American custom officer, who 

 conducted me back with my camera into 

 Uncle Sam's domain. No, sir; if you ever 

 catch me in the Canuck borders again with 

 a camera, that great " big wall " that seems 

 to me ought not to be there will have tum- 

 bled down. The Canadians are every whit 

 like us. They use the same coin, speak the 

 same language, and yet we must pay duty 

 on going back and forth. Hold on ! I am 

 not going to branch out into politics. I am 

 not a freetrader— no, I won't tell what I 

 am ; but just let me whisper in your ear, 

 that, if you are a real strong protectionist, 

 and get caught in a custom-house office be- 

 tween Canada and the United States, you 

 will either not be quite so strong a one or 

 you will preach annexation for the next ten 

 years. 



In due time I got safely into Uncle Sam's 

 domain with my camera ; but as 1 left the 

 Canadian official I could not help wanting 

 to take a good picture of him before he 

 knew it, and keep the likeness as a memori- 

 al to— protection or free trade, which? 



It is quite needless to say, that, when our 

 party reached the American side, we had a 

 good time. I took all sorts of views of the 

 Falls, and some views that I fancy you 

 could not buy, even at the little shops along 

 the Falls. After we had driven around to 

 some of the points most interesting to the 

 ladies, Mr. Dadant and I, after dinner, took 

 the camera, and took other views, both with 

 our eyes and with the camera. Mr. D., 

 who is the present secretary, has promised 

 me that I may take all the views I want to 

 on the Mississippi River at Keokuk, and 

 that I shall not have to be bothered by cus- 

 tom-house officers. 



I can not close this sketch without saying 

 that the Brantford convention was in every 

 way a grand success in numbers, enthusiasm, 

 and in good feeling, and that great credit is 

 due the secretary, Mr. Holtermann, for his 

 careful preparation as well as to the " staid 

 old Dr. Mason the president,'' for his good 

 humor in managing so well a lot of Canucks 

 and Yankees. Ernest. 



