824 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 15. 



please do not imagine, dear friends, that I had 

 any idea in mind that there was any special 

 great thing for me to do away off in Keokuk, 

 Iowa. I only felt that it was God's wish that I 

 should be preseTit with the rest of the brethi'en, 

 and do what I could to help matters along, and 

 possibly to do something in a quiet and natural 

 way for Christ Jesus. 



No doubt this prompting of the Holy Spirit 

 came through natural events and human 

 agencies a good deal. Thi-ee different friends 

 wrote they wei'e looking forward with great 

 pleasure to the time when they would shake 

 hands with their old friend A. I. Root at the 

 coming convention. Then when I thought of 

 being absent, something seemed to tell me that 

 I was doing wrong, and it began to lie as a 

 heavyweight on my conscience; and when I 

 considered the matter of changing my plans, 

 and of going after all. peace and happiness began 

 to come into my heart. For quite a time after 

 leaving home I did not feel anyenjoyment at all; 

 but I decided that I would do my duty as well as 

 I knew how, whether I enjoyed it or not. And I 

 think, dear friends, this is one of the very best 

 ways to secure the peace of God. Make up 

 your mind that inclination must give way to 

 duty, peace or no peace, and God will send the 

 reward in his own time. 



One of the first disappointments was to find 

 that, when we arrived at Elyria, the Lake 

 Shore train was two hours late. We did not 

 know whether Dr. Mason expected to attend or 

 not; but I invested 25 cents in a tdcgriim. This 

 telegram had the effect of waking li'nn up, and 

 of bringing him to the depot, <'V(mi after he, like 

 myself, had decided not to go. When we were 

 within perhaps a hundred miles of Keokuk, a 

 stranger sat down near us who eyed me very 

 intently for some time. I finally asked him if 

 he was not one of the bee-keeping friends on 

 the way to the convention. He replied that he 

 was, and added. "Are yon not A. I. Roof?" 



I nodded assent. Then he said, "My name 

 is Draper." 



" A. JSr. Draper, of Upper Alton, 111.?" said I, 

 interrogatively. 



He nodded, "and we were old friends at once. 

 Friend D. used to write for the American Bee 

 Journal, before Gleanings had an existence. 

 He had followed me, even to covering my bee- 

 hives with stable manure, as I did years ago; 

 and then he aftcrwaitl i)nt his bees in a cold- 

 frame, as a good nuiny otlnn's did in those old 

 times. He risked all lie had in the venture, 

 then gave up bee-keeping in disgust, as he lost 

 all. But, like a good many others, he came 

 back again to it. Pretty soon another fi'iend 

 who lives on the banks of the Illinois River, 

 Mr. J. M. Hambaugh, of Spring, 111., came in. 

 This latter friend had secured about 10,000 lbs. 

 of Spanish-needle honey, gathered from the 

 lowlands along the river. In his market, the 

 honey from Spanish needle is now selling more 

 readily, and is giving better satisfaction, than 

 even white c1ov(m-. It is of a beautiful amber 

 color, and I think it is often sold as goldeni'od 

 honey. 



The convention was one of the best I ever 

 attended. The attendance was not only large, 

 but our Western friends came and handed in 

 their dollars in order that they might become 

 members, more generally, I think, than in any 

 other convention I ever attended. Perhaps I 

 might mention right her(!, that one of the 

 troubles in our conventions is in this very line. 

 A good many attend evei-y session, take' great 

 interest in the proceedings, and sometimes take 

 part, to a considerable extent, in the debates; 

 yet when the call is made for the necessary 

 funds to keep up the necessary expenses, in 

 many localities there has been a considerable 



hanging back. Dr. Miller, Dr. Mason, Prof. 

 Cook, and others, have urged so hard that every 

 one should hand in a dollar that sometimes we 

 have almost had hai'd feelings in regard to the 

 matter. If we move our national convention 

 all over the United States, or, at least, over a 

 great portion of it, as we have been doing, it 

 happens, as a matter of course, that a great 

 part of tlie members (and oftentimes the presid- 

 ing officers) are made up of people who never 

 attended before, and perhaps who may never 

 attend again. This seems a little unfortunate: 

 and yet if all parts of the United States are 

 equally represented, it must be so to a greater 

 or lesser extent. During this last session, ar- 

 rangements were made whereby we might have 

 a certain number, at least, who would be mem- 

 bers year aft(>r year, whether they could be in 

 attendance or not. This is secured by making 

 anybody a life-member on the payment of 

 $10.00. "If I am con-ect, the editor of the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal was the first one to pay $10.00 

 and become a life-member. Ernest and I have 

 alsoagi'ccd toliccome life-members, and I said at 

 the convention tliat. 1 thouglit tlic United States 

 should furnisli at least LT) who would pay a like 

 sum, and hereafter be members for life. Now, 

 then, who is there among our readers who is 

 ready to stand hv us for the purpose of making 

 a permanent institution of the North American 

 Bee-keepers" Society, as it is to be styled, in 

 order that it may stand on a permanent basis, 

 and not be left to be blown about by the wind, 

 and dry up and die like autumn leaves? It is 

 proposed to have it incorporated according to 

 the laws of the United States, and it seems to 

 me this would be a very sensible and wise pro- 

 ceeding. Further particnlai'S in regard to the 

 matter will be found in the American Bee 

 Journal, as also a full report of the proceedings 

 of the convention, which we do not give here, 

 as we do not wish to have our pages contain 

 something that most of our readers will see in 

 the Arnericau Bee Journal. 



I hope I may digress enough right here to 

 urge every reader of Gleanings to subscribe 

 for the Amei lean Bee Journal at once, if he 

 does not now take it. Its editor has perhaps 

 done more to keep up our conventions, report 

 their proceedings, and labor for the general 

 interest of the bee-keepers of America thin any 

 other one among us. The field occupied is so 

 different from the one covered by Gleanings 

 that you will not find much repetition if you 

 take the two. 



Now for the promise in our text. I soon be- 

 gan to realize why it was that God wanted me 

 to go to Keokuk. A good many of the friends 

 who were ther(^ had taken Gleanings almost 

 since the time it was printed by windmill pow- 

 er. Theykn(nv me better than they knew their 

 next-door neighbors, many of them, and they 

 wanted to see me and shake hands. Perhaps 

 some who have followed me all these years came 

 more to see me than for almost any thing else. 

 Please remember that I do not say this boast- 

 ingly, but to show you that I should have been 

 sadly out of place, and lacking in friendly, 

 brotherly spirit, if I had allowed any thing to 

 keep me away from such a gathering. I did 

 not realize it fully until I came to read my 

 paper. As it is hard for me to speak to a large 

 roomful, I told them, before I commenced, that 

 I should considcn- it a great favor if they would 

 come up and occu])y the front seats, so that we 

 might have it more like a family gathering. 

 Our good friend Mrs. Harrison started the 

 movement by picking up her chair, and bring- 

 ing it quite close up to the speaker, when there 

 was a general move to following her example. 



During the reading of my paper (see Our 

 Homes, last issue), when I came to speak of 



