rev 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW, 



say "it is evident that bee keepers are a 

 little tired of some of the old writers." 

 That is the " old writer's " own fault. Some 

 of them write too much to be always inter- 

 esting. There may be a choice spring at 

 the bottom of a well, but it is not inexhaust- 

 ibly copious. With too much pumping, it 

 will get dry. Minds, like wells, need time to 

 fill up. Dr. Miller is a pat illustration of 

 this. When he wrote that long series of 

 articles on " Out Apiaries," the well got 

 pretty dry. But his recent article on the 

 Chicago convention shows what he can do 

 when the spring rises in freshness. As I 

 read that admirable report, I felt that I had 

 got the cue of the proceedings, and the gist 

 of the whole affair. Mr. Doolittle writes too 

 much for his own reputation. He can write 

 a first class article, but producing so many, 

 it is impossible that all should be A 1. It 

 reminds me of the fable of the fox and the 

 lioness. Mrs. Fox reproached Mrs. Lion for 

 only bringing forth one at a birth, while she, 

 (Mrs. Fox,) brought forth several. '"You 

 forget," was the reply, " that my one is a 

 lion." 



I do not participate in your desire to get 

 all to write. It is akin to the idea that 

 everyone should speak in a religious meeting. 

 I consider this one of the mistakes of the 

 age we live in. In every school there must 

 be teachers and learners. The scholars may 

 in time become teachers, but they must first 

 pass through the curriculum of scholarship. 

 For some, silence is golden. By keeping 

 still, they might get a reputation for being 

 wise. If the ass would keep his mouth shut 

 he would pass ior a sensible quadruped, but 

 when he opens his mouth he can only bray. 

 Let those write for bee and other journals 

 who have ideas that crave utterance, can 

 clothe them in suitable words, and are under 

 the influence of that peculiar inspiration 

 which belongs in common to the author, the 

 artist, and the poet. There is an itching to 

 write, known as the cacoethes scribendi. 

 which impels many to take up the pen who 

 are strangers to the true afflatus, just as 

 many rhymesters compose doggerel verses, 

 under the delusion that they are visited by 

 the muses. 



I do not concur in what you say by way of 

 excusing a want of education. It is an age 

 of books. The schoolmaster is abroad. 

 Self-education is practicable for any one 

 who has determination and energy sufficient 

 for the task. As for bad penmanship, it is 



very discreditable to all except such as have 

 crippled hands. I do pity compositors who 

 have to set type from half-illegible " copy." 

 They are a much-abused class of people. 

 Every person who undertakes to write for 

 the press is in duty bound to make his writ- 

 ing at least fairly readable. It only needs 

 practice to write a good, clear, legible hand. 

 What makes a good base ball player ? Prac- 

 tice. What makes a good pamter, a good 

 sculptor, a good musician? Practice. What 

 makes a good short-hand writer? Practice. 

 If a man does not exercise his arm, he de- 

 velopes no muscle. A gymnast was never 

 made by twirling the thumbs, and people 

 who permit themselves to scrawl and scribble 

 will always be poor writers. I do not care 

 if a man or woman has reached middle age, 

 persistent practice will enable them to ac- 

 quire a fair style of penmanship. My father, 

 though a college graduate, was a poor writer 

 until he had a family of children, some of 

 whom were able to write better than he did. 

 He could not stand that. He belonged to 

 the old school, and believed in beating his 

 children. So he bought an instruction book 

 in penmanship, went to work " unbeknown " 

 to his family, and soon acquired what we 

 call " a nice hand." The same line of re- 

 mark applies to grammar and spelling. 

 Grammar is not an abstruse thing. Who is 

 there, possessing any vigor of mind, who 

 could not master one rule of syntax in an 

 evening ? The entire set might easily be 

 learned before half the evenings of a single 

 winter were consumed. Is not the game 

 worth the candle ? Spelling is a tougher, 

 longer job. Still, with a fixed determination 

 to improve, progress, though slow, will be 

 sure, and victory will come at length. < )f 

 course, any sensible editor is willing to put 

 valuable ideas into a presentable dress. 

 But we should have the same pride mothers 

 have in dressing their children, and should 

 aspire to clothe our literary offspring our- 

 selves in a becoming and charming manner. 

 I am sorry to learn that, of all the corres- 

 pondents to the Review, only two or three 

 send manuscript good enough to be turned 

 over to the compoistor without revision. 

 May the little tribe increase I 



It will, perhaps, be helpful to some begin- 

 ner, for me to state how I learned to write 

 for the press. As long ago as I can remem- 

 ber I had an ambition to write articles fit to 

 appear in print. I sef out with the deter- 

 mination to do my level best every time, and 



