198 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



June 



jng apiculture gratuitously, and had a 

 pupil as assistant at this apiary, which 

 he later gave into his charge. This 

 apiary always gave good results in 

 spite of foulbrood, which decimated it, 

 but which, however, was stamped out. 

 Not only its first cost of 2500 francs 

 (for hives, building for lodging, work- 

 shop and fences) was quickly returned 

 by the produce, but every year a hand- 

 some profit was derived and divided 

 equally between M. Bertrand and his 

 assistant. Later he gave up this apiary 

 to his assistant and also discarded the 

 Layens hive in his home apiary, re- 

 taining the Dadant as the most suitable 

 for profitable beekeeping. 



" In 1876, when the Societe Romande 

 d'Apiculture was started, Mr. Bertrand 

 was elected secretary, a post which he 

 occupied for several years. On several 

 occasions he was elected president of 

 the society, a post which could only be 

 held by the same person for two years 

 consecutively. He was also treasurer 

 and librarian of the society for many 

 years. 



"In 1879, the society having recog- 

 nized the advisability of having an or- 

 gan which would place its members in 

 communication with each other and 

 inform them of the advances made in 

 beekeeping, M. Bertrand offered to 

 edit the journal on condition that he 

 was the sole manager, and undertook 

 to bear all the costs. Members were 

 supplied with the journal at the reduced 

 rate of three francs, while the ordinary 

 subscription was four francs. At this 

 time the leading French journal was 

 strenuously opposed to the new meth- 

 ods, and M. Bertrand had to submit to 

 much unfavorable criticism and abuse 

 from an Italian journal conducted by 

 Giotto Ulivi and several of his parti- 

 sans in France. However, so well was 

 M. Bertrand's journal received that it 

 was evident it filled a void, and at the 

 end of two years the Bulletin d' Apicul- 

 ture four la Suisse Ixomandc had suffi- 



cient subscribers to pay its cost of 

 production, and these so rapidly in- 

 creased abroad, especially in France, 

 that it was considered advisable to 

 change its title to Revue Internationale 

 d' Apiculture. This he carried on with 

 the help of Madame Bertrand — who 

 was as great an enthusiast as he was — 

 and M. Crepieux-Jamin until 1903, 

 when owing to failing health the journal 

 was given up. 



There was no doubt that this high- 

 class journal was the most practical 

 and best in the French language, as it 

 was the only one at that time which 

 treated seriously of modern methods, 

 and it was no wonder that it was 

 eagerly sought after by advanced bee- 

 keepers. It was known that M. Ber- 

 trand was not only a practical but a 

 successful beekeeper, and his advice 

 could always be relied upon. Having 

 successfully fought foulbrood, he was 

 able to give such advice as has been 



the means of curing many diseased 

 colonies. Being acquainted with sev- 

 eral languages, M. Bertrand kept his 

 readers informed of the progress being 

 made in England, America, Italy and 

 other countries. It was with this object 

 in view that the " British Beekeepers' 

 Guide Book," " The Honey Bee," and 

 "Wax Craft," by T. W. Cowan, were 

 translated by him into French, as was 

 also " Foulbrood of Bees," by F. C. 

 Harrison. 



M. Bertrand also published several 

 practical works, such as " Routine et 

 Methodes Modernes, premieres notions 

 d'Apiculture," in 1882; "Description 

 des meilleures Ruches," " Conseils et 

 Notions a I'usage des Commenfants," 

 and in 1883 " Calendrier de I'Apicul- 

 teur." The three last were later com- 

 bined in one volume, entitled " Con- 

 duite du Rucher," which, after several 

 revisions, attained its 11th edition in 

 1915. This is still considered the 



THE BERTRAND CHALET 



THE LATE EDOUARD BERTRAND 



standard book in Switzerland and other 

 countries, having been translated into 

 seven languages. 



In 1891 and 1897 he published " Let- 

 tres inedites de Francois Huber," in 

 1891 " La Ruche Dadant modifiee," and 

 in 1899 "La loque et son traiteraent." 

 He also translated from the Italian 

 Rauschenfels' Lafausse-teigne " in 1890. 

 In 1891 the translation of Dadant]s 

 " Langstroth " was published under his 

 supervision. 



During the 25 years in which M. Ber- 

 trand published the Revue Internationale 

 d' Aficulture he practically revolution- 

 ized beekeeping in Switzerland and 

 France. Old-fashioned skeps almost 

 entirely disappeared, and rational 

 methods were adopted. His activities 

 did not rest there, for he gave courses 

 of instruction from 1884 to 1887 at his 

 own residence, where the theory and 

 practice of rational beekeeping were 

 imparted, and he formed a band of dis- 

 ciples who spread the new methods 

 throughout the country. We can our- 

 selves, with a pretty good acquaintance 

 with the country, testify to the change 

 that has taken place and the progress 

 that has been made in beekeeping dur- 

 ing M. Bertrand's activity. Eminent 

 scientists and practical beekeepers of 

 the first rank met at the hospitable resi- 

 dence in Nyon, and were welcomed by 

 Madame Bertrand, who was such a help- 



