I 



(Entered as second-class matter at the Post-oflBce at Hamilton, 111., under Act of March 3, 187a.) 



Published Monthly at $1.00 a Year, by American Bee Journal, First National Bank Building 



C. p. DADANT. Editor. 



DR. C. C. MILLER. Associate Editor. 



HAMILTON, ILL., DECEMBER, 1915 



Vol. LV..^No. 12 



A Beekeeper's Life Story 



In the January number, we will begin 

 a short autobiography of our esteemed 

 and much appreciated co-worker, Dr. 

 Miller. Persons who are not acquaint- 

 ed with the circumstances, as to our 

 connection with our aged friend, may 

 wonder that we should take any space 

 to publish the autobiography of an 

 editorial associate, but those who know 

 him are aware of the fact that Dr. 

 Miller is not solely a constant contribu- 

 tor of the American Bee Journal. His 

 work with Gleanings in Bee Culture is 

 as much appreciated and as regular as 

 his work with us. He has often writ- 

 ten for magazines, and was the api- 

 arian authority of one of the best un- 

 abridged dictionaries, the " Standard 

 Dictionary." He is therefore a national 

 character in beekeeping. Nay, his 

 standing is international, for all who 

 have perused the English, French, 

 Swiss, Italian, Japanese, German or 

 Russian bee-publications have fre- 

 quently met his name. 



Dr. Miller has been called the "Nes- 

 tor" of American beekeeping. Per- 

 haps some of our readers, not versed 

 in Greek mythological history, will 

 wonder what that name means. Nestor 

 was one of the Greek chiefs who took 

 part in the Siege of Troy. In order 

 that our friends may judge whether the 

 title was properly applied, let me quote 

 what Larousse says of Nestor: "He 

 was the oldest of the Greek heroes. 

 With a consummate experience in all 

 things, he had nevertheless retained 

 the vigor of mature age, and was as 

 valiant as wise in counsel. Nestor has 

 remained the emblem, the personifica- 

 tion of wise, experienced and benevo- 

 lent old age." 



Those of our subscribers who have 

 had occasion to ask questions to be 

 answered in Dr. Miller's special depart- 

 ment can all tell whether this descrip- 

 tion fits him. 



The autobiography will be short 



DR. MILLER AT 84 



running through four or five numbers 

 of the Journal. It will be accompanied 

 by eight or ten photographs and daguer- 

 reotypes, some of which were taken in 

 his young days, some 70 years ago. It 

 will not be accompanied by lengthy 

 apiarian descriptions or accounts. 

 Much of our old friend's beekeeping 

 experience has been mentioned in 

 " Fifty Years Among the Bees," and 

 this is not to be a repetition. It will 

 be an octogenarian's account of his 

 young days, of his fight through life 

 while turning to this particular pur- 

 suit, and if our subscribers enjoy the 

 reading of it half as much as did the 

 writer of this announcement, we will 

 be satisfied. 



Most of our readers are aware of Dr. 

 Miller's extraordinary crops of comb 

 honey. These immense crops were 

 due to his judgment in the selection of 

 reproducers, to getting the largest pos- 

 sible force of field bees ready for the 

 harvest and to careful and attentive 

 management during the harvest. We 

 might expect him to speak of the re- 

 sults achieved, but he says nothing of 

 that in his autobiography. We sent 

 him some enquiries to which he re- 

 plied as follows : 



What is the largest number of colo- 

 nies which you have kept at one time ? 

 " I never had more than 400 colonies of 

 bees and they were kept in four api- 

 aries." 



Have you kept a record of the 

 amount of honey you have produced 

 altogether? If so, what is the total? 

 " No, I've no idea of the amount of 

 honey I have produced. A hundred 

 tons might be a conservative guess." 



Although veryinteresting in his pub- 



