830 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULT [TEE. 



UCT. 



wrote an article refuting it. After showing the 

 impossibility of the thing, he winds up as follows : 



My friends, do you believe such a thing can be 

 done? "Well, Mr. Bazar said so, and we have no 

 right to dispute it." But that is not the question. 

 Do you believe such a thing can be done? "Well, 

 we may not believe it, still we are not responsible 

 for a sentiment copied from another paper." If 

 you were called into court to testify, you would not 

 be allowed to repeat the sayings of others, but 

 would be required to tell what you know about it. 

 Now, my friends, what do you know about artificial 

 honey-comb filled with artificial (glucose or sugar 

 syrup) honey? 



Mr. A. I. Root, of Medina, Ohio, offered $ 1000 four 

 or five years ago for proof of artificial comb honey. 

 Not taken yet. 



Now, what I am trying to do is to show you that I 

 think you are not justifiable in repeating what oth- 

 ers have testified against a neighbor unless you 

 have some grounds for believing the assertion is 

 true. There are some people who try to make an 

 honest living, and it matters not what their busi- 

 ness is, if it is honorable. 



If apiculture is not an honorable calling, but is 

 made a pretense of to defraud the public, then it 

 should be suppressed. On the other hand, if it is 

 right for a man to keep bees for the purpose of 

 producing a beautiful, nutritious, and healthy food, 

 I think the man engaged in it should not be accus- 

 ed of being a fraud, without evidence to prove the 

 fact. J. M. Harris. 



Good, friend H. ! Let others go and do likewise, if 

 they have a county paper in their midst that has 

 published the usual slander. 



NORTHWESTERN BEE-KEEPERS' CONVENTION. 



I have just returned from a two-days' session of 

 the above convention in Chicago, just as we go to 

 press. The attendance was quite good, and we had 

 an exceedingly pleasant and profitable time, fur- 

 ther particulars of which will appear in next issue. 



BEAUTIFUL OCTOBER. 



I hardly know why it is, but October of late 

 years is getting to have wonderful charms for me. 

 Some have said, that, inasmuch as it heralds decay 

 and death to a large part of the vegetable world, it 

 is a dismal month; but not so to me. May be it is 

 because of the spirit of that little hymn I have re- 

 ferred to elsewhere— "Nearer my home." And I 

 rather think, too, that it is because of the thought 

 that centers in the little text, " Not to be minister^ 

 ed unto, but to minister." We have just had a co- 

 pious rain. The sun is now shining brightly, and 

 the rich mellow earth over the plant-beds is just in 

 trim to dig and rake up fine; and the thought of 

 getting outdoors and making things grow during 

 these October days fairly makes my heart bound; 

 and sometimes I feel like shouting for joy and 

 praise. I do not know but 1 should feel ashamed 

 of myself a little, to think that a man within a few 

 days of being fifty years old should be feeling as 

 buoyant as a schoolboy; and it may be all the ef- 

 fect of that little text about ministering and being 

 a servant. And then the glorious thought that 

 comes with the consciousness of whom I am striv- 

 ing to serve! It is not only a glorious thing to be a 

 "king's daughter," but it is a grand and glorious 

 thing to be a king's .son," because, you know, the 

 son is always expected to work (minister) a little 

 harder than the daughter. 



THE CANADIAN HONEY-PRODUCER NOT DISCON- 

 TINUED. 



On page 809 we intimated in our letter to Dr. Ma- 

 son that the Canadian Honey-Produc&r had been 

 discontinued. This is a mistake; but I should not 

 have stated this in public had I not supposed that 

 the same had already been published in theBee-7(ii>e; 



but a careful search through its files shows that I 

 was mistaken— that what ] had in mind was the dis- 

 continuance of the Queen-Breeder' 8 Journal. I re- 

 gret this very much. I have received from Sect. 

 Holtermann the following, which is no more than 

 right that it should be published at this time: 



Brother Root:— I do not like the idea of a chance at this 

 late date. For example, I write for several agricultural pa- 

 pers, and have drawn attention to the meeting in Brantford, 

 and it is difficult to get c\ n \ one notified of the change. Per- 

 sonallj I should prefer Buffalo; hut whether at this date the 

 best interests of the associal on will he subserved by chang- 

 ing, I am inclined to doubt. R. F. HOLTBBM-ANN. 



Ronvney, Ont., Oct. 12. 



WHERE SHALL THE NEXT NATIONAL CONVENTION 

 BE HELD? A WORD FROM ONE OF THE ED- 

 ITORS OF THE CANADIAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Since our article on page 8C9 of the present issue 

 was in type, we have received the following from 

 Mr. F. H. Macpherson, which will explain itself: 



Friend Root:— I was surprised, when I received the advance 



proot \ (in wen- kind enough to forward, to learn that a change 

 of the place of holding the coming International was being 

 talked of, and that the item which 1 penned for the Canadian 

 Bee Journal of Sept. 18 was being taken as a basis. Please take 

 notice that the item referred to suggested Buffalo as the 

 place of holding the International for 1890— not for the one 

 just upon us. I do not know whether it has been understood 

 in this «ay or not; hut if the article be read through to the 

 end, there should he no mistake. 



I must say that I am opposed to making any change at this 

 late date. Dozens of Canadians have arranged to be at Brant- 

 ford, who will not go to Buffalo, especially those from the 

 eastern counties. The building in which the meeting is to be 

 held is spoken for, and railroad rates are about settled, while 

 all the other necessary arrangements are completed. 



Again, tlie majority of the local Ontario associations have 

 appointed delegates, and these — not over-affluent societies — 

 have doubtless counted well the cost of sending their dele- 

 gates while an extra expense of $3 00 or $4.00 will probably be 

 the means of keeping them at home. Then, too, the Ontario 

 Bee keepers' Association at its last meeting passed a resolu- 

 tion calling "a special general meeting at Brantford, at the 

 same time as the International," and the president, vice-presi- 

 dent, and directors (15 in all) were appointed delegates. 



As to the membership, Dr. Mason suggests that it is none of 

 our business where the meeting is held. By " our" I mean all 

 Canadians, outside of D. A. Jones and R. F. Holtermann. It is 

 a well-known fact, that the great bulk of the membership each 

 year comes from the vicinity where the annual meeting is 

 held, and Canada will not he behind in this respect. As proof 

 of my statement, take the Detroit convention: 68 out of 103 

 members were from Michigan, Ohio, and Ontario. If the asso- 

 ciation is international, surely Canadians have a right to an 

 occasional meeting. But the greatest reason of all is, that the 

 suggestion comes too late in the day. I trust that my writing 

 will not be taken as presumption, as I am not a member, but 

 hope to be. F. H. MACPHERSi in. 



Beeton, Ont., Oct. 10, 1889. 



Well, now, friend M., may be I have put my foot 

 in it. If so, I shall try to draw it out as gracefully 

 as possible. Let's see : It seems to me that your 

 original editorial is a little ambiguous, or, rather, it 

 conveys pretty directly the impression I got from 

 it. After mentioning the feet that you had invited 

 your American friends to be present at Brantford, 

 you insert a " by the way " clause, which seems to 

 be somewhat of an after-thought to the preceding. 

 The clause in question, and the one which gave me 

 the impression that you desired to change to Buffa- 

 lo for 1889, reads as follows: " By the way, would it 

 not be mere justice to place the holding cf the next 

 convention at Buffalo?" The underscored word is 

 mine. Now, the question hinges on the little word 

 next. I can not get any other meaning from it than 

 that you meant the coming convention, for the close 

 of this year, 1889. I do not see how the next conven- 

 tion could refer to the year 1890, when there is yet 

 a convention to be held in between now and then. 

 The reasons you give for holding it at Brantford 

 are good; but would not these delegates be willing 

 to pay just a little more for the sake of the privi- 

 lege of seeing the Falls in winter? and is it not a 

 fact that some of the delegates are nearer Buffalo 

 than Brantford? and would not the general ex- 

 pense be thereby somewhat equalized? I am still 

 in favor of Buffalo, though I am quite willing to 

 accede to the wishes of the majority of the mem- 

 bers. As Prof. Cook says, we all desire the best 

 good for the society. Ernest. 



