APRIT; 1, 1915 



273 



MOSES QUINBY— A TRIBUTE TO HIS MEMORY 



BV P. H. ELWOOD' 



Read before the Northeastern Beekeepers' Association, February 3, 1S76. 



Ill tlie liistory of every profession or 

 (ict'iii)atiou we find the names of a few who 

 have outstripi^ed all competitors— men pos- 

 sessed of that rare gift, power of original 

 thought; pioneers who have explored an 

 unknown wilderness, and mapped it for 

 future i>ossessors. In the history of bee 

 culture tliere are four names that stand out 

 prominently beyond all others: Huber, 

 Dzieizon, Langstroth, and Quinby. Huber, 

 the blind apiarian, who, by his great ability 

 and untiring perseverance, discovered more 

 of the interior workings of the beehive than 

 any other man who ever lived; Dzierzon, 

 the Quinby of German}', who confirmed the 

 wonderful discoveries of Huber, and added 

 that equally wonderful one of parthenogen- 

 esis; Langstroth, our own countryman, in- 

 ventor of the movable-comb hive (without 

 which there would be no occasion for gath- 

 erings like this), and author of a work on 

 beekeeping that, for scientific accuracy and 

 beauty of expression, is not only unsurpass- 

 ed but almost unsurpassable; and last, but 

 not least, our own Quinby, inventor of the 



X 



/ 







Moses Quinby 



bellows smoKer, who, adding largely to the 

 knowledge of his predecessors, combined the 

 whole into a system of practical manage- 

 ment unequaled in simplicity and feasibility. 

 Mr. Quiuby's lifework was to elevate 



beekeeping to the dignity of a pursuit 

 among men, and he performed his work 

 well. Beekeeping as a specialty will date 

 from his time; and if Huber has earned the 

 title of " Prince of Apiarians," certainly 

 ]\rr. Quinby is entitled to that of Father of 



p. H. Ehvood, Fort Plains, N. Y. One of the 

 numerous successful students of Quinby. 



Practical Bee Culture. He sowed that we 

 may reap. He labored without reward — oft- 

 en, indeed, without an appreciative public. 

 Now that he is gone, beekeepers will miss 

 his counsels, and think more highly of his 

 work. 



While he was anxious that the millions of 

 pounds of honey now lost might be gathered, 

 he had no fear of an ovei'stocked market, 

 and often narrated the history of the cheese 

 trade as an illustration, saying that, while 

 this industry was in its infancy, prices were 

 lower than at present, and that the market 

 was really in more danger of being over- 

 stocked than now, as the facilities for dis- 

 |)0sing of the product of the dairy have 

 increased faster than the production. The 



* Soe prinote H\ Mr. Elwood's further article, 

 page 281. 



