November, 1914 



I American "Bee -Jonrnal I 



■-~~ III I IM^MIIBll^B^ ■■■ 



Monument of Barnabas Visconti 



whom we wanted to visit, but he was 

 sick and away from his home. 



We traveled the length of Lake 

 Maggiore, on a fine steamboat, during 

 a very sunny day, ate our dinner of 

 Italian macaroni in company with Ital- 

 ians who ate it in the Italian fashion, 

 without cutting it, letting it string 

 from the plate to the mouth. Towards 

 evening, after having seen some of the 

 most beautiful islands and scenery in 

 the world, we landed at Stresia, and 

 took the through train for Milan, where 

 we arrived at 7:30 on the evening of 

 Sept. 3. 



Milan, aside from its interest as one 

 of the leading Italian cities, had a 

 great attraction for us. It is in Milan 

 that the principal Italian bee journal, 

 " L'Apicoltore," has been published 

 since 1867. I have often mentioned 

 this progressive monthly in the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal. My father had met 

 its first editor, Count Visconti Di Sali- 

 ceto, who was a young man, when he 

 went to Italy, in 1872. They were then 

 fighting for the same cause, the mov- 

 able-frame hive and the new methods, 

 against old practices in bee-culture, 

 the brimstone pit and the ancient rou- 

 tine. The present editor of "L'Apicol- 

 tore," Mr. Vincenvo Asprea, lives in 

 Calabria, at the southern extremity of 

 Italy, perhaps 1000 miles from Milan. 

 We could not meet him, however much 

 we would have liked to do so. But we 

 had written to the National Associa- 

 tion at Milan, and Messrs. Visconti 

 and Triaca, the president and vice- 

 president of the association, were ex- 

 pecting us. I spoke in the letter above 

 mentioned of the hearty reception 

 given us by Count Visconti, but have 

 not yet said anything about his friend, 

 Dr. Triaca, one of the kindest and 



pleasantest men in the world. Not only 

 had they oflered to meet us at our 

 arrival, but they had announced our 

 visit in " L'Apicoltore," and had made 

 arrangements to accompany us in sev- 

 eral cities where bee-meetings were 

 organized for our benefit. 



We could hardly believe that they 

 would carry hospitality to that extent. 

 But the Italians don't do things by 

 halves, and they surely know how to 

 entertain their guests and do them 

 honor. Besides, they are so warm 

 hearted and enthusiastic, that it is a 

 pleasure to be with them. There was 

 nothing to do but let the current carry 

 us. 



Among its numerous curiosities, 

 Milan boasts two marvels, the white 

 marble "Duomo" or Cathedral, and 

 the Castle — ' Castello di Milano " — 

 which has become a museum. The 

 Duomo looks like a forest, on the in- 

 side, so numerous are the marble col- 



umns which support its vaulted arches. 

 An entire number of the Bee Journal 

 would not be sufficient to describe it, 

 so we must pass on. But the Castle 

 drew our attention more particularly 

 because we were visiting it with a 

 descendant of the original builder, 

 Galeas II Visconti, who erected it in 

 1368. The structure was destroyed in 

 1447, and rebuilt in ll.")0 by Sforza, who 

 married a daughter of the Viscontis. 

 Thus the arms of the two families are 

 everywhere to be seen in this palace, 

 which also contains the funerary mon- 

 ument of Barnabas Visconti, erected 

 in 1370. It was a novel e.xperience for 

 .Americans, when we visited the home 

 and apiary of our kind cicerone, the 

 next day, to see upon the honey re- 

 cipients the coat of arms of a scion of 

 the dynasty which ruled a part of Italy 

 for some 200 years. (See the picture 

 of his label.) But we must not antici- 

 pate. We saw many interesting things 

 during that next day. 



The palace contains a museum of 

 history and archeology. It has lately 

 been restored, for it was badly dilapi- 

 dated during Austrian rule. They had 

 housed thefir soldiers and even their 

 horses in it. Is it any wonder that the 

 Italians do not love Austria ? 



After seeing all this, we went to 

 lunch with our two friends in a res- 

 taurant, which was also more like a 

 palace than a hostelry, and ate our 

 meal of Italian dishes under a cupola 

 perhaps 60 feet high. 



In the afternoon we visited a bee- 

 keeper who keeps a fancy grocery, and 

 who showed me samples of as fine 

 honey as I have ever seen. He insisted 

 on giving me a sample jar. But it was 

 out of the question for us to carry it 

 with us, and Dr. Triaca kindly volun- 

 teered to forward it for me to Mr. 

 Caillas, of Paris, the honey analyst 

 already known to our readers. I knew 

 it would please him, as he makes tests 

 of honey of all countries. 



This grocer, Bianchi by name, could 

 not speak French like our friends, and 

 I then realized how little Italian I knew 

 even though I can read it readily. Had 

 it not been for the Count, I should 

 have had troubleto comprehend. Sev- 

 eral beekeepers came while we were 

 there and became interested and talked 

 so fast that I could not make out any- 

 thing they said. 



Mr. Bianchi appears to be one of the 

 most successful honey retailers in the 



^nteAl^onso Viscoaiti DiiAUafo' 



I ^rn tiSGOsui NmI d I i qJ 



(Ptovit\ci6 di MiLANor , 



Honey Labki. Used by Visconti— (Half actual size.) 



