744 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



they are quite proud of Mr. Dadant being 

 their fellow-Frenchman. In fact, in bee- 

 matters, he is, to all appearance, the author- 

 ity with them. The French, like any peo- 

 ple, may have their faults, but they are far 

 from participating in that hypercritical 

 vein which characterizes some other na- 

 tions; and whenever one of them has 

 worked himself up to celebrity, they ac- 

 knowledge it without jealousy, and treat 

 him with that respect which is due him. 



Good for the French bee-folks ! We of 

 America may well strive to imitate their 

 unselfishness in giving " honor to whom 

 honor is due." Down with all jealousies, 

 and up with " due honors!" 'Tis never too 

 late to learn— even good manners, and to do 

 right. 



A B C of Bee-Ciiltiire— just see the 



magnificent offers on page 739. Every one 

 of our subscribers can now have a copy of 

 that splendid book. . 



Short Call at I>r.' ITIiller's.— On 



our way to Rockford, 111., on Dec. 1, we 

 stopped ofif a few hours — from 1 to 6 p.m. — 

 at Marengo, to see Dr. Miller and family. 

 All were well, and apparently as happy as 

 usual. We had a most enjoyable visit— 

 'twas " short but sweet." 



A profusion of beautiful plants and 

 flowers filled the large south bay window in 

 the sitting-room of Dr. Miller's house— we 

 presume to serve as a reminder of the 

 " flowers that bloom in the spring" — next 

 spring, we hope, and for the bees that then 

 will be ready for another year's work. 



We forgot to learn whether the Doctor 

 had disposed of his 1894 crop of honey (20 

 pounds!), but presume he had, as he said he 

 had his winter's coal in, and we don't see 

 how he could buy so much coal unless he 

 had sold all his honey ! 



Both Miss Wilson and Dr. Miller agreed 

 that the percolator feeder, as described on 

 page 437, is the greatest thing in bee- 

 keeping for many a year. They had fed 

 1,500 pounds of sugar for winter stores with 

 such ease this fall that it was almost a 

 pleasure instead of a wearisome task. Mrs. 

 Miller thought so too, as there was so much 

 less "daubing around" the house than 

 when syrup had to be made for feeding. 

 Mrs. Miller is nice, sensible housekeeper, 

 you see, and doesn't like "stuck up things " 

 — whether they be kitchen things or " hu- 

 man things!" 

 In Bro. Ernest Root's account of his re- I 



cent bicycle trip he gave what he consid- 

 ered a " good one " on Dr. Miller, in Glean- 

 ings for Nov. 1. Here it is: 



I must not forget to give a "good one " 

 on Dr. Miller. When I reached Marengo I 

 was a little turned around, and had to in- 

 quire the way to the Doctor's. Approach- 

 ing a small boy I said, "Can you direct me 

 to the home of Dr. C. C. Miller ?" " Oh ! 

 yes, sir," he replied. " You go down this 

 road, pass over two hills, and then you'll 

 come to a great big overgrown hedge-fence 

 and a whole lot of weeds and things. This 

 is the place. The house is back from the 

 road, and the yard is all full of stuff. You 

 can't miss it." 



In the next number of Gleanings Dr. 

 Miller had this " straw " in reply to Editor 

 Root's " good one:" 



" Weeds and things " is my " best holt," 

 Ernest. I lose less money on them than on 

 any other crop I can put in, aside from 

 their use to " mark the locality." 



Then Bro. Root lengthened out the 

 " straw " with this explanation: 



Your yard was no worse in point of 

 weeds than the yards of most bee-keepers I 

 have visited. The fact is, many of them 

 furnish either pollen or a little honey. 

 Sweet clover grows rank and thick about 

 most bee-keepers' homes. But. say, the 

 way that small boy " marked your locality" 

 was a joke to good to keep. 



Well, we didn't see any weeds at all, 

 but weeds or no weeds, we would like to 

 warn Bro. Root, and also the "small boy " 

 mentioned, that it wouldn't be good for 

 their general health to let Miss Wilson get 

 hold of them! The idea of slandering (?) 

 Dr. Miller's home in that way ! and reflect- 

 ing upon his way of caring for his surround- 

 ings! Miss Wilson intimated that she " had 

 a bone to pick with Ernest " over the mat- 

 ter, and we think she meant it, too. We 

 admire her pluck — and if she should 

 " pluck " or " pick " a few of "Ernest's" 

 bones— well, he'd be more of a boneless 

 Root than a Rootless bone, that's sure! 



But we wouldn't have any one think 

 from the foregoing, that Miss Wilson is 

 anything but the pleasantest and "prop- 

 eresf'of young ladies— it was simply a 

 case of " righteous indignation " — that's all. 



T'wo ICoiiikI VoliniK^.^ of the 



American Bee Journal for 1891 we have 

 for sale, by express, for $2.00, or by mail 

 for$a.30. They are bound in good board 

 covers with leather backs, gilt-lettered. 

 The first one who sends the price, will have 

 the books. 



