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TfH® SMERICSK ^Mm JQlffRlffEIL.. 



keepers to write at once, themselves, to 

 any paper iu which they saw false 

 statements regardiug their industry, 

 and its products, and contradict them. 

 This would do more good than any- 

 thing else that could be done. Mr. 

 Root then read an essay upon, 



Ridins' llobby-llorses. 



Bec-Kccping us a Recreation from Other 

 Pursuits, and an Antldcitefor Disease. 



A hobbyist, or cue who rides hobby- 

 horses, is, according to Webster, one who 

 pursues anj-thiug unduly, or to the weari- 

 ness of others. I am not one who would 

 advocate riding hobby-horses to such au 

 e-xteut; but I am one who would, by all 

 legitimate means, encourage healthy en- 

 thusiasm in bee-Ueeping, or, in any other 

 pastime or pursuit. 



Riding bobby-horses has been a charac- 

 teristic of the Medina "Roots." In har- 

 mony with such cbaracteristics, perhaps I 

 have inherited my due share. I am going 

 to talk to you to-daj' on the benefit of hav- 

 ing a mild" hobby— liot one that will make 

 its rider get so crazy as to neglect his legiti- 

 mate business, but one that will help iu its 

 pursuit. 



Coming down to the subject, the first 

 question I ask is, " What do we keep bees 

 for?" You answer, " For the production 

 of honey and wax — that is, for the money 

 that there is in them.' But is this the only 

 reason? Nay, verily. We uot only keep 

 them for the money that there is in them, 

 but for the real f uu that we can get out of 

 them — a sort of tun that is akin to a healthy 

 enthusiasm ; a fun that lightens the burden 

 of our daily toil, gives zest to life, and a 

 new lease to it. 



In a late number of that excellent period- 

 ical, the Bee-Keepers' Revieiv, Prof. Cook 

 Cook says : 



Iu every business, one can do better work it 

 some variety comes into the life. This rests 

 the mind, brightens the hopes, and makes the 

 success better in both lines. Thus the rainis- 

 ler, the lawyer, and the teacher, tliink and 

 speak to better purposes from their work and 

 experience in the apiary. The bee-keeper has 

 clearer thought and better success from his 

 I'est periods, when lie wrestles with the prob- 

 lems of how he may save souls, save property, 

 or educate liis fellows. 



The Professor is in a position to know 

 whereof he speaks, aud he hits the point ex 

 actl}'. "All work aud no play makes Jack 

 a dull boy." Close application to woi'k of 

 the every-day sort, year in and year out, 

 wears on the constitution; but if one has a 

 hobby-horse to release the tension during 

 his odd hours, he will not only enjoj- the 

 work more, but live more and better, as 

 Prof. Cook aptly puts it. Several instances 

 come to my mind, viz : 



A business man of my acquaintance gave 

 such close attention to his business as to 

 become morbid, even despondent. When 

 he arose iu the mtirning, it was his busi- 

 iiess; when he ate bis meals, it was his 

 tivsiness; when he went to bed, it was his 

 business ; and in his dreams it was his busi- 

 ness; and the result was, melancholia came 

 upon him, and the end was suicide. A 

 mutual friend, in speaking of this sad event 

 (who was considerable of a horseman, and 

 who enjoys breaking colts, and whose 

 hobby, by the waj', is horses), said: "If 

 that man (Mr. W. ) had had a fine colt, aud 

 had gone out mornings to take a little drive, 

 breathe in the fresh air, aud watch the de- 

 velopment of this noblest of animals, he 

 might have been alive now, and such a 

 thing as despondency might have t>een un- 

 known to him." 



Another friend of mine, a teacher of 

 music — and most musicians are more or 

 less nervous — confessed one day that 



thoughts of suicide continually entered his 

 mind ; and, as a confidential friend, he asked 

 my advice. Said I, " You lack variety in 

 work. You need recreation in the shape of 

 a hobby, to interest you, aside from your 

 duties." Of course, I advised him to keep 

 bees. But he had such a natural aversion 

 to them that the thought was utterly out of 

 the question. I next suggested poultry. He 

 embarked in the business, aud now his 

 health is not only much improved, but that 

 dreadful thing that sometimes alHicts 

 humanity — melancholia — is gone. He has 

 obtained a new lease of life, and enjoys the 

 work of his profession; and when he goes 

 home from his work, he works with a keen 

 zest amoug his poultry. 



I might take one more example, and a 

 very familiar one, I doubt not, to many of 

 you. My father once was, as you know, a 

 jeweler by trade. Close application to 

 business, however, brought on paralysis. 

 The doctor advised him to get out-doors 

 and work with his bees. The result wa$, 

 that the jewelry business was in time aban- 

 doned, and bee-keeping as a pursuit was 

 adopted. His health returned, and a new 

 lease of life was added. Again, editorial 

 work, together with general business, broke 

 down his health. The green-house and 

 garden hobby was next taken up, aud 

 health has again been restored. Instead of 

 dying worn out, he is in possession of al- 

 most his full vigor. 



Once more, if you will pardon the allu- 

 sion, I will refer to my own experience. At 

 a comparatively early age in life I had 

 hobbies, not because my health demanded 

 it, but because I inherited these tendencies. 

 First it was electricity; then that most in- 

 teresting of pastimes, the study of the 

 microscope. Later on in life, when I began 

 to assume responsibilities in the work in 

 which I am now engaged — namely, bee- 

 journalism and bee-keeping — I felt con- 

 stantly the need of a change. Amateur 

 photograph}" attracted my odd spells, and 

 very soon it liecame a most enjoyable pas 

 time ; and at the supper-table I was ever 

 and anon talking about " that last photo- 

 gi-aph I took," "instantaneous exposures," 

 and "flash-light negatives," until my 

 hobby-horse was indeed a weariness of 

 flesh to my better-half. 



The result of the hobby was, that it gi"ad- 

 ually incorporated itself into my general 

 work, and the consequence was, that many 

 of the articles iu Glean inijs were illustrated 

 which would not otherwise have been. 



Later, out-apiaries began to attract my 

 attention ; and feeling the need of a gocxl 

 horse — one that could get over the ground 

 pretty lively — I was soon in possession of 

 a fine colt — an animal that was intelligent, 

 and one that reciprocated in many ways 

 the little attentions that I gave him. He 

 was a liohtnj-httrse in very fact. I read up 

 all I could Hud on the subject of horses ; I 

 enjoyed driving him ; and when I got back 

 to my regular work, I hardly kuow why, 

 but everj-thing possessed a joy that it had 

 not before. Glvnninijs was made better, 

 perhaps, and some of my long, prosy ai"ti- 

 cles were made more concise. 



While these hobbies did not build up a 

 broken-down constitution, as in the other 

 instances, they served admirably to pre- 

 serve a general good health, on the princi- 

 ple " that a stitch in time saves nine." 

 They did another thing: They kept me in 

 mj' younger years away from the street- 

 corners, and from contracting bad habits 

 at that age in life wh^n boys are easily led 

 astray. 



It is to be observed, that I have had sev- 

 eral hobbies. I have looked the field all 

 over. I know something of the attractions 

 in raising fine poultry; I have experienced 

 the passiou of studying and working with 

 electricity ; I have seen a little of the hid- 

 den beauties revealed under the lens of the 



microscope ; I know what it is to appreciate 

 and enjoy a good photograph ; I believe I 

 can tell when I see a good horse — whether 

 he has got a good action ; whether he is 

 sound ; whether he can travel a mile in 4 

 minutes, or whether he can make that dis- 

 tance in 3 minutes, or in 2 :10 ; but not one 

 of these hobby-horses presents half the at- 

 tractions that the study of bees does. 



Bee-keeping is eminently well-fitted as a 

 pursuit, and as an amusement for the busy 

 man who spends long hours in the office. 

 There is nothing of the kind that stimulates 

 study, that fires up enthusiasm, that rests 

 the mind, and so gives a new lease of life, 

 as does bee-keeping. To ministers, there is 

 an unlimited field of illustration in the bee- 

 hive. D. A. Jones once said to me, that he 

 did all he could to induce ministers to take 

 up bee-keeping, not only because it gave 

 them another means of livelihood, but be- 

 cause it opened up to them a world of illus- 

 trations, and at the same time gave them 

 one of the most delightful of pastimes. 



And now let me glance briefly at the lat- 

 ter end of my long-tailed subject — " Bee- 

 keeping as an antidote for disease." Many 

 of the minds of those present will recur to 

 Mrs. Sarah J. .\xtell, of Roseville, Ills., an 

 invalid who is confined to her couch during 

 the greater part of the year. When the 

 bees begin to work in the fields, little by 

 little she gets out into the apiary, and 

 finally she is able to accomplish the work of 

 most strong men. Her husband, likewise, 

 has poor health, and yet they both experi- 

 ence better health while at work among the 

 bees. In a single season, from ISO colonies 

 they once obtained 39,000 pounds of honey, 

 and sold the whole for cash. If my time 

 was not so limited, I might mention scores 

 of similar instances. 



I think it is safe to say, that a very large 

 percentage — perhaps a half — of those who 

 keep bees were attracted to that business, 

 not because of the money there might be 

 in it, but because of the delightfulness of 

 the occupation, and because of its influence 

 upon the health. Dr. C. C. Miller, as a 

 musician, has had offers of large salaries 

 that would dazzle the eyes of most of us ; 

 but, no, he prefers God's pure air, and out- 

 door work with the bees. 



But, you saj', "You are going to get 

 everybody to go into the bee-business, and 

 so break down prices." Oh, no, not at all. 

 Intelligent, reading people who need rec- 

 reation or diversion in the garb of a hobby, 

 are not the ones who would break down 

 prices. We get from the ranks of such peo- 

 ple such scholarly men as Prof. Cook, Dr. 

 C. C. Miller, P. H. Elwood, S. Cornell, and 

 scores of others whom I might name. 



My object in writing this, is not to point 

 out how bee keepers can earn more money, 

 but to caU the attention of professional and 

 business men, and overworked men in gen- 

 eral, to something that will lighten their 

 daily toils, give them a new lease of life, 

 and open their hearts to a new world. 



Erxest R. Root. 



S. Corneil thought that there was 

 danger of riding hobby-horses too 

 hard. If the interest in the hobby be- 

 comes too great, it is injurious. 



R. McKuight agreed willi Mr. Cor- 

 neil. He (McKuight) began keeping 

 bees as a pastime, and became so in- 

 terested that he sat upon a stool, un- 

 der au apple-tree, four dajs, waiting 

 to see the first swarm issue (laughter). 

 He now prosecuted the business for the 

 money there is iu it. 



R. L. Taylor began keeping bees as 

 a pastime, and became so interested 

 tliat he could not let it alone. He said 



