194 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



control them to the detriment of 

 the general vvelfnre of all. What 

 benefits the majority should benefit 

 each beekeeper individually. 



I think that the time has come 

 when our conventions should study 

 more carefully the disposing of the 

 produce of our apiaries for a fair 

 and remunerative price. We have 

 spent too much of our time, at con- 

 ventions in the past, in trying to 

 encourage people to engage in bee- 

 keeping ; and I think that we have 

 been led into this somewhat, if not 

 largely, by supply dealers and our 

 bee journals. Oh ! I must walk 

 carefully here, or I shall step on 

 friend Doolittle's toes ; and, as I 

 weigh about 240 lbs., it might make 

 him squeal. I love to read his 

 writings and have been very much 

 benefited by them, but when he says 

 that the time spent at conventions 

 in discussing bee literature is either 

 wrongly spent or wasted, I beg to 

 differ from him. 



The bee journals wield more in- 

 fluence in moulding and forming 

 the plans of the beekeeper and ad- 

 vancing apiculture than all else 

 combined ; thus it is of the greatest 

 importance that such journals 

 should inculcate sound doctrines, 

 and I would like to know why their 

 supporters in convention have not 

 a right to censure, advise and ex- 

 press their opinions regarding the 

 bee journals and what they, as the 

 representatives of the beekeeping 

 fraternity, require of them. 



I do not claim that they are ob- 

 liged to follow the advice or heed 

 the censure. Persons have a right 

 under the law to run their journ- 



als as they choose and they will 

 say it is so with us, we have a right 

 to take them or not as we like. I 

 think that it is a question that may 

 properly be discussed at our con- 

 ventions so that thej' may under- 

 stand what the beekeepers require 

 of them, and all such discussion 

 should be carried on in a kind and 

 unselfish spirit. 



Now if all the journals were as 

 fortunate after the discussion last 

 winter at the Northeastern con- 

 vention as Mr. Aspinwall (editor 

 of the Magazine) said that he was, 

 they should give the convention a 

 vote of thanks. He claims to have 

 received one hundred per cent more 

 subscriptions after than he had be- 

 fore the convention so that no 

 harm was done him (but, oh, such 

 a pelting we got, eh !). 



There is another question of vi- 

 tal importance that can always be 

 discussed at our conventions with 

 profit to the beekeepers, and that 

 is, marketing our honey. I do not 

 mean by this to determine how we 

 shall place it on the market in or- 

 der to benefit the supply dealers 

 most, but so that it will net the 

 producer the most money ; we hear 

 a great deal about pleasing the con- 

 sumer by putting our hone}' in one 

 pound, one-half pound, and one- 

 quarter pound sections. 



The consumer never has called 

 for such small packages : it is the 

 ever-restless supply dealer and I 

 believe every such package put on 

 the market is an injury to the pro- 

 ducer and consumer, and we shall 

 all see it sooner or later. How- 

 ever, let us discuss this question at 



