THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



195 



our conventions and get all the 

 light we can. "In the multitude of 

 counsel there is wisdom." 



Then there are a number of ques- 

 tions relative to the science of api- 

 culture that may occupy with prof- 

 it a portion of the time spent in 

 discussion at our conventions. 



The more that we study into the 

 science of beekeeping, the more in- 

 terested we become in its teachings. 



Of course we have our visionary 

 beekeeper who is promising to 

 astonish "the natives" with his 

 wonderful discoveries, but when we 

 get where beekeeping will be a paj^- 

 ing business of itself, then we can 

 call it one of the paying industries 

 and not until then. We are not 

 there yet, or else we should not be 

 advised to associate some other 

 business with it in order to make 

 it pay. 



Notwithstanding all this, I do 

 think that beekeeping of itself will 

 pay in a good locality and with 

 proper management just the same 

 as small fruit and other industries. 



There is one other, and to me 

 an important, feature, and one that 

 I prize very highly, connected with 

 our conventions ; that is, the social 

 part. Most of us meet with each 

 other at no other time and I have 

 found some very pleasant acquaint- 

 ances there, the memory of which 

 will last as long as life continues 

 here, and perhaps reach over into 

 the unknown ! If so, it will not 

 mar our enjoyment there. The 

 good Lord has created us social 

 beings : let us enjo}^ all the good 

 we can with each other and make 

 this feature of our convention a 



blessing to all in attendance. I 

 hope to see our National conven- 

 tion at Rochester, this fall, the 

 largest and best ever held on this 

 continent ; it can and will be if we 

 all do our best to make it so. Let 

 us come together as co-workers in 

 our pleasant calling and work hand 

 in hand for the good of all. 

 Oriskany^ N. Y. 



THE COMING BEE, 



By J. E. Pond, jr. 



The beekeepers of the world will 

 demand a standard of comparison, 

 before they will acknowledge and 

 accept any race or strain of bees 

 that may be offered as such, as the 

 "coming bee." This standard 

 must possess certain distinguishing, 

 distinguishable, uneradicable, and 

 ever present points, with which 

 it will endow its progeny, and by 

 which it maybe positively known, 

 and identified during all coming 

 time. Nothing short of this should 

 be and nothing short of this will 

 be accepted. 



A cross possibly (although not 

 probably) may be bred, that will 

 possess certain points of superior- 

 ity, and which, were there some 

 means of positively identifying the 

 individuals, might be accepted, 

 but without these marks, of what- 

 ever nature they may be, it will 

 be utterly impossible for any one 

 to determine whether he is cheated 

 or not in his purchases. One, 

 and the great point that has 



