THE AMERICAN A PIC UL TURIS T. 



227 



matter of thorough organization in 

 which they promise soon to take 

 the lead unless we bestir ourselves 

 at once. AVliy is this ? Most as- 

 suredly not because of the lack of 

 talent, experience or success on 

 the part of our beekeepers on this 

 side of the line. No ! it is simply 

 because our Canadian cousins stand 

 shoulder to shoulder and work for 

 the interest of their associations. 



Oh ! for more men like Quinby 

 and Langstroth together with oth- 

 ers, who are now active in teaching 

 apiculture, men whose great object 

 in life is to help their brother man 

 instead of using him as a lever to 

 lift tliemselves into power or posi- 

 tion. It is so strange that the ma- 

 jority will pay the greater homage 

 to those who never had a care for 

 their interests, but it is so ever}^- 

 where. The people seem to like to 

 be humbugged and swindled and 

 will often risk their money in lot- 

 teries or humbugs, thinking to ob- 

 tain wealth without working for it. 

 How may unprincipled agents in 

 the past and to-day, have, in order 

 to sell their hives and goods, de- 

 luded the poor, hard-toiling farmer 

 with the idea that fortunes were to 

 be made by using that certain style 

 of liive, etc. This is no fable ; but 

 the time has passed when these 

 things can predominate, and to-day 

 the light of coming reform is break- 

 ing through tlie darkness and 

 spreading its life-giving rays over 

 the thousands of our beekeepers 

 both great and small. 



For two years we have endeav- 

 ored to keep before our readers 

 these and other important truths 



having in view the best good of the 

 largest number. We have received 

 letters from all parts of the globe 

 endorsing our position and encour- 

 aging us in our work ; but it pains 

 us to see some of our leading apia- 

 rists who should be foremost in 

 this reform " hanging back " sitting 

 on the fence ; waiting until they 

 can take hold without any sacrifice. 

 Brother beekeepers ! All reform de- 

 pends upon your active cooperation 

 and we do not speak unadvisedly 

 or without careful study when we 

 assert that everything that you do 

 toward making the Apicultuk- 

 iST what we desire that it should 

 be will be returned to you increased 

 an hundred-fold. Nearly all of the 

 supply trade is controlled by one 

 western firm so far as prices, etc., 

 are concerned, and there is spring- 

 ing up in the east another one 

 which promises to assume consider- 

 able magnitude. It is a fact that 

 the prices of supplies, queens, etc., 

 have been ruined by monopoly con- 

 trol until it is almost sure defeat 

 for a man with small means to com- 

 mence in the business. Wh}' ? Sim- 

 ply because the monopoly dealer has 

 the most of his work done by boys 

 and girls or cheap help, while the 

 smaller dealer must employ me- 

 chanics and pay higher wages. 

 The beekeepers themselves are to 

 blame if they submit to such injus- 

 tice. Just ask yourselves the 

 question who are they who have 

 done the most to further the inter- 

 ests of our beekeepers' associations 

 and who have disfavored them and 

 why ? Remember that associations 

 and independent journals are the 



