364 



Death of Mr. John Hunter. 



We learn with much regret of the 

 death of one of England's most enter- 

 prising and enthusiastic apiarists — Mr. 

 John Hunter, of Ealing, near London. 



While in England last summer we 

 had several very interesting interviews 

 with Mr. Hunter, and he formed one of 

 a group of noted apiarists who were 

 present at the banquet given by T. W. 

 Cowan, Esq., at Horsham, Essex. A 

 photograph of this group is framed and 

 hangs in the Editorial room of the 

 American Bee Journal . We pre- 

 sent our readers with an engraving of 

 Mr. Hunter, which is copied from a 

 photograph sent to us by him last May 

 in exchange for ours. 



The late Juhn Hunter. 



The following article from the Brit- 

 ish Bee Journal for July will give our 

 readers an idea of the life and labors of 

 our deceased friend : 



Death of Mr. John Hunter, of England. 



We are exceedingly grieved to be 

 called upon to chronicle the decease of 

 our friend and associate, John Hunter, 

 Esq., of Ealing. The presence of Mr. 

 Hunter has been so conspicuous in our 

 midst for so many years, that we have 

 no slight difficulty in realizing this sad 

 event ; even in this number of the 

 Journal it will be seen that he attended 

 two meetings during the past month, 

 and a contribution from his pen will be 

 found in our correspondence columns. 

 The bee-keeping community generally, 



and the British Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion specially, will ever remain deeply 

 indebted to Mr. Hunter for having, in 

 the year 1874, undertaken the onerous 

 duties of the Honorary Secretaryship 

 of that institution, and in that capacity 

 he contributed greatly, by his strenuous 

 exertions, by his indomitable energy, 

 and by his business tact, to render the 

 first show held at the Crystal Palace a 

 success ; also, after the resignation of 

 the Secretaryship, for his devoted stead- 

 fastness in the performance of his duty 

 as a member of the working committee 

 of the Association ; and for his contri- 

 butions to apiarian literature. 



Mr. Hunter was born in London, Dec. 

 10, 1831. He was the second son of Mr. 

 James Hunter, of Bloomsbury, who was 

 the founder, and for 38 years the Secre- 

 tary, of the Royal Standard, one of the 

 largest and most successful benefit so- 

 cieties in the kingdom. Mr. John Hun- 

 ter was one of the originators of the 

 British Bee-Keepers' Association, and 

 his interest in its welfare he retained to 

 the last. He was the author of the 

 "Manual of Bee-Keeping," which has 

 now attained its third edition. He was 

 the writer of the article " Apiary" in the 

 last edition of the " Encyclopajdia Brit- 

 annica ; also, in 1875, of a pamphlet en- 

 titled "The Cottage Frame Hive," 

 specially written for the use of cotta- 

 gers. He was for several years on the 

 staff of the Journal of Horticulture, and 

 also on that of the Gardeners' 1 Chronicle, 

 and was a constant correspondent to 

 both British and American apicultural 

 magazines. Many contributions from 

 his pen will be found in the earlier vol- 

 umes of the Journal. The paper which 

 he read at the Conversazione on April 

 14, on "The Future of British Bee- 

 Keeping," will be fresh in the recollec- 

 tion of our readers. Mr. Hunter was 

 selected by the Committee of the Brit- 

 ish Bee-Keepers' Association, together 

 with Mr. Cheshire, to compile the 

 "Handbook for Cottagers." 



At the South Kensington Show in 

 1878 Mr. Hunter was awarded a silver 

 medal for a very fine collection of mi- 

 croscopical objects illustrating the nat- 

 ural history of the honey bee. 



He was a member of the Quekett 

 Microscopical Club of London, and 

 also of that in Ealing, and on Oct. 25, 

 1878, he read a most interesting paper 

 on " The Queen Bee, with Especial Ref- 

 erence to the Fertilization of Her 

 Eggs." This paper was published in 

 the journal of the Quekett Club, and 

 reproduced in our pages. He was also 

 for many years a member of the Ento- 

 mological Society. 



Mr. Hunter's exertions and spirits 



