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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.. 



relative distance from each otiier," etc.; 

 and on the parthenogenesis he writes 

 that " it is a curious exception not well 

 understood." 



When Darwin wrote his book on the 

 " Origin of Species," in 1859, the theory 

 of Dzierzon, on the parthenogenesis of 

 bees, was yet in its infancy, and was 

 not accepted by all the bee-keepers ; so 

 It is but natural that Darwin did not un- 

 derstand it; for the most learned men 

 cannot be acquainted with every kind of 

 knowledge. So the criticisms of Mr. 

 Templin, if investigated, are reduced to 

 nothing, and cannot prove, as he sug- 

 gests it, that it is better to use one's 

 brains and eyes than to be blindly led by 

 a great name. Such a suggestion, if 

 practically applied .to science, would 

 lead us to a complete negation of most 

 of the greatest discoveries. 



The ideas put forth by Darwin on evo- 

 lution, are now admitted as true by all 

 the savants of Europe and America. 

 They are so rational, so much sustained 

 by recent discoveries, that they cannot 

 be any more contested. 



I was about 18 years old when, nearly 

 60 years ago, I saw, in a humorous 

 paper of Paris, Le Charivari, an en- 

 graved criticism of the book of Lamark, 

 who was one of the first discoverers of 

 evolution. That journal showed an oys- 

 ter which, by several progressive changes, 

 had become a frog, and that frog, by 

 other successive evolutions, was changed 

 into man. As I had already noticed the 

 relationship of the fishes with the mam- 

 miferous animals, by thinking of the 

 whales, which nurse their cubs as do 

 cows, and which have lungs instead of 

 gills ; as I had noticed also that frogs 

 breathe water when young, and air 

 when more aged, I was prepared to ad- 

 mit the theory of Lamark ; so I procured 

 his book, studied it, and became more 

 and more convinced of the rationality of 

 his ideas. 



This theory, after a sleeping of 40 

 years, a result of the incapacity of 

 Lamark to continue his researches (for 

 he was struck with blindness, caused by 

 small-pox, during the last 17 years of 

 his life) — this sleeping being the conse- 

 quence also of the opposition of Cuvier, 

 who was then at the head of progress on 

 natural history, and who contended that 

 the animals were created by spontaneous 

 generation — meaning that, in a country 

 where no horse existed, a horse and his 

 female could be spontaneously created 

 to fill the need ; and that, in another 

 country, where insects were missing to 

 help the fertilization of flowers, a queen- 

 bee, with her drones and workers, would 



be created to dwell in a hollow tree, 

 etc.; after such a delay, and in spite of 

 the works of some other partisans of the 

 doctrine of evolution, the truth of the 

 ideas of Lamark was confirmed by the 

 studies of Darwin, and by thousands on 

 thousands of discoveries, which have 

 placed this theory among the scientific 

 facts, which cannot be any more ques- 

 tioned than the revolving of the earth ; 

 for the publication of which, less than 

 300 years ago, Galileo was put in jail 

 for the rest of his life, after having been 

 compelled to retract under the threat of 

 torture. Fortunately, those times are 

 far from us, for Darwin, instead of be- 

 ing prosecuted, had the honor of being 

 buried in the Westminister Abbey, where 

 are the tombs of the kings and of the 

 most illustrious men of England. 

 Hamilton, Ills. 



The Verinoiil State Conyention. 



Written Jor the American Bee Journal 



BY H. W. SCOTT. 



The 19th annual convention of the 

 Vermont Bee-Keepers' Association was 

 held in Burlington, Vt., on Jan. 24, 

 1894; Pres. W. G. Larrabee in the 

 chair. 



After prayer by H. L. Leonard, T. H. 

 Wheatley was elected Secretary p7'o tern. 

 The forenoon was devoted to the ap- 

 pointment of committees and the receiv- 

 ing of new members and the annual 

 dues. 



The afternoon session opened with a 

 large attendance. The minutes of the 

 last annual meeting were read and ap- 

 proved. The roll call showed 25 mem- 

 bers present. The report of the Secre- 

 tary showed an enrollment of six new 

 members since the last meeting ; and 

 that of the Treasurer, a small balance 

 in his hands. 



The address of the President followed. 

 He congratulated the Vermont bee-keep- 

 ers on their successes during the past 

 season ; and in his report of the North 



