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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAj 



which inspires the heart of every bee- 

 keeper has endured down to this blessed 

 day. We are truly a band of brothers 

 among whom no contention can ever ex- 

 ist. Our calling is one which incites 

 emulation, encourages industry, and 

 promotes fraternal affection. It opens 

 the door to mysterious nature, it wel- 

 comes the glory of God, it admonishes to 

 love one another. It breathes the breath 

 of science, it inculcates that virtue, pa- 

 tience, and makes us better for our 

 mingling together. 



It was away back in the 'TO's when I 

 first made the acquaintance of Bro. 

 Graham — we were brothers from the 

 very beginning. We talked over the 

 plan of organizing a State Bee-Keepers" 

 Association. Our plans were made 

 known to our late and lamented brother. 

 Judge W. H. Andrews, whose name has 

 a charm for all who knew him. We 

 asked his assistance in the work, to lend 

 us his aid in issuing a call to organize 

 this association. His generous answer 

 was, "Put my name down in the call." 

 He being the best known and the best 

 practical bee-keeper in the South, his 

 name headed the call, followed by W. R. 

 Graham, John Mason, and my own. 



The first meeting was held in the sum- 

 mer of 1877, in Greenville, which was 

 a mere village. An organization was 

 formed with 12 members. Judge An- 

 drews was our first President, and your 

 humble servant the first Secretary. A 

 committee was appointed to draft a con- 

 stitution and by-laws, to report at our 

 next meeting, to be held some time in 

 May, at Judge Andrews' apiary in Mc- 

 Kinney. Bro. Graham and myself were 

 the only members who went from this 

 county ; it was before the day of rail- 

 roads here, and we traveled the 30 miles 

 on horseback. There our association 

 enrolled 21 new members, a constit\ition 

 and by-laws were adopted, and the 

 permanent organization of the Texas 

 State Bee-Keepers' Association was ef- 

 fected with 33 members. This was our 

 first annual meeting. 



The conventions were held at Judge 

 Andrews' residence for several years as 

 the most convenient place on account of 

 railroad advantages, and the attractions 

 of the Judge's apiary of 300 colonies of 

 beautiful Italian bees. We were always 

 entertained at the Judge's house, where 

 we feasted on the good things at the 

 Judge's table, which was always pre- 

 sided over by his good wife and daugh- 

 ter. These were happy days, Bro. 

 Graham, to you and me, and I am sure 

 there are many others who, when they 

 recall those days, have a tender spot in 



their hearts for the good Judge and his 

 family. Then, as now, our watchword 

 was, and has ever been, " No hotel bills." 



Mr. President, when I look at this 

 magnificent structure, this supply fac- 

 tory of the \V. R. Graham Manufactur- 

 ing Co., I cannot refrain from again re- 

 calling my earliest acquaintance with 

 Bro. Graham, when he lived on the 

 prairie a mile or so west of here, and 

 had a few colonies of Italians and hy- 

 brids ; when this place was an open 

 common ; we had no railroads — hardly 

 began to dream of them as possibilities. 

 The only settlement near here was a 

 flouring mill a few hundred yards north 

 of this factory building, and a few small 

 buildings occupied bv workmen in the 

 mill. 



How well I remember the first bees I 

 ever owned in Texas ; I bought two col- 

 onies of blacks in box-hives, and trans- 

 ferred them to movable frames. One I 

 found to be queenless, and full of laying 

 workers, with the nicest lot of little 

 drones you ever saw, going and coming 

 as earnestly as if at work. 



My first Italian queen was given me 

 by Bro. Graham, in the shape of a 

 queen-cell nearly ready to hatch; which 

 was carried by me nearly 10 miles, 

 " This side up with care," and placed in 

 a nucleus previously prepared. She 

 hatched in 48 hours after her arrival, 

 and I counted the days impatiently after 

 she began to lay, until I saw the bright- 

 banded hybrids come forth. 



I furnished the hives and transferred 

 the bees for my neighbors until I got a 

 start, which in three years increased to 

 over a hundred colonies. To supply my 

 neighbors with hives for their increase, 

 I put up a horse-power and got a circu- 

 lar saw, and made hives; soon I added 

 another saw, then dovetailing machinery 

 for frames, comb foundation machinery, 

 etc., and handled a general line of sup- 

 plies. The business grew, and in 1883 

 I sold out, and Bro. Graham began in 

 1884 to make hives and foundation on 

 a small scale, with a little addition to 

 the machinery I had. His business in- 

 creased until now you see this plant, 

 costing several thousand dollars, with 

 its 30-horse power engine, and all the 

 improved machinery for making fixtures 

 for bee-keepers, managed by men who 

 have spent the best part of their lives in 

 the factories in the East. 



This is the fulfillment of my early 

 dreams, and Bro. Graham, my dearest 

 friend, the happy possessor of the enter- 

 prise, and none is prouder of his pos- 

 sessions than I. Wm. R. Howard. 



