American Bee Journal, 



DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO BEE CULTURE. 



Vol. XII. 



CHICAG-0, APRIL, 1876. 



No. 4. 



The Future of the North American 

 Bee-Keepers' Society. 



A few words on the above subject from 

 one of the originators and ex-presidents 

 of the North American Bee-keepers' So- 

 ciety will not, we are sure, be considered 

 presumptuous or unwelcome by the read- 

 ers of The American Bee Journal. We 

 are not at all surprised at the proposal be- 

 ing deliberately made and seriously enter- 

 tained, to disband the Society, and should 

 this course be ultimately adopted, it will 

 not follow that the organization was a 

 mistake or a failure. It has done much 

 to make prominent bee-keepers acquainted 

 with each other; to diffuse apiarian infor- 

 mation; to promote scientific and practi- 

 cal apiculture; and to draw public atten- 

 tion to various important matters con- 

 nected with the honey interest. To many 

 of us, the meetings of the Society will al- 

 ways be memorable as having led to the 

 formation of friendships that we highly 

 value, and that have taken a wider range 

 than the realm of bee-keeping. We shall 

 not forget that they gave us the opportu- 

 nity of knowing the forms and listening 

 to the voices of Langstroth and Quinby, 

 one of whom, alas! is not, and the other 

 is feeble with infirmity- and age so that he 

 cannot be long for this world. The pri- 

 vate and unpublished discussions by little 

 coteries of bee-keepers, at hotels and else- 

 where; the interchanges of experiences, 

 some of them too mortifying to be told to 

 " all the world and the rest of mankind," 

 and the ventilation of plans and appli- 

 ances too crude to be given to the public, 

 as yet, must count among the minor, but 

 by no means inconsiderable, benefits of 

 the meetings in question. We doubt if 

 any member was at so large an expendi- 

 ture of time and money to attend these 

 gatherings, as ourself, but most certainly 

 we do not regret the outlay. But, as 



President Zimmerman justly observes, 

 the times are changed. Bee-keepers now 

 have to "pay like sinners," on the rail- 

 roads, whereas, in other and better days, 

 they traveled at reduced rates. Editors 

 used to get passes, where now they receive 

 the cold shoulder instead. Time was when 

 we could go on any railroad in the Domin- 

 ion of Canada " free gratis for nothing," 

 now there is only one road, and that a 

 short one of only 26 miles, on which we 

 can get even half fare. Even with the 

 privileges once accorded, it was rather a 

 costly luxury to attend the annual conven- 

 tions. Some of us went when our wives, 

 and our better judgments, too, told us we 

 " hadn't oughter." And we stayed away 

 in rare cases, not because we didn't want 

 to go, but under the same influence that 

 prevented the rural worthies, immortal- 

 ized in Grey's Elegy, from realizing 

 their aspirations: — 



" Chill penury repressed their noble zeal 

 And froze the genial current of their sonl." 



President Zimmerman chronicles the 

 formation of a Bee-keeper's Association 

 for the State of Ohio, and wisely advises 

 other States to go and do likewise. There 

 is a flourishing Northeastern Bee-Keep- 

 er's Association which practically repre- 

 sents the State of New York, and really 

 has its headquarters in the vicinage of 

 the Mohawk Valley, having had until re, 

 cently, the late Moses Quinby as its chief 

 inspiring spirit. Michigan has also its 

 B. K. Association. We heartily endorse 

 Mr. Zimmerman's recommendation about 

 the establishment of Sfate societies. 

 Every State, province and territory should 

 have its apicultural organization. But 

 we desire to supplement Mr. Z.'s advice, 

 with the suggestion, that the North 

 American B. K. Society should actually 

 become, what some of us contemplated 

 from the outset, a representative body. 

 The records of the Society's past meetings 

 will show that this idea is by no means a 



