THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



89 



For the American Bee Journal. 



"Scientillc'> Talks to the Washiiig- 

 ton Co., N. Y., Ajrricultural Society. 



Mil. President: — A ft-w years sign the 

 New York State Agricultural Society ex- 

 tended to apiarians tiie privilege of dis- 

 cussing their avocation at one of their 

 evening sessions. This recognition of 

 their pi>sitiou as one of the great indus- 

 tries of tlie State, was u subject of con- 

 gratulation among bee culturists, and was 

 of much benefit for the future develop- 

 ment of the business. 



In like manner the bee keepers of this 

 county are encouraged by the invitation 

 extendet,! to lliem for the first time to ap- 

 pear before this society, and I come before 

 you as a representative of this class to 

 present a few facts and ask a few favors. 



We are well aware that the thrifty farm- 

 ers of this county who own their broad 

 acres and improved stock, and who come 

 before this society annually with their 

 varied and substantial productions, usu- 

 ally look upon the art of bee cultivation 

 as of trifling import; but if we compare 

 our stock with theirs we find we can 

 trace the pedigree of our industrious in- 

 sects to the remotest periods of antiquity, 

 and while your grades of domestic stock 

 are made profitable in proportion to their 

 dependence upou the hand of man for 

 their daily food, our insects are endowed 

 with almost human wisdom to lay up 

 stores of food tor their own sustenance, 

 and a generous surplus for the use of the 

 fortunate owner. 



From the time when Sampson found 

 the body of the lion he had previously 

 slain converted into a bee-hive, there have 

 been practiced various methods of ob- 

 taining the fruits of their labors ; but not 

 until our own progressive century came 

 to add its enlightenment, has bee culture 

 become a science equal in importance to 

 other industries of the age. And now, 

 owing to the application of the movable 

 C(mib principle, the honey extractor, arti- 

 ficial honey comb, and the introduction 

 of improved stock from foreign countries, 

 this branch of rural industry is enlisting 

 the attention of thinking people in all 

 portions of our country, and in our own 

 county the business is being rapidly de- 

 veloped by the application of these new 

 discoveries. 



When we examine into the statistics of 

 the production of honey, it is no wonder 

 that intelligent people should favor this 

 pursuit. We are surprised at the amount 

 that could be obtained had we the indus- 

 trious workers at hand in the proper sea- 

 sou to obtain it. 



From careful observation and from the 

 experience of others it is safe to say that 

 an average of five hundred pounds of 

 honey could be obtained from every square 

 mile in this county, but if these figures 



seem too high, let us deduct one half for 

 poor seasons, and then the 850 stjuare 

 miles of our county would produce over 

 200,000 pounds. To those unacquainted 

 with our honey resources, these statements 

 may seem to be overdrawn, but we have 

 at hand figures from various localities in 

 our State and in other States, where the 

 annual production has been over one 

 thousand pounds per squai-e mile, while 

 California, noted for its wonderful pro- 

 ductions, has localities where there seems 

 to be no end to the flow of this abundant 

 sweet. 



Here, then, we have in our nation bil- 

 lions of pounds of this healthy substan(;e 

 actually going to waste for the want of 

 these willing laborers to gather it. 



We send our hard-earned dollars to 

 other States and countries for our sweets, 

 while our broad fields of clover, our for- 

 ests of linden, and countless varieties of 

 beautiful flowers by the wayside, are 

 every day in their season making the air 

 fragrant l)y the evaporation of this useful 

 substance. 



In view of these facts is it not, then, of 

 great importance that we should extend 

 the necessary information to parties of 

 either sex who may be endowed with the 

 peculiar talent for this branch of rural 

 economy? With a wider dissemination 

 of these truths and their intelligent appli-- 

 cation, competition would arise, with 

 competition lower prices, and with lower 

 prices greater consumption, and the 

 article that is now considered a luxury 

 would come into every-day use upon our 

 tables and in our cookery. 



We do not propose, Mr. President, in 

 these remarks, to occupy your valuable 

 time by details of management, or of 

 methods to overcome the disastrous ef- 

 fects of our winters, but will state that in 

 comparison to dairying or other farm 

 operations where large capital is invested 

 and labor expended, bee-culture shows 

 profits far in advance of any other rural 

 pursuit; but to be successful requires 

 close attention and untiring watchfulness, 

 and persons that suppose a fortune is in 

 store for them by merely purchasing a 

 swarm of bees and having no love for the 

 occupation, had much better stick to their 

 productions, from a patch of potatoes at 

 twenty cents per bushel. 



This society which has already done so 

 much for the development of our agri- 

 cultural resources, could do much to 

 further encourage the science of bee- 

 culture. 



Our interests would be greatly pro- 

 moted by oflering us more liberal pre- 

 miums. 



Encourage us to display all of oui; ap- 

 pliances and give us additional premiums 

 to get the greatest yield from a single 

 colony, and instead of crowding us into 

 narrow and obscure quarters, give us 



