THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



239 



it is advised that honey-dew be left for 

 the bees to winter upon. The editor uses 

 the following sentence: "Indeed, I am 

 coming to believe that food has less to do 

 with successful wintering than we form- 

 erly supposed it had." Oh, Ernest, 

 how heretical! The reason given for this 

 belief is that they (the Roots) have win- 

 tered their bees successfully on all sorts 

 of stuff, including this honey dew. This 

 article also explains that there is a dif- 

 ference in honey -dew; some is almost 

 black, and sickening in flavor; while 

 some is light in color and rather pleasant 

 in taste. I remember that Prof. Cook 

 used to tell us of these two kinds of hon- 

 ey-dew, and explain that one came from 

 one source, and the other from some 

 other source, but I have forgotten now 

 what was the exact difference in the sour- 

 ces. He used also to tell us that he consider- 

 ed the light colored wholesome, and that . 

 with the right conditions it might be safe 

 for winter-food for the bees; but he most 

 emphatically condemned the dark ill- 

 flavored variety. It is quite likely that 

 in southern localities, where it is not so 

 cold, and where bees may enjoy an oc- 

 casional flight during the winter, honey- 

 dew may be all right for winter-stores, 

 but there have been too many heavy loss- 

 es from this source, where the winter is 

 long and cold, to trust it for winter-stores. 



f^*.M^-mP-*^^P 



A FEW WORDS IN DEFENSE OF OUR CRITIC. 

 Ever since beginning the "Department 

 of Criticism" I have been receiving letters 

 of advice in regard to it. Do not think 

 that this has displeased me; on the con- 

 trary I am always glad to have my read- 

 ers say what they think of the Review 

 and its management. Some of these 

 letters have been commendatory, while 

 others have condemned. The greatest 

 fault has been found on account of the 

 style that Mr. Taylor used. One corres- 

 pondent wrote that Mr. Taylor and Dr. 

 Miller both wrote as though they were 

 personal enemies. Another thought Mr. 

 Taylor hit pretty hard; he would not 



like to have Mr. Taylor get after him; 

 "but," he added, '•'I do like to see him 

 kick the other boys." The most of these 

 letters have been sent to Mr. Taylor, and 

 he and I have corresponded over this 

 matter of style. He says that he is glad 

 of any suggestions, and is willing to do 

 what he can to avoid giving offense, but 

 he doubts his ability to make a success 

 of the "school girl style." You know, 

 Mr. Taylor was, for several years, a prac- 

 ticing lawyer; being, at one time, the Pros- 

 ecuting Attorney of Lapeer county, and 

 lawyers soon learn not to mince matters, 

 but to say in plain United States exactly 

 what they mean. 



Perhaps you have not noticed it, but 

 our apicultural journalism has somewhat 

 degenerated in the line of criticism. It 

 has fallen into what Mr. Heddon calls 

 the "pussy cat st3'le." Attempts at criti- 

 cism are couched in language so apologet- 

 ic and "mealy mouthed ' as to nearly rob 

 them of all force. The object of our 

 bee journals is to teach; to tell their 

 readers how to make of bee-keeping a 

 more pleasant, safe and profitable busi- 

 ness. Errors and fallacious ideas will 

 creep in in spite of the best intentions; 

 and if we have found a man who has the 

 courage and ability to point them out, 

 let us have patience with him, even if 

 his vigorous style does startle us. Criti- 

 cism is a thankless task at best; so let us 

 have charity. I have faith in Mr. Tay- 

 lor's good intentions, and believe that his 

 department will prove to be the best that 

 the Review has ever started. He is do- 

 ing better work now than at first, and I 

 think it will continue to improve. It 

 seems to me that no one conld take of- 

 fense, even at his style, in his criticisms 

 for this month. 



Some fault has been found because Mr. 

 Taylor is rather lenient in his criticism 

 of what appears in the Review. I suppose 

 it does come a little tough to criticise one's 

 employer, but I hope that Mr. Taylor 

 will yet be able to bring himself to the 

 task. I certainly have no desire to see 

 favoritism shown the Review, 



