336 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 15. 



than my '93 Columbia. But they sent for a 

 Victor wheel and asked me to try it. Again I 

 am surprised and astonished. The special 

 point of the new wheel is its lightness. When 

 I picked it up with one hand and carried it 

 about easily, I could hardly think there was 

 enough to it to enable me to do what I had 

 done on my old wheel. But human intelligence 

 is climbing up. and it is climbing fast too. The 

 new wheel does every thing the old one did. It 

 is a good many pounds lighter, and it is cer- 

 tainly easier running. It turns sharp corners, 

 and enables me to dodge here and there, avoid- 

 ing foot-passengers with an ease and security I 

 did not believe possible only a few months ago. 

 Is it really possible that, through the inventive 

 genius of our bright mechanics, a middle-aged 

 man like myself can dodge around, and skip 

 and run, with the ease and rapidity and secure 

 footing of a child ? I suppose that, to be con- 

 sistent, I should expect the year 1894 to witness 

 still more progress and achieve still greater 

 wonders. Well, I am trying to scrape up faith; 

 but meanwhile I am quite well satisfied with 

 my little 1894 Victor Flyer. A. I. R. 



DEATH OF C. N. ABBOTT, FOUNDER OF THE 

 BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 



After Gleanings was in its third year I dis- 

 covered there was a bee- journal published in 

 England. Gleanings was started in Dec, 187:3, 

 while the first issue of the British Bee Journal 

 came out in 1873. Mr. Abbott was born Oct. 5, 

 1830, and myself Dec. 9, 1839, so there was a dif- 

 ference of nearly ten years in our ages. Some 

 of our older readers will remember my metal- 

 cornered frames, which came out in 1872. The 

 first notice I had of the British Bee Journal 

 was a description of my metal corners, accom- 

 panied by some very fine wood engravings — one 

 of the blank of which the corner was made, 

 and another already folded up. These illus- 

 trations were so much better than the average 

 wood -cuts in our own country that I was very 

 much astonished; and I soon learned that 

 whatever friend Abbott undertook had to be 

 done in the very best manner possible. His 

 whole journal was a model in the way of ty- 

 pography, engravings, and scholarship. In fact, 

 the only objection to it (if it can be called an 

 objection) was the editor's impatience with peo- 

 ple who persist in half doing a thing, and es- 

 pecially with what some of our British cousins 

 have been pleased to call "Yankee slipshod 

 ways." Friend Abbott and I soon became ac- 

 quainted, and an exchange of journals was pro- 

 posed. He sent me a bundle of his journals, 

 and I sent him a bundle of ours in return, and 

 then we each remailed them to subscribers. 

 Friend Abbott's journals came to hand wrap- 

 ped with exceeding niceness and security. Our 

 own, however, did not fare so well. The bun- 

 dle burst open, and the journals were crumpled 

 up all through the mail-bags. At this our 



friend's characteristic impatience cropped out 

 and he gave me a short lecture on sending 

 things carefully by mail. I remember the end 

 ing was something like this: "All this bothei 

 has resulted just from the lack of a bit o 

 string." The demand was so great for earlj 

 numbers of the British Bee Journal that w( 

 never succeeded in getting a complete file. Oui 

 bound volumes date back only to Jan., 1875 



It was not long before we had a visitor frorc 

 " Merrie England," and I told him of frienc 

 Abbott's letter. He said friend A. was one oj 

 the best of men; but. as with many of us, peo- 

 ple must become acquainted with him to under 

 stand him thoroughly; and he said Mr. A.'s 

 best friends had learned to make allowances 

 for his impatient outbursts whenever he came 

 across any piece of shiftless work; and, oh deai 

 me! we do not have to travel very far in Amer- 

 ica, nor England either, to find half-hearted 

 people. 



Friend Abbott was a practical man. High- 

 sounding theory, without practical knowledge, 

 would never pass with him, nor did it ever find 

 a place in his journal; and sham and deceit ol 

 any sort were always obnoxious to him. 



Some years ago we greatly enjoyed a visit 

 from his son, Mr. .Tames A. Abbott. While he 

 inherited some of the special traits of his father, 

 going about in the world as he had done had 

 somehow taken off the sharp corners. I re- 

 member that, at a bee-keepers' convention in 

 Albany, one of the bee-brethren got off his 

 track into political and financial matters; and 

 just as friend Abbott came in and sat down be- 

 side me, this Yankee brother undertook to tell 

 us something about the finances of the Bank of 

 England. Young Abbott very soon gave him 

 to understand, and the rest of the convention, 

 that a son of old England was in their midst, 

 and did not mean to remain unknown either. 



Peace to the memory of C. N. Abbott; and 

 may we learn to copy his virtues, and overlook 

 his failings, if such they really were. A. I. R 



BOOK AGENTS. 



A young man called at our home early in the 

 evening. He said he wished to see me particu- 

 larly, but declined telling what he wanted. 

 Mrs. Root told him he would find me over at 

 the factory; but he said he wished to see me at 

 home, and would call at half-past seven. I was 

 tired, after the duties of a busy day, for this re- 

 markably fine weather in March has crowded 

 business on to us of all kinds, almost all at once, 

 and 1 did not really want to see anybody that 

 evening. I wanted to look over the agricultu- 

 ral papers. The family were all away some- 

 where; and when the young man called I was 

 alone. As he did not seem inclined to make 

 known his business, I offered him a chair. He 

 said he came from London, and had not been 

 long in our country. Then he spoke of our peo- 

 ple and of our State. He talked about the 



