564 



AMERICAN BEE lOURNAL 



Sept. 4, 1902 



and other honey-thieves, with bee-queen to 

 rule over all. 



The clumsy, loud-buzzing bumble-bee, 

 however, is a veritable farmer, and lives with 

 a comparatively small family in his mud 

 farm-house in the clover-flelds. He is such a 

 simple soul that the hive-bees look upon him 

 as a hayseed. 



Several of them will meet him when he is 

 on his way home with a load of honey, and 

 induce him to stop and have a chat in the 

 bee-lanjruage. Then they pat him and rub 

 him, and the bumble-bee loves to be tickled. 

 Thus they work upon his good nature until 

 he actually lets them take part of his bag of 

 sweets — all of it sometimes. 



When he has been robbed in this fashion 

 the smart hive-bees bid him an affectionate 

 good-by, acting just as if they were slapping 

 him on the back, and probably telling him 

 that he must come up to town and take din- 

 ner with them some day when he is not busy. 

 Whoever knew a bumble-bee to have a day 

 to himself ? 



Then the robbers go home and lay their 

 plunder away, while the bumble-bee sets out 

 for his farm-house, congratulating himself 

 upon having such good friends, likely 

 enough, and quite convinced that he is indeed 

 a highly popular fellow. 



Mr. Secor's only comment on the above 

 was this: '* I never eaui^ht them at it."' 



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Weekly Budget. I 



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Mr. and Mrs. UdoToepperwein. of Texas, 

 called at this ottice recently', when on their 

 wedding tour. They were expecting to go 

 East, and possibly get back to the Denver 

 convention. We wish the happy couple a 

 long and useful life. 



The Lone Star Apiarist, of Texas, has 

 suspended publication. This is unfortunate, 

 especially for those who had their money in- 

 vested in it. But it will be no surprise to 

 those who know what it means to publish a 

 bee-paper. There are a good many people 

 who just know they can make a great success 

 in the apicultural literature line — until they 

 try it. Then they learn better. We are really 

 sorry for our Te.\as friends, for they deserved 

 success, at any rate. 



Editor E. R. Root seems to inherit some 

 of his father's rural tastes. The father has 

 gone into the wilds of Michigan and built 

 him a cabin in the woods two miles from the 

 post-ctfice, and now the son, restrained by 

 business cares from getting so near to the 

 heart of Nature, has moved his family out 

 upon a farm S^.j miles from town, to get 

 away from the smoke of factory and locomo- 

 tives, and from the nerve-destroying shriek 

 of whistles and clang of bells. He has an 

 apiary on the farm where he can spend his 

 evening hours. 



The Death of Mr. Geo. F. Robbins we 

 announced a week or two ago. He was in the 

 employ of Mr. E. T. Flanagan, in Texas. Mr. 

 Flanagan wrote us as follows, Aug. 23 : 



Friesd York: — I have just returned from 

 a trip to southern Texas, where I was called 

 by a telegram announcing the sudden death 

 of my manager, Geo. F. Robbins, formerly of 

 Median icsburg, 111. It was a sad blow for 

 me. as I will find it hard to replace him. 



for it will be hard to find a more faithful or 

 honest man than he was. Peculiar in some 

 respects, even eccentric, he was faithful to a 

 high standard of duty. Intelligent, well edu- 

 cated, keeping abreast with the advancement 

 of his favorite pursuit, he was above all a 

 sincere Christian gentleman. I respected and 

 loved him as a friend and brother bee-keeper, 

 and none will miss him more than I. Would 

 there were more like him. 

 St. Clair Co., 111. E. T. Flanagan. 



Considerably Doubled-1'p is what you 

 might call Editor Hutchinson, of the Bee- 

 Keepers' Review. Quite a good many years 

 ago he was a double father all at once — a pair 

 of twin girls came into the home. A year or 

 so ago these same "twin girls" were married at 

 the same time, so Mr. Hutchinson became a 

 double father-in-law. And now — think of 

 it ! — one of these twin daughters has a little 

 boy and the other a little girl, making Mr. H. 

 a double grandpa. If heisn'ta much-doubled- 

 up man we don't know who is. " Grandpa 

 Hutchinson!" Sounds old, doesn't it ? But 

 he says he "Never felt younger or more 

 energetic.'' 



Many happy returns, grandpa ! 



Mr. C. p. Dad ant and youngest son, 

 "Maurice," called on us last week when on 

 their way home from Sturgeon Bay, Wis., 

 where they had gone to settle up some busi- 

 ness affairs of Mr. Dadant's father. It was 

 the late Chas. Dadant's annual custom to 

 spend a few weeks each autumn in Wisconsin, 

 where he would be free from an attack of hay 

 fever. One of his aged Iowa friends, also an 

 octogenarian, who was always at Sturgeon 

 Bay at the same time Father Dadant was 

 there, when told of his death, decided to go 

 there no more, as he would miss the com- 

 panionship of Mr. Dadant too much to endure 

 it. So this year he is going to the Pacific 

 Coast for awhile. It only shows the strong 

 friendships made by the late friend of bee- 

 keepers. 

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\ Biographical. \ 



1817 CHARLES DADAXT. 1002 



The news of the death of Charles Dadant 

 came as a shock, notwithstanding the fact 

 that at his advanced age it was a thing nat- 

 urally to be expected. Many of those, how- 

 ever, who have enjoyed his youthful and vig- 

 orous style of writing were perhaps not 

 aware that he was more than 85 years old at 

 the time of his death, which occurred after a 

 short illness, on .luly 10, 1902. 



Charles Dadant was born at \'aux-Sous- 

 Aubigny. in the golden hills of Burgundy, 

 France, May 22, 1817. After his education in 

 the college at Langres, he went into the mer- 

 cantile business in that city, but ill-success 

 induced him to remove to America. He set- 

 tled in Hamilton, III., in 18(53, and found a 

 genial and protitable occupation in bee-cul- 

 ture, which, in his hands, yielded marvelous 

 results. He soon became noted as one of the 

 leading apiarists of the world. 



In 1873 he made a trip to Italy to import 

 the bees of that country to- the United States 



on a large scale. Later he began the manu- 

 facture of comb foundation, which has helped 

 to make his name known. 



It is true, however, that of late he has not 

 written much, his son, Camille P., having 

 come to the front as a writer of distinction to 

 take his place. Neither is it in this country 

 that Charles Dadant is best known as a 

 writer. It is in the French journals that he 

 was most at home ; for in them he could use 

 his native tongue, and although it might not 

 be suspected by those who were familiar with 

 his writings in the American journals, he 

 never became so familiar with the English 

 language as to converse freely in it. That 

 the movable-frame hives with improved meth- 

 ods of management are to-day so much in use 

 among French-speaking people is in a very 

 large measure due to the strong influence of 

 Charles Dadant, an influence used in the face 

 of the opposition of the French journal, 

 I'Apiculteur, for a long time the leading 

 French bee-journal. 



When 46 years old, Mr. Dadant came to this 

 country, intending to make a business of 

 grape-growing, a business with which he was 

 familiar from childhood, but within a year he 

 became so interested in bees that although he 

 continued to do something with grapes the 

 bees became the leading object of his atten- 

 tion. Dadant A Son made themselves known 

 as large producers of extracted honey, as im- 

 porters of Italian queens, and especially as 

 the largest manufacturers of comb foundation 

 in the world until recent years. 



In 18S6 he revised and republished the book 

 of " Langstroth on the Honey-Bee," which 

 has been styled " the classic in bee-culture." 

 This work was published almost simulta- 

 neously in America, France, and Russia. The 

 three latest editions were printed at Keokuk, 

 Iowa, near his home. His teachings spread 

 over the world, and there is not a civilized 

 country where his name is unknown to pro- 

 gressive bee-keepers. 



Charles Dadant married, in 1847, Miss 

 Gabrielle Parisot. Mr. Dadant had two 

 daughters, one of whom is the wife of E. J. 

 Baxter, of Hancock Co., 111., and one son, C. 

 P. Dadant, with whom he has been in part- 

 nership since 1874, and with whom he lived 

 till his death. 



Mr. Dadant was of a cheerful disposition, 

 and made friends of all who knew him. He 

 had none of the infirmities of old age, and his 

 death was but the flickering out of a lamp 

 that has entirely used up its fuel, a worthy 

 ending to a useful life. 



Those who have had the pleasure of an 

 acquaintance with Mr. Dadant in his own 

 home will testify to his genial and cordial 

 spirit, a spirit which it is a pleasure to know 

 has descended to the son. 



A Tribute froiiv Mrs. L. Harrison. 



The death of Charles Dadant has brought 

 to my mind many pleasant reminiscences of a 

 visit there, after the closing of the national 

 convention of apiarists, held at Keokuk, 

 Iowa. Carriages liad been provided, and in- 

 vitations to delegates to visit the home and 

 manufactory of comb foundation of Charles 

 Dadant iV: Son. I accepted the invitation, 

 and it has been a pleasant reminder ever 

 since. After a pleasant drive of three miles, 

 more or less, from the town of Hamilton, 111 , 

 with congenial companions, we entered the 

 grounds where there was a fine residence 

 where three generations lived in harmony 

 and love. 



It is not every one who, having spent time, 



