1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



393 



luy acquaintance with the literature of bce-keepiug: 

 nor my familiarity with our patent laws, nor any 

 facts which have been alleged against the Heddon 

 patent, lead me for a moment to question its validi- 

 ty. 



History seems often to repeat itself . In my own 

 day, how often it was declared to be enough to in- 

 validate the claims of the first person who had in- 

 vented a hive, which commended itself at once to 

 those most largely engaged in the production of 

 honey, to show that some one before me had used 

 a frame in a bee-hive 1 It mattered nothing that! 

 never claimed to have been the first to invent a 

 movable frame; that my frame and way of using 

 it were fully described, and that the few frames 

 which antedated mine were of no practical account 

 —still the attempt was for many years persisted in 

 (I sometimes shudder now at the bare recollection 

 of those weary years) to persuade the bee-keeping 

 public that my patent was invalid. 



On all sides patents sprung up, usiriu, hut not claim- 

 ing, the most valuable features of my invention; 

 and one bee-paper, having then the largest circula- 

 tion, went so far as to accuse me of perjuries, 

 which, if committed, ought to have sent me, in ray 

 old age, to the penitentiary. Thus were the feel- 

 ings of my wife and children outraged; and even 

 where no credit was given to such atrocious accu- 

 sations, many honest bee-keepers were so misled as 

 to believe that they had a perfect right to the free 

 use of my movable frames, or were induced to pay 

 for infringing patents the money which would have 

 provided amply for me and mine. 



I do not think that the bee-keepers of this country 

 will ever suffer a similar outrage to be perpetrated 

 either against Mr. Heddon or any other honest in- 

 ventor and henefactor. L. L. L.vngstroth. 



Dayton, O. 



I liave read your communication over 

 very carefully, even the second time, dear 

 friend Langstroth ; and wlule reading it I 

 could not but admire the eloquence witli 

 wliich you present friend Ileddon's claims. 

 If we did not know how utterly impossible 

 such a thing would be, we might be tempt- 

 ed to think he had employed you to adver- 

 tise for him. I know, dear friend, that eve- 

 ry word of the above comes honestly from 

 the boitom of your heart, and is entirely 

 unsolicited ; but I do think you great! v over- 

 estimate. We have one of the Ileddon 

 hives in our possession, and are pretty fa- 

 miliar with all the points you make. No 

 doubt all you say can be done ; but I think 

 nearly every point can be carried out and 

 put in practice without using any hive dif- 

 ferent from that which we have had for 

 years. I should greatly prefer to pass by 

 this whole matter, and let it remain un- 

 answered ; but we have permitted you to 

 use the pages of Gleanings; to advertise a 

 patent bee-hive, and to advertise the prac- 

 tice of selling individual rights. With the 

 exception of friend Ileddon, I l)elieve that 

 almost all the bee-keepers in our land have 

 abandoned this matter of individual rights, 

 and given it ftp as not the proper thing to 

 do. In fact, you have, by your own writ- 

 ings, many times advised against it ; and 1 

 am sure I should do wrong to let this mat- 

 ter pass as you have left it, without a pro- 

 test. 



Years ago you paid us a visit ; and during 

 that visit I discovered (I thought) that you 

 felt uncharitable toward a good many of 

 our prominent bee-men. In fact, you felt 

 as if the world at large had done you a great 

 wrong. I suggested that perhaps you were 

 forgetting God's promises, and that dwell- 

 ing on these things was marring your peace 

 of mind, or something to that effect. One 

 morning, when you first awoke, T came into 

 your room and was greatly rejoiced to hear 

 you say vou believed I was right, and words 

 to the effect that the world was not so very 

 bad, after all. You told me you had decid- 

 ed to try to forget these things you had 

 talked with me about, and not dwell on 

 them. You not only made this resolution, 

 but you put it in practice, and afterward 

 wrote me you had become happier over it 

 than you had been for years. I am now 

 afraid, dear friend, that you are getting 

 back where you were. I will not dispute 

 but that a few individuals did you great 

 wrong ; but I feel sure it is bad for any one 

 to let the idea creep into his mind that the 

 world has never given him due credit, or 

 that he has never been appreciated or prop- 

 erly rewarded. I think I stand where 1 can 

 appreciate and fairly estimate and weigh 

 what friend Ileddon has done for the bee- 

 keeping world ; and I feel perfectly safe in 

 saying that it is not just or fair or right or 

 best that every one who desires to experi- 

 ment with or' use these things you have 

 mentioned should be compelled to pay Mr. 

 Ileddon $;.5.0U for an individual right. If 

 they wish to use his arrangements just as 

 he "has them, let them purchase a sample 

 hive. If they want the whole matter ex- 

 plained in plain words, let them purchase 

 Heddon's book. At the prices he charges 

 for each, there is a good round profit. The 

 matter of charging $5.00 for the right to use 

 some arrjingement of hives and fixtures 

 is a bad precedent if nothing more. I would 

 not stand side l>y side and in company with 

 the class of men (with a few exceptions) who 

 have been in years past taking money for 

 individual rights, for all the gold in Califor- 

 nia. I have discussed this matter with 

 friend Ileddon in our private correspond- 

 ence for a considerable time, and to consid- 

 erable length. 1 have weighed all his argu- 

 ments, and I presume he has weighed all of 

 mine. I did not intend to speak in public 

 as I have done ; but after I consented to re- 

 ceive a letter for the pages of Gleanings, 

 advocating " individual rights'' to such an 

 extent as the one above, I do not think it 

 would be right for me to do otherwise than 

 to give my opinion; and, dear friends, it is 

 only my opinion ; but I think that opinion is 

 unalterable. 



HONEY-BOARDS. 



A MOST IMPOKTANT PART OF A HIVE. 



f7!>EFERUING to question .56, which you have 

 WW just sent me, you know that, for years, I was 

 ';|\ almost alone in the advocacy of honey- 

 -^^ boards, and never failed to try to impress 

 my brother bee-keepers with the important 

 advantages of their use, whenever opportunity 



