1897 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



449 



I do not, however, agre*^ with you that there is 

 room for both orgauizations. We as bee-keep- 

 ers are not numerous or rich enough to main- 

 tain the somewhat expensive machinery of the 

 two organizations. One or the other, I believe, 

 wili soon cease to be. I thinl< so, because I be- 

 lieve there is no excuse for both. 



The tirst proposition, that there should be no 

 ill will or bad blood, is too abounding in good 

 sense to admit of argument. The day of ani- 

 mosities and invective among apiarists is long 

 past. You remember, Mr. Senior Editor, when 

 you and I first put hands to the apicultural 

 plow, before the '70s, how much of rancor there 

 was in our ranks. You remember the storms 

 in the days of the Cleveland convention, when 

 you and I tirst met. Happily that spirit and 

 feeling are wholly gone. Surely happily for 

 us, for I veritably believe that, if it had not 

 gone, wc would not have come. You, my friend, 

 have done much to bring the better day; and 

 God be praised for the success. No, we have 

 no time or room or appetite for aspersions or ill 

 will. A letter from Manager Newman, of the 

 old Union, leads me to conclude that there is a 

 serious misapprehension among the members 

 of the old Union. I certainly did not under- 

 stand the matter: and if not I, an oflficer, then 

 probably not many of the others. 



Mr. Newman says the old Union can not 

 attack any evil but such as it has combatted in 

 the past. Thus it can not fight adulteration. 

 The last vote, he says, has settled that question. 

 Now, I did not think our vote took any such 

 effort from the hands of the Trustees or Execu- 

 tive Board. If so, laam not sure but. on the 

 plea of "self-preservation," we should disregard 

 such vote, for the old Union [has got to fight 

 living issues, or die.:ilt can not live on its past 

 record, excellent as that record is; nor can bee- 

 keepers afford to support two unions. Such 

 action is senseless, and bee-keepers have sense. 

 Dl|voted against amalgamation, not because*I 

 objected to it personally, but because I believed 

 quite a number of the members did oppose it as 

 unwise; and it seemed to me that, when men 

 had joined an organization, and paid money 

 into its treasury, we should not change that 

 organization unless the vote was nearly or quite 

 unanimous. I was assured that a goodly num- 

 ber did seriously question the wisdom of amal- 

 gamation. I did not suppose I was voting to 

 tie the hands of the Union, or confine its labors 

 to lines no longer important. 



As suggested above, I fully believe that one 

 or the other of the present organizations will 

 die. The division is expensive, has no excuse, 

 and the fruits of one strong vigorous organiza- 

 tion will be abundantly greater than of two 

 struggling feeble ones. It will be a case of 

 "survival of the fittest." Emerson said of the 

 individual, " Not to change is to die." I believe 

 we can say the same as truly of the old Union. 



Thus I wish to urge all the members of the old 

 Union to write at once to Manager Newman, 

 20!U) Market St., San Francisco, and urge that 

 the Bee-keepers' Union at once grapple with 

 the question of adulteration in California. If 

 he replies that ho can not do so, then ask that 

 a vote be taken. We now have a splendid law 

 iu this State, and the people are alive to the 

 iniquity of the business. A pure-food congress 

 has just been held in San Francisco, and the 

 people are fired with a sense of the enormity of 

 the evil and the necessity ol fighting it to the 

 death. A vigorous blow struck now by the 

 Union will do untold good, and will inspire 

 people with the thought that it still has power, 

 and is willing to show it by striking effective 

 blows at any threatening evil. 



Mr. Editor, I come to you, for I know you will 

 heartily agree with this proposition. I hope 

 you will urge its importance, and that action 

 may be commenced at once that will, incite the 

 old Union to grapple with this monster evil. I 

 have no feeling in this matter other than for 

 the good of the cause. I take it no one has. I 

 have already urged, in the strongest terms pos- 

 sible to me, in the Araerican Bee Journal, that 

 we take this matter in hand. May I not ask 

 that you urge the Vice-presidents of the B. K. U. 

 to write at once to Mr. Newman to commence 

 action or else take a vote on the matter? We 

 have a rare opportunity to achieve great good. 

 We must not let it pass unimproved. 



NOTES. 



This bids fair to be an exceptionally good 

 year, even for California. The large rainfall 

 of last winter, and the genial warmth and sun- 

 shine, coupled with damp nights and absence 

 of hot winds, almost insures a remarkable hon- 

 ey product in 1897. Already the crop has meas- 

 ured up well, and we are yet only at the dawn 

 of the season. I never sampled finer honey 

 than I have eaten this season — first from the 

 orange bloom, and now from the sage. 



The white sage is now in its prime, and the 

 bees are jubilant as they fairly swarm upon 

 the delicate flowers. The sage grows in long 

 stems, and the bloom is in long racemes, which 

 commence to blossom at the bottom, and open 

 upward. Thus the plants are in bloom for long 

 weeks. This is one reason why the amount of 

 nectar produced is so great. I believe that this 

 flower has few equals, and California climate 

 is just the one to bring it to its perfection. 



The above remark regarding the long-time 

 bloom of the white sage is not alone peculiar to 

 that plant, but Is a characteristic of all of the 

 California flora. Flowers that opened in Feb- 

 ruary and March this year are still in bloom. 

 Some of the most important honey-plants, like 

 "California buckwheat," bloom for months. 

 The blossoms are now out, and will be in De- 

 cember. I believe it is this duration of bloom 



