1900 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



(37 



prove conclusively they do not injure sound 

 fruit. A strong argument in favor of the bees 

 is that thousands of fruit-growers are also bee- 

 keepers ; in fact, intelligent fruit-growers are 

 also satisfied they can not get the best results 

 from their fruit-orchards unless they keep 

 bees, or unless bees are kept in their neighbor- 

 hood. Let me explain where much of the 

 misapprehension comes in. Some years ago I 

 bought a load of beautiful red cheeked early 

 peaches. I was surprised to think I bought 

 them so low. In a few hours I discovered 

 that many of them had little rotten spots 

 which rapidly increased in size. I sorted them 

 all over, and in half an hour more of them 

 were affected with these little spots. Now, 

 the bees discovered, about the time I did, that 

 they could suck out the juices of any peach 

 when this peculiar kind of rotting had just be- 

 gun. I dropped my work, and spent consid- 

 erable time in watching the peaches. Some 

 were exposed to the bees, and the others were 

 kept in the same place, but covered with a 

 netting. The peaches commenced rotting in 

 both cases alike ; and I found that, to save my 

 peaches, they would have to be used up at 

 once in some way. A perfectly sound peach, 

 so far as one could detect, would have these 

 minute spots of decay in from two to three 

 hours ; and between noon and night they 

 were so bad as to be unfit for sale. This is the 

 kind of decay, I believe, that affects early 

 peaches particularly, and it attacks some of 

 the handsomest fruit I ever saw. Under such 

 circumstances bees are blamed, when they 

 have nothing to do with the trouble in the 

 way of damaging sound fruit, although we 

 can hardly blame one not posted in the mat- 

 ter for thinking the bees really destroy them. 

 There have lately been several lawsuits in the 

 matter. I believe some cases have been de- 

 cided against the bee-keeper, and some in his 

 favor ; but it seems to me it is a fit subject for 

 the National Bee-keepers' Asso'n to take hold 

 of, especially in explaining matters, and hav- 

 ing the fruit-grower fully understand that the 

 bees have nothing to do with caiishig the 

 fruit to rot. In one case in New York the 

 owner of the peaches declared the bees sting 

 the green fruit and cause it to rot ; and the 

 papers tell us he has even gone so far as to 

 declare the bees have stung his trees, and thus 

 caused them to die. His opponent declares 

 the trees are afflicted with peach-tree yellows. 

 Now, I do not know in regard to the laws of 

 New York ; but if a man in this State permits 

 a tree with yellows to remain in his orchard 

 he is criminally liable. — A. I. R. 



THE CHICAGO CONVENTION. 



The great Chicago convention of the Na- 

 tional Bee-keepers' Association has now gone 

 into history. Mr. York, of the American Bee 

 Journal, one who ought to know, says, "It 

 exceeded any former meeting of the Associa- 

 tion, there being at one evening session over 

 350 persons present ; " and in speaking about 

 the report which he will begin publisliing in 

 the next issue of his paper, he says : " It will 

 likely be the fullest and best ever published of 



any national bee-keepers' convention." The 

 regular stenographer whom Mr. York had en- 

 gaged was unable to be present, owing to sick- 

 ness ; and as a consequence he was obliged to 

 secure a court stenographer at enormous ex- 

 pense. I watched her pencil while she was 

 taking down one of E. T. Abbott's rapid 

 speeches. He poured forth a continuous 

 stream of eloquence at the rate of a mile a 

 minute ; and yet the very moment he stopped 

 talking, her pencil stopped pushing. I take 

 it that, if she could take every word of Mr. 

 Abbott, she could catch every thing, and 

 doubtless did. 



When I left for Chicago with my stereopti- 

 con outfit and slides I had just a little misgiv- 

 ing whether this feature of the meeting would 

 be a success ; but it succeeded beyond my own 

 sanguine expectation — not from any thing / 

 said, but because of the enlivening speeches 

 descriptive of the subjects thrown on the 

 screen from Messrs. Abbott, Mason, York, 

 Baldridge, France, Weber, Benton, and Huich- 

 inson. While the pictures were for the most 

 part good, yet had one speaker held the floor 

 for the evening I fancy the entertainment 

 would have been tiresome. As it was, we had 

 the most delightful variety from all the gen- 

 tlemen named ; and after some of the speeches 

 there was a general cheering and encore. 



Mr. Abbott introduced the poet laureate and 

 General Manager of the National Bee-keepers' 

 Association, Hon. Eugene Secor, whose pic- 

 ture was thrown on the screen. He spoke of 

 the delightful poems which had emanated from 

 Mr. Secor's pen ; of the good work he had 

 been able to perform in the interests of the 

 Association ; and as Mr. Abbott closed his 

 happy speech there was a burst of applause. 

 He likewise introduced, in the samedt-lightful 

 vein. Dr. Mason, Editor York, and E. Whit- 

 comlj — as their pictures were successively 

 thrown on the screen. Mr. York introduced 

 Prof. A. J. Cook and Dr. C. C. Miller. Mr. 

 C. H. W. Weber, of Cincinnati, who had 

 bought out the business of the late C. F. 

 Muth, spoke feelingly of his acquaintance with 

 Mr. Muth. He told how Mr. Muth had been 

 known to have in his warehouse and on his 

 platforms $75,000 worth of honey at a time, 

 which he had bought of bee-keepers, paying 

 cash for it. Dr. Mason, in his usual genial 

 manner, said some very pleasant things of W. 

 Z. Hutchinson and of E. T. Abbott ; and then 

 when some comic pictures were thrown on 

 the screen illustrative of certain familiar 

 scenes in the apiary he told how he had been 

 there too. R. C. Aikin, of Colorado, Presi- 

 dent of the Colorado State Bee-keepers' Asso- 

 ciation, introduced W. L. Porter, of Denver ; 

 also Frank Rauchfuss and J. E. Lyon, promi- 

 nent bee keepers of Colorado. N. E. France 

 told something about his methods when pic- 

 tures of his apiaries were thrown on the screen. 

 M. M. Baldridge, one who has been, perhaps, 

 connected with bee-keeping longer than most 

 living bee-keepers, told of his early acquain- 

 tance with Langstroth when the father of 

 American beekeeping had just launched out 

 into the new industry and put out Lis book, 

 which, for real practical value and literary ex- 



