July 1. 1911 



393 



As a result of this desire he founded the 

 Bee-keepers' Bevieiv against multitudinous 

 warnings and advice. For several years he 

 had a hard struggle; but his unyielding 

 l)ersistence won, but not without his judi- 

 cious editing antl careful selection of topics 

 so that it became a power among the more 

 careful and thoughtful bee-keepers. 



I.aneer, Mich. R. L. Taylor. 



W. Z. HUTCHINSON AND SOMETHING ABOUT 



MY FIRST ACQUAINTANCE WITH HIM. 



BY A. I. ROOT. 



The first issue of (Jleanings was dated 

 Jan. 1, 1878; and I need hardly tell you that 

 when I started out another bee-pajjer I bent 

 every energy (I was then only .33 years old) 

 toward making it a success. I worked and 

 planned for it, not only day and night, but 

 1 left no stone unturned. I hunted up the 

 most successful bee-keepers in the land, 

 and got in touch with Quinby, Langstroth, 

 Adam Grim, and .1. K. Hetherington, so far 

 as I could, and scanned every letter I re- 

 ceived, with the view of making it a help in 

 developing and exploring the new industry 

 and science. Some time during the year 

 1877 a young schoolteacher in Michigan sent 

 me some articles for our Journal, subject to 

 my approval. Hy mere accident I have run 

 on to an extract that tells what I wrote to 

 that schoolteacher. 



Friend Hutchinson: — We usually have more mat- 

 ter on hand than we can make room for in Glean- 

 ings; yet we think we can use the articles you have 

 sent, and have credited you ?3.00 for the same. 



Dec, 1877. A. I. Root. 



In a letter later he says: 



How well I remember the thrill that went to the 

 very center of my being a.s I read these words ! 

 It was the first money 1 had ever earned with my 

 pen. W. Z. Hutchinson. 



Perhaps I should explain to our readers, 

 that the articles for which I credited frien(l 

 H. the three dollars were not only nicely 

 and carefully written, but well punctuated, 

 and the sheets were arranged in the most 

 convenient manner for the compositor; but 

 they contained real, sound, honest, and 

 practical ideas, evidently written with the 

 view of helping the brotherhood. 



From an article he wrote for publication 

 in Gleanings I extract the following: 



I am a young man who has just bought and part- 

 ly paid for a small farm. My wife and I are work- 

 ing hard to finish paying for our home, and we 

 sometimes have to figure pretty close in order to 

 obtain my "bee fixings." For instance, I had long 

 wished for the back volumes of Gleanincjs, but 

 had never seemed to have the money to spare to 

 buy them. At last, however, by going into part- 

 nership with a neighbor, and earning my half by 

 getting up a club, they were obtained. 



In spite of financial difficulties under which I 

 commenced bee-keeping, I have prospered in it ex- 

 ceedingly well; perhaps my love for the business 

 has had something to do with my success. I some- 

 times wonder if I do not think too much of my bees. 

 For instance, I wore a suit of clothes last spring un 

 til I was ashamed of them, in order to save money 

 to buy a swarm with an imported ciueen. What do 

 you think, Novice? Do you think it is possible for 

 a bee-keeper to be too devoted to his business ? 



And there is one thing more that I should like to 

 ask Novice, and that is. don't you think it is a good 

 thing for some of us enthusiastic young bee-keep- 

 ers that we — well, haven't any bank account? If 



we hadj we would probably buy a whole lot of bees, 

 all the ' modern improvements," and then — why, 

 then go into " Blasted Hopes," to be sure. 



There, my first year's "experience" is finished, 

 and if it has helped any one else in his "first year's 

 experience," It has fulfilled its mission. 



W. Z. Hutchinson. 



Rogersville. Mich., Nov., 1878. 



From that time on, for fully ten years ev- 

 ery number of Gleanings contained one or 

 more articles from "W. Z. H.," as we used 

 to call him for short; and I think that, for 

 most of the ten years, his articles occupied 

 the first page of Gleanings, under the 

 heading of "Notes from the Banner A))ia- 

 ry."* 



During his busy life he invented and suc- 

 cessfully carried out many things now in 

 practical use among bee-keepers. He was 

 among the first, if not the very first, to 

 make a practical home-made foot-power 

 buzz-saw. This was fully illustrated in 

 Gleanings. 



He and I met frequently at conventions, 

 and have always been on the most friendly 

 terms. When he ceased writing for (ilean- 

 iNGS, and started the Review, these friendly 

 relations were in no way marred. From 

 first to last his communications bore the 

 stamj) of honesty and sincerity. During 

 the almost forty years that have jjassed 

 since I made his acquaintance, although 

 there have been many jangles and some se- 

 vere criticisms in i)rint and elsewhere, I can 

 hardly remember hearing of any one who 

 criticised in any way our good friend W. 

 Z. H. In showing up humbugs and frauds, 

 your humble sevant has received his full 

 share of clubbing right and left— especially 

 when he has broken u]i some scheme to de- 

 fraud bee-keepers; and very likely I have 

 sometimes been unwise, and may be a trifle 

 too severe. W. Z. H., both through Glean- 

 ings and since then through the Review, 

 seems to have chosen a happy medium iii 

 these matters, and to have preserved to a 

 remarkable degree a dignified and gentle- 

 manly attitude. 



How we shall miss his tall, upright, man- 

 ly form as he stood up before us at conven- 

 tions! He never made long talks, and he 

 never got into jangles; but, no matter what 

 was going on, whenever he took the fioor, 

 with that well-known beaming smile on his 

 face, the room was stilled without any rap- 

 ping by the i)resident. 



The last real good visit I had with Mr. 

 Hutchinson was when he took some sketches 

 up near the cabin in the woods during ma- 

 ple-sugar time— see pages 659, 660, 661, antl 

 662, issue for .lune 15th, 1905. 



May the Lord be ])raised that such a man 

 as Mr. Hutchinson was permitted to enter 

 the ranks of bee-keepers, and to labor for 

 them as faithfully as he did during his busy 

 life. 



* It is a little singular that the A B C book was 

 started almost simultaneously with Mr. Hutchin- 

 son's first article, "My p:xperience. No. 1" in 

 ( iLEANiNGS for .Jan. 1, 1878. The book was first sent 

 out in small form for 25 cents; but the call for it 

 was so great, and additions were made to it so con- 

 stantly year by year, that it eventually attained 

 to its present size. 



