128 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



EDITORIAL. 



In many respects the convention 

 of the North American Beekeepers' 

 Association, lately held in Toron- 

 to, Ont., was one of the most 

 pleasant and profitable that we ever 

 attended. Our Canadian friends 

 seemed to vie with each other in 

 their hospitable attempts to enter- 

 tain us. The council chamber was 

 filled almost to overflowing, during 

 the entire convention, with a large 

 gathering of intelligent and enthu- 

 siastic beekeepers. 



One of the most prominent and 

 pleasing features of the meeting 

 was the presence of Rev. L. L. 

 Langstroth, tlie veteran beekeeper, 

 who has given to us tlie movable 

 frame-hive, and who has done so 

 much for the advancement of api- 

 culture in America. 



We may well be pleased to know 

 that after being so aflflicted with 

 disease, that he has been obliged 

 to give up the study of apiculture 

 for many years and has been de- 

 nied the privilege of attending a 

 convention since 1870, he has 

 again been restored to health and 

 intends to work in the interests of 

 beekeeping literature. 



His remarks were very forcible, 

 and his language eloquent, while 

 his reference to his " old Quaker 

 friend" (Moses Quinby), who was 

 so closely connected with him in 

 his early studies and experiments, 

 was very touching. We are all 

 glad to welcome him back to our 

 ranks and hope that he may be 

 spared to his home and to apicul- 

 ture for many years to come. 



From the first the meeting 

 seemed more like an old-fashioned 

 New England Thanksgiving gath- 

 ering than the convention of an 

 association met for the purpose of 

 deciding upon matters of impor- 

 tance and framing laws which shall 

 govern the beekeeping fraternity. 

 True, it was a great pleasure to 

 grasp the hands of those with 

 whom we have become acquainted 

 through the journals and have 

 longed to meet, or the old-time 

 acquaintances with whom we have 

 associated on similar occasions in 

 times gone by ; but this should 

 form only a small portion of the 

 object of such a convention, the 

 expense of attending it being too 

 great. 



This peculiar state of affairs 

 seemed to be the governing feature 

 of every session, and most of the 

 important and vexed questions 

 which usually come up for discus- 

 sion were either forgotten or qui- 

 etly passed by. There was no 

 appointing of committees, no read- 

 ing of and accepting the secreta- 

 r3''s report of the last meeting (or 

 at least we failed to hear them 

 read), and, in fact, the only busi- 

 ness of importance that we knew 

 to be transacted was the election 

 of officers for the ensuing year and 

 selecting and appointing the place 

 of the next meeting. There seemed 

 to be an entire lack of organization 

 or system in conducting the pro- 

 ceedings. Questions which should 

 have been answered by a com- 

 mittee appointed for that purpose 

 consumed an unnecessary portion 



