THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



285 



every growing industry, would lose its 

 novelty and settle down into real 

 diisiiiess. 



When we speak of honey being 

 low in price, we have on our minds 

 the high prices of the past. We are 

 satisfied that this is not the proper 

 way to look at the matter. Let the 

 honey producer settle the question 

 in his own mind as to whether he can 

 produce honey in his locality, at a 

 fair profit, at such prices as he is able 

 to obtain for his goods. If he finds 

 that he cannot do that, he can look 

 out for something else that will pay 

 better. But we warn him that in all 

 established industries he may as well 

 make up his mind* to meet bravely 

 the sharpest competition. 



We wish it understood that we be- 

 lieve that bee culture as a business 

 will increase m magnitude in spite of 

 the depressing influence of low prices 

 for honey ; and that improvements, in 

 the future, of bee implements, in the 

 hands of skilled apiarists, will make 

 it possible to achieve greater things 

 than many now dream of. 



The Convention beld at Indian- 

 apolis, Ind., must have been quite 

 a tame affair. It really looks as if 

 bee-conventions would soon be num- 

 bered with things of the past. So 

 far as we have read the reports of 

 the proceedings of this convention 

 they lack the interest and enthusi- 

 asm that has characterized such 

 meetings in the past. 



Perhaps if there is any difference 

 between the convention of iS86 and 

 those held in previous years it was 

 in the fact that the " crank " did not 

 make his appearance with his usual 

 cranky notions to occupy the atten- 

 tion and time of the meetings. Every 

 circus has its clown, and unless the 

 present year has been an exception 

 to the general rule, every convention 

 has had its crank. 



The convention "crank" is the man 

 32 



who ordered a low price queen of 

 some dealer and because his order 

 was not filled by return mail to the ex- 

 clusion of other customers he gets his 

 "back up" and shows a strong desire 

 to ruin the dealer by sending his side 

 of the story to all of the bee-journals. 

 Failing in this to get a full ventilation 

 to his feelings and spleen, he next at- 

 tends the convention even though 

 he has to travel hundreds of miles to 

 reach it. When the meeting opens 

 he is ready for business. He rises 

 and moves that such a man be pro- 

 nounced a " dead beat " and fraud, 

 and gives his reasons therefor. For- 

 tunately those who attend such meet- 

 ings are, in most cases, men of sense 

 and all such cranky ideas are quickly 

 voted down. 



It is but a few years since the rep- 

 utation of one of the largest supply 

 dealers in this country was shame- 

 fully assailed at a convention held in 

 the state of New York. A "cranky" 

 beekeeper pronounced the person 

 referred to a fraud. Before night, 

 the newspapers of the city in which 

 the convention was held had pub- 

 lished the statement, and the news- 

 boys were making a great handle of 

 this piece of news in order to make 

 rapid sales for their papers. Vote 

 down the crank. 



The Colonial Honey Exhibi- 

 tion bas thus far been a grand suc- 

 cess. About forty tons of Canadian 

 honey is on exhibition at the fair, and 

 a committee from the Dominion of 

 Canada is in charge. Among the 

 number is one of our well-known 

 correspondents, Mr. S. Cornell of 

 Lindsay, Ca. The committee will 

 start for home about Nov. i6. 



Mr. Corneil will favor the readers 

 of the Apiculturist with a full report 

 of the exhibition, probably in season 

 for the January number. 



The following extract concerning 

 the Fair is taken from a private let- 

 ter dated London, Oct. i6, 1886. 



