594 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL-. 



fruit-trees are in blossom, there are very 

 few of these " marriage priests" to per- 

 form the great service of wedlock ii> the 

 vegetable world ; and so without bees, 

 pollenization would be very scantily 

 effected. There, early flowering vegeta- 

 bles are imported, and so there are not 

 the usual insects to perform this valua- 

 ble service, and the bees, which are also 

 imported,and which from their habits and 

 man's wise and provident care do not 

 succumb to the winter's cold, become the 

 chief agents in this important work. 

 They are on hand when the flowers first 

 burst forth, in earliest spring, and so 

 celebrate the marriage rites without 

 which these plants would be far less 

 prolific. Is not the man who makes the 

 twin apple replace the single fruit of 

 yesterday, just as worthy as he who 

 multiplies the grass production ? 



The importance of bee-culture once 

 appreciated and recognized, and it goes 

 without saying that every wise people 

 will not only see that this industry does 

 not languish, but will use every reason- 

 able endeavor to foster its development 

 in every proper way. Thus in urging 

 such action, we need offer no apology ; 

 we are only doing what every wise 

 statesman and well-informed, thoughtful 

 patriot would do. 



What adds emphasis to this argument, 

 is the exceptional precariousness of bee- 

 keeping as a pursuit. Most kinds of 

 business can face a single "off year" 

 with composure. Even two consecutive 

 seasons of failure may be met with for- 

 titude, unless they occur too frequently ; 

 but when three, or even four, years of 

 failure confront the business man, it re- 

 quires exceptional profits at other times, 

 which bee-keeping is a stranger to, or 

 else great love and enthusiasm for the 

 business, which does characterize bee- 

 keepers to an exceptional degree, to 

 keep the ranks of such employment full. 

 That there has been a great falling off 

 in the business of bee-keeping of late is 

 most certain. For the last two seasons 

 the apple crop in Michigan has been 

 very close to a failure. That it is wholly 

 due to the absence of bees, I would not 

 assert ; but that there is an important 

 relation between the two facts, cannot 

 be truthfully denied. To urge all proper 

 means to stay this rapid falling off and 

 its attendant evils, is the duty of every 

 patriotic citizen. 



Experimentation and experiment sta- 

 tions are products of our Nineteenth 

 Century civilization. The most ad- 

 vanced nations have done the most in 

 these directions. Germany, to whom 

 all other nations grant supremacy in all 



that pertains to education, progress, and 

 the real elevation of its people, is at the 

 front in this important work, with 

 France, the United States and Great 

 Britain "a close second." This very 

 fact, were it not for the rich and stu- 

 pendous results of experimentation as 

 exemplified in the work of such men as 

 Koch, Pasteur, Lawes and Gilbert, Gray 

 and Edison, would be proof enough of 

 the value of experiment stations and 

 their work. 



There are to-day few bee-keepers that 

 know all about the business, and they 

 are usually box-hive bee-keepers who 

 have never read the bee-journals, and 

 can tell you all about the "king-bee." 

 The most of us realize that this business 

 is founded more upon genuine science 

 than are most manual labor pursuits, 

 is far from perfect, and that the wisest 

 of the craft has yet much to learn, and 

 that the business has yet unsolved prob- 

 lems of greatest importance. I think 

 there is no question but this business — 

 important as it is — has a very bright 

 future before it. Yet how can it suc- 

 cessfully face the repeated disasters of 

 the past few years, except as by study 

 and experiment we learn how we may 

 bridge such disaster. That bright men, 

 full of energy and enthusiasm, to man 

 the experiment stations in the several 

 great honey-producing States, could, 

 and would, with opportunity, accomplish 

 great things for apiculture, is true be- 

 yond question. 



The United States government, recog- 

 nizing the importance of agriculture, 

 and the added impetus given to any 

 business as the result of wise experimen- 

 tation carried on by experts, has donated 

 $15,000 annually to each State and 

 Territory to be expended in carrying on 

 experiments in agriculture. Forty-seven 

 States and Territories have organized 

 under this Act, and have established 

 stations, and have manned them with 

 more or less efficient workers. Thus 

 $705,000, or almost three-fourths of a 

 million dollars, are spent annually by 

 our country to develop new truths, and 

 further the interests of agriculture. 



From what I have already stated, it is 

 clearly evident that apiculture is a very 

 important branch of agriculture. To 

 foster its interests is the height of wis- 

 dom. Wise experimentation cannot fail 

 to very greatly aid this important indus- 

 try. Yet in the face of all this, only 4 

 of the 47 States have done anything to 

 promote the interests of bee-keeping; 

 and in all of these cases money has been 

 given in such a niggardly way that very 

 little could be accomplished. 



