THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



89 



so valuable as that man's, and there- 

 fore it would be unjust for her to re- 

 ceive the same compensation for the 

 work ; and so that speculation came 

 to an untimely end. Hut I have yet 

 to hear of a crate of honey being 

 shipped to any commission house at a 

 discount because of its being produced 

 by a woman ! It is said " some women 

 love to be dependent and to be com- 

 pared to clinging vines which are 

 lifted into the sunshine by sturdy 

 oaks." But as far as my observation 

 goes, that ground assumes the aspect 

 of sinking sand ; for have we not all 

 seen trees encircled by thrifty, prom- 

 ising bark, that were hollow at the 

 heart V and by and by has it not been 

 deeply regretted that self-reliance had 

 not been planted for a trellis ? 



Now in thisnext side, notwithstand- 

 ing my limited experience, I think I 

 shall venture to discourage all ambi- 

 tious " vines " who contemplate em- 

 barking in this business, and any 

 other persons that expect to lind a 

 " regular bonanza ; " for with the 

 present honey-market quotations one 

 need not anticipate very heavy re- 

 turns for time and money expended. 



Tliere are disagreeable sides to every 

 calling ; therefore do not expect to find 

 the apicultural path strewn entirely 

 with roses. No great feats are ever 

 accomplished without the requisite 

 self-sacrificing patience and perseve- 

 rance. 



If you are one whom the bees dis- 

 like, and, as you say, will go out of 

 their line to meet and sting you, think 

 twice before investing your money, 

 for it is no laughing matter if one eye, 

 swollen andaciiing, of necessity, closes 

 its doors and refuses to be on duty for 

 a day or two, and your features are all 

 so distorted, that to be recognized by 

 your mother, an introduction becomes 

 necessary ! Then those busy little 

 bees have never had impressed upon 

 them that one day in seven was made 

 for rest; but instead of thus appro- 

 priating it, Sunday is one of their best 

 days, regardless of your desire to at- 

 tend church ; and during their busiest 

 season, when you cannot possibly go, 

 comes most of the centennial cele- 

 brations and Fourth of July picnics. 

 But it may be you deem it unjust for 

 me to criticise the doings of these 

 wonderful insects, still, they must 

 bear in mind that everything under 

 the sun must be subjected to that ; 

 and just here allow me to insert a few 

 extracts from charges made on them 

 by the London Sporting Times : 

 ""There is no insect more thoroughly 

 objectionable than the bee. It is even 

 mcu-e disgustingly active than the ant. 

 Scientific persons are fond of telling 

 us of the bee's tremendous geometri- 

 cal knowledge, and parade in proof 

 thereof the fact that it builds hex- 

 agonal cells, thereby packing the 

 greatest number of cells, with the 

 smallest possible amount of wax, 

 within a given space. They fail, 

 however, to notice that tliere is no 

 law requiring bees to build their pre- 

 posterously little cells. If they were 

 really intelligent insects and knew the 

 comparative value of wax and honey, 

 they would build cells holding a pound 

 of honey each, aud thus enable a 



human being to eat honey without at 

 the same time filling up the interior 

 of his person with wax. This simple 

 plan has never yet occurred to the 

 bees. They go on building their anti- 

 quated and clumsy cells w-ithout once 

 undertaking to improve upon them. 

 They may be intelligent but they do 

 not improve it by adhering to a pat- 

 tern of cell invented by their antedi- 

 luvian ancestors. To hold up these 

 miserly and wantonly busy insect to 

 the admiration of mankind is a posi- 

 tive outrage. It is time that a protest 

 should be made and that mankind 

 should henceforth be taught the plain 

 and obvious truth that an insect which 

 spends its whole existence in working 

 and stinging is even more unworthy 

 of emulation than is the mosquito or 

 the book-agent." 



But enough of this ; let us now turn 

 to tenthly : We must not jump at con- 

 clusions before hearing both sides of 

 the question. This occupation, if pur- 

 sued legitimately and scientifically, is 

 ennobling and leads to clearer percep- 

 tions of the useful and ornamental, 

 and in it there is no element of de- 

 generacy. It enlarges our minds in 

 the reception of the truths of natural 

 history and botany, and paves the way 

 for a more liberal culture. It moulds 

 character whenever the enterprise has 

 the soul-spmpathy of the one engaged 

 in it, and makes us all enthusiasts. 

 It is without doubt a healthful enter- 

 prise and will afford that long-felt 

 need of most of our American women 

 in the country— exercise in the open 

 air. In short, it is an honorable pur- 

 suit aud a laudable undertaking. 



Eleventhly : If in the face of these 

 numerous pros and cons you can un- 

 talteringlv endure the foretold pleas- 

 ures and hardships, together with the 

 not poetical, but literal " sweat of 

 your brow," be assured that you are a 

 fit candidate to receive a life-long cer- 

 tificate of admittance to the ranks of 

 bee-keepers. 



And now while we are here together 

 comparing our ideas, let us all will- 

 ingly submit to friendly criticism 

 even if it does seem to upset some of 

 our long-cherished theories. " Let 

 the truth come to the front and stand 

 conspicuously there ; for truth will 

 triumph whether we consent or not." 



Besides the foregoing essay, others 

 were read by V. V. Blackmer, Orwell, 

 Vt., subject, "• Is sweet clover a 

 nuisance V " " Small packages for 

 honey," by J. H.Martin, of Hartford, 

 N. Y.; and "The variation of the 

 honey season in different localities," 

 by H. L. Leonard. The following 

 subjects were then discussed : " The 

 future outlook of sale and production 

 of honey," " The best management of 

 bees to prevent swarming," and 

 '■ Marketing honey." 



The most intense interest and en- 

 tliusiasm' prevailed throughout the 

 entire sessi(m. A prize was offered to 

 the one producing the best essay, 

 which was unanimously awarded to 

 Miss Marcia A. Douglas. 



There were over 80 persons present 

 in the afternoon, and the Vermont 

 State Vice-President of the North 

 American Bee-Keepers' Society stated 



that there were more ladies present 

 than were present at the Detroit Con- 

 vention. It was decided that the 

 name, " Champlain Valley Bee- Keep- 

 ers' Association," should be changed 

 to the " Vermont State Bee-Keepers' 

 Association." 



During the evening session reports 

 of bee-keepers were read, which 

 showed an aggregate of ],(Jo2 colonies 

 in the spring of 1S8.5, and 2,505 colo- 

 nies put into winter quarters last fall. 



Premiums having been offered for 

 honey-products and apiarian supplies, 

 several articles were on exhibition. 

 The awarding committee reported 

 that on account of the exceptional ex- 

 cellence of the articles they found 

 great difficulty in arriving at a con- 

 clusion. 



The awards were as follows : Best 

 bee-hive (complete), shipping-crate 

 and honev-boxes, Drake & Smith, of 

 Bristol, Vt.; best bee-feeder and 

 clamp for boxes, D. S. Hall, of South 

 Cabot, who also exhibited the " Iled- 

 don case ;" best 10 lbs. comb honey, 

 and best heavy comb foundation. 

 Moody & Isham, of Weybridge: best 

 10 Itis. of extracted honey, R. H. 

 Holmes. (The premium on extracted 

 honey was afterwards given to Mr. F. 

 H. Wright, of Enosburg, by mutual 

 consent.) Best light comb-foundation, 

 L. O. Thompson, of Weybridge ; and 

 best display of bee keepers' requisites, 

 Messrs. Drake & Smith. 



A vote of thanks was tendered to 

 the Secretary for his efforts in arrang- 

 ing and assisting in carrying out the 

 programme of the meeting; also to 

 the retiring President, for the faithful 

 manner in which he had performed 

 his duties, and to all who had partici- 

 p.ited in reading essays or in the dis- 

 cussions. It was decided that the 

 time and place of the next annual 

 meeting be left with the executive 

 committee. 



Thus ended one of the most profit- 

 able and enthusiastic gatherings ever 

 held in the history of the Association. 

 R. H. Holmes, See. 



For tlie American Bee JoumaL 



Small Hives vs. Large Hives, etc. 



C. W. DAYTON. 



I agree with Mr. Fuller, on page .56, 

 that a large (average) hive is better 

 than a small (average) hive, taking 

 the apiary through. That he can get 

 10 solid frames of brood in every hive 

 by the beginning of the honey-flow, 

 shows that a 10-frame hive is the best 

 for his location ; while a 12-frame 

 hive may be the best for Mr. Dadant's 

 location, and anS-frame hive the best 

 for my location. There is a difference 

 in location. I am tlirough using divi- 

 sion-boards both in the brood-cham- 

 ber and upper story in half of the 

 hives of my apiary. I did not use the 

 division-board before the honey har- 

 vest to retard brood-rearing, but at 

 the beginning of the harvest, in order 

 to obtain honey instead of more worth- 

 less brood. On page G9S of the Ajleei- 

 CAN Bee .Journal for 18S5. 1 gave 

 my experience with different sized 



