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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



ironically, " wise as an owl " have 

 passed into proverbs. It is no cause 

 for gloom that one is geltiiis old. if 

 only the heart be young, and mine 

 grows younger every day I My pres- 

 ent object is a practical one. I wish 

 to look over the history of this or- 

 ganization, glance at what it has 

 accomplished, and picture some of the 

 possibilities of the future. 



The idea of a National Bee-Keepers' 

 Convention originated in Michigan, 

 the State which has given us a Cook, 

 a Heddon, a Hutchinson, a' Bingham, 

 a Cutting, a Taylor, and a "Cyula 

 Linswik," with otlier noted bee-keep- 

 ers " too numerous to mention," also 

 many apicultural ideas. " good, bud, 

 and indifferent,"' including the best 

 bee-hive, smoker and honey-knife ex- 

 tant, the pollen theory, and last but 

 not least, the theory of hibernation. 



When I read away up in Canada, 

 the call for a National Convention at 

 Indianapolis, Dec. 21, 187(1, I said to 

 myself, why can't this thing be inter- 

 national and continental y I resolved 

 to go, and use my influence to have it 

 so. Though I was the only represen- 

 tative present from Canada, my sug- 

 gestion and request to have the asso- 

 ciation called North American, were 

 courteously entertained, and we 

 " Cannucks " were welcomed into full 

 fellowship, where we have remained 

 ever since, and propose to do so long 

 as we are well treated, as we always 

 have been thus far, and expect to be 

 down to " the last syllable of recorded 

 time." 



This organization was formed 

 simply and solely " to promote the 

 interests of bee-culture." Has it 

 fulfilled its mission V I contend that 

 it lias ; not so fully perhaps as it might 

 have done, if at the outset we had 

 possessed the light of the present, but 

 considering our then light, great and 

 important results were accomplished. 

 The first was the harmonization of 

 conflicting interests, and the recon- 

 ciliation of existing differences. 

 Without being a resurrectionist of 

 dead jangles and quarrels, I may fear- 

 lessly assert that from the flrst this 

 organization proved itself a peace- 

 maker. Men who had difficulties with 

 each other were brought together, 

 and persuaded to shake hands. In- 

 cipient cliques and rings were broken 

 up. This association was the means 

 of placing our venerated father. Rev. 

 L L. Langstroth, in his rightful posi- 

 tion before the public. It prevented 

 tlie laurels he had fairly won from 

 being torn off his brow. It banished 

 his enemies and the ememies of pro- 

 gressive apiculture into obscurity. 

 Though it could not restore to him 

 the fortune of which he had been 

 robbed, and which no inventor ever 

 earned more honestly, it could and it 

 did " confess judgment " in his favor, 

 and it has from time to time, by little 

 presentations, testified its sense of an 

 obligation it is unable fully to repay. 

 A grand old book says : " The work 

 of righteousness shall be peace." Ad- 

 justments on a basis of righteousness 

 led to peace, and more than peace to 

 brotherhood and good fellowship, so 

 that when in two years after its or- 

 ganization, this as.sociatiou again met 



in Indianapolis, I was able, without 

 flattery, to congratulate the meeting 

 from the Presidential chair on the 

 predominant prevalence of the feeling 

 embodied in the pithy Scotch motto : 

 " Were brithers a' !" I added : " May 

 this feeling be paramount to every 

 other all through our proceedings. 

 May all our discussions be carried on 

 under its influence. Then, though 

 we may have our differences of opin- 

 ion—and it would be a dull, uninter- 

 esting time if we had not — tihese will 

 not interfere with our good fellow- 

 ship, nor lessen our enjoyment." 



My prayer on that occasion has been 

 answered too much. I have been 

 like the parson who prayed for rain 

 in a dry time. It came, and not only 

 rain but hail. An old lady who went 

 to look at her garden after the storm, 

 ejaculated, as she beheld her cabbages 

 all riddled and torn, " Dear, dear, 

 that's just the way with our minister, 

 he always overdoes it." I think, as you 

 know, that we have rather overdone 

 the " brothering " business, and have 

 carried it so far that it interferes with 

 free, manly criticism. 



Another good influence of the asso- 

 ciation has been to render apicultural 

 humbugs and jimcracks well-nigh ob- 

 solete. I cannot take time to enumer- 

 ate the number of these that there 

 were sixteen years ago. Hardly any 

 of them dared show face at our meet- 

 ings, and if they did, it was like moth 

 intruding into a hive of Italian bees — 

 they were soon hustled out-doors. 



Again, this association was the 

 means of perpetuating the American 

 Bee Journal, It met shortly after 

 the lamented death of Samuel Wag- 

 ner, father and founder of the Jour- 

 nal. There was great danger of its 

 coming to a stop. The widow and 

 son, Mr. G. S. Wagner, were very 

 anxious for its continuance, and of- 

 fered favorable terms, but there was 

 no money in it then, and no one was 

 willing to take hold of it. Being at 

 comparative leisure at the time, I was 

 induced by the importunity of lead- 

 ing members of this association to 

 embark in the enterprise. It was 

 believed that by removing the Jour- 

 nal from Washington to Chicago, it 

 would be in a more favorable position 

 for securing a constituency of paying 

 subscribers. There was not only 

 moral support pledged at the meeting 

 spoken of, but eleven prominent bee- 

 keepers joined in a bond of indemnity 

 against loss to the extent of a $1,000. 

 But for this moral and material back- 

 ing, I should never have embarked in 

 the undertaking, and it is quite cer- 

 tain the backing would not have been 

 given but for the enthusiasm kindled 

 at that convention. The enterprise 

 proved a success. There was no loss. 

 A boom came in bee-keeping. Just 

 prior to that boom, the Journal 

 passed into the hands of its present 

 proprietor, a man eminently fitted to 

 work it up— compositor, editor, pub- 

 lisher, all in one. I hope I do not tell 

 tales out of school when I say that 

 every type of the Journal Was set 

 by the editor's own hands, and it was 

 run with the strictest economy. Our 

 friend Newman has honestly earned 

 the success he has won, and the Jour- 



nal has been in his hands, and is to- 

 day, the right bower of North Ameri- 

 can apiculture. 



I have said enough to show the 

 association's right to exist because of 

 the good it has done, but I have not 

 exhausted this part of my subject. 

 Briefly, let me add, the discussions at 

 these meetings have cleared up many 

 obscure points, diffused correct ideas 

 in regard to bee-keeping, and furnish- 

 ed many novices with hints and in- 

 structions that have been of great 

 value. Finally, it has given oppor- 

 tunity for forming the acquaintance 

 of distinguished bee-keepers. When 

 we see a name in print often, we 

 speculate what manner of person it 

 belongs to, and feel a curiosity for a 

 personal interview. This curiosity 

 has many times been gratified at these 

 meetings, and never so signally as at 

 Cincinnati in 1871, at Toronto in 

 1883, and at Detroit in 1885, when 

 Father Langstroth was able to be 

 present, and hundreds had the pleas- 

 ure of seeing his benignant face, 

 grasping his hand, and listening to 

 the voice of " the old man eloquent." 



On one, and I regret to say only on 

 one occasion, the placid, open, genial 

 and intelligent face of the late 

 Moses Quinby appeared at the annual 

 meeting of this association. It was 

 in Cleveland, Dec. 6, 1871, and many 

 of us felt it no small privilege to make 

 the acquaintance and enjoy the society 

 of a man so pre-eminently worthy of 

 respect and esteem, and to whom 

 modern apiculture is so largely in- 

 debted. These meetings have intro- 

 duced to the personal knowledge of 

 bee-keepers D. A. Jones, Prof. Cook, 

 A. I. Root, James Heddon, and a host 

 of others who have become famous 

 in the realm of ai)iculture. Many 

 very pleasant friendships have been 

 formed, and now the social element, 

 and the happy re-unions enjoyed, con- 

 stitute some of the mightiest magnetic 

 influences that operate in bringing 

 members to this convention. 



That thip paper may not be charge- 

 able with the garrulity of age, I shall 

 allude but briefly, to the present and 

 future of the association, tor the pres- 

 ent is before our eyes, and the future 

 is for us to make. There is one re- 

 spect in which the organization has 

 not yet attained the original ideal of 

 it which was present to the minds of 

 the founders. In my address from 

 the President's chair at the second 

 Indianapolis meeting in December, 

 1872, 1 said: " Every member of this 

 society should strive to get up a bee- 

 keepers' club at home. These clubs 

 should send representatives to State, 

 Provincial or Territorial organiza- 

 tions, and this continental body 

 should in due time, become represen- 

 tative, and be composed of a certain 

 number of delegates from each State, 

 Province, or Territory in North 

 America, thus constituting a sort of 

 high court of apiculture, to which the 

 knottiest questions and hardest prob- 

 lems are submitted, and whence 

 there shall emanate decisions and 

 rulings of highest apiarian authority." 

 At that meeting it was 



Hesolved, That the President of this 

 society be authorized in its name and 



