228 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



April 14, 



American Bee Journal and Spelling Reform. 



BY C. P. DADANT. 



Friend York : — I wish to digress a little from the bee- 

 talk to-day to Have my say in regard to the new way of spell- 

 ing that you have introduced in the columns of the American 

 Bee Journal, as I notice some comments upon it by your dif- 

 ferent contributors. 



This new spelling is certainly offensive to the eye before 

 we become accustomed to it. In the beginning, I used to 

 do as Mr. Jenkins remarks — it used to detract my attention 

 from the subject In question. But one evidently gets used to 

 this, for I no longer notice It, altho the American Bee Journal 

 is, I believe, the only paper that we take which follows this 

 reform. 



The greatest objection to the spelling reforms, such as 

 this, come from people who are good scholars, and who object 

 very often on the ground that if we make reforms on this sub- 

 ject it will become impossible to recognize an educated person 

 from au uneducated one, since every one can write just as he 

 talks. This argument is not well founded. If the reform is 

 brought about in the right way, It will bear only, as with your 

 method, on such parts of speech as will have been agreed 

 upon, and It will require rather more of an education than 

 less for writers to keep Informed upon these changes. 



I am free to confess that, altho I approve of the change, 

 it would be next to impossible for me to follow this orthog- 

 raphy from mere slavery to habit. I would have to drill my- 

 self very carefully for quite awhile in order to do away In my 

 handwriting with the old way of spelling. But because we 

 are accustomed to a bad way should we discourage those who 

 are faithfully trying to educate the young generation to better 

 ways? Let the old fogies, like myself, stick to their old ways 

 If they cannot do otherwise, but let not any of them ridicule 

 the progressive man who tries to bring forward something 

 better. Otherwise we might as well go back to the English 

 method of spelling labour, neighbour, and borough instead of 

 neighbor, labor, and boro. "Plow" is surely a progress on 

 " plough," tho it means the same. If we are a progressive 

 nation, why should our progress be all material and not edu- 

 cational and mental ? Why should we cling to the old way of 

 spelling any more than to the scythe and the cradle ? Is the 

 man who writes his name "■ Ztschmldztscli" any brighter or 

 more successful than plain "Smith." Perhaps you will think 

 this name is of my own invention, but not so. I believe the 

 man was a Russian, and I have actually received a letter 

 signed as above. 



It is not only In spelling that we might help the reform 

 which is so slowly going on in sclentilic circles for the purpose 

 of making education easier, but in many other lines. We lose 

 sight of the fact that while our children are overcoming the 

 dilBouIties of the language, they are uselessly losing precious 

 time, which, in this age of progress, might be occupied much 

 more to their benefit. But language is only a small portion of 

 what has to be learnt by a child to acquire an education. 

 What about figures ? Why do we so long cling to the ridicu- 

 lous English system of weights and measures when we have 

 within our reach the most simple system that may de devised 

 — the metric system ? Our scientists have long ago decided 

 that the metric system was the only rational system of weights 

 and measures, and as far as they have been able they have 

 drawn us In this direction. But we have too many old fogies 

 who are afraid that a change might disturb their own equi- 

 librium. Better have the rods and the ells, Flemish a,ud En- 

 glish, and the yards and the feet, carefully divided Into 12t)is, 

 which are themselves divided into eighths a,ad sixteenths so as 

 to make (so it would seem) computations as difficult as possi- 

 ble ! Imagine the United States leaving the decimal dollar 

 to go back to the pound sterling containing 20 shillings, sub- 

 divided Into 12 pence ! ! 



All these reforms frighten us. Why ? Because we make 

 a bugbear of nothing. We have been accustomed to our rut, 

 and the deeper it Is the better we like it, for we think the 

 world is all at the bottom of that rut. But with a little effort 

 we will ascend to the top, and with what profound disgust we 

 will then look back Into that pit! At any rate, if we have 

 not the courage to climb out we must not try to discourage 

 those who are climbing, or to pull back in those who have got 

 out. 



The teacher up-to-date has no hesitancy. He says that 

 the spelling reform is but a trifle. He does not frighten at 

 the half-dozen strange words of the metric system, and soon 

 discovers that those few words contain the key to a method 

 which is simplicity itself. He quickly decides that it is better 

 to have the freezing-point at zero than at 32, and boiling 

 water at 100 than at 212. Progress Is made of little things. 

 Then let us try to help It. Hancock Co., III. 



Report of Vermont Bee-Keepers' Convention. 



BY M. F. CKAM. 



The 23rd annual convention of the Vermont Bee-Keepers' 

 Association was held at Burlington, Jan. 26 and 27, 1898. 



The meeting was called to order by Pres. H. W. Scott, 

 prayer offered iDy R. H. Holmes, and then the minutes of last 

 meeting read and approved. The following committees were 

 appointed on Resolutions: J. E. Crane, R. H. Holmes and M. 

 A. Everest ; on Nominations, M. F. Cram, H. L. Leonard, 

 and 0. J. Lowrey. 



The Secretary's and Treasurer's reports were read and 

 approved, the former's report showing a balance of $5.00 in 

 favor of the Association. 



COMPAKATIVE VALUE OF RACES OF BEES. 



Then came an address by Pres. H. W. Scott, after which 

 R. H. Holmes talkt on the comparative value of the Italian 

 and black races of bees. He thought not many of the original 

 black bees were left In the State — they were now Italians and 

 hybrids ; each colony showed different characteristics, as 

 much as horses or cattle. The Italians come out ahead on 

 the following points : Gather honey faster ; better to defend 

 the combs from moths; better to defend their stores; fly 

 farther for honey ; in fact, were generally at the front. 



Mr. Leonard claimed it was the condition of the colony 

 more than in the breed of the bees, but thought the Italians 

 were better for surplus. 



Mr. Crane said that in some seasons the Italians outstrlpt 

 the blacks ; in other seasons it was the reverse. 



Mr. Holmes then told of the great value of a good queen. 



SPRING MANAGEMENT OF BEES. 



Mr. Crane gave his method of spring management. First, 

 we must save the heat of the hive by contracting, and seeing 

 that they had plenty of stores ; but to begin with we must get 

 the best bees. Bees vary in characteristics, and that is the 

 very best ground we have to make improvements upon, and it 

 could be done the same as in horticulture. He told how the 

 sugar-beet had increast from 6 per cent, to 25 per cent, in 

 productiveness ; what is true of plants is also true of the 

 larger animals, fowls and bees. He thought the swarming 

 Instinct could be bred out, in a great measure. The large 

 draft horse and the little pony had all sprung from one par- 

 ent-stock. The dairy cow had been improved, and why not 

 the bee? The Italian had grown much lighter in color since 

 coming to this country in 1860. One point in our favor, we 

 can breed a bee and test its merits in less time than we can 

 our domestic animals, and Mr. Crane thought we could in 

 time breed them up to nearly twice their present productive- 

 ness. 



A FEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 



QuES. — If bees have been growing better, why do we get 

 less honey than 15 years ago? Ans. — Partly on account of 

 pasturage being cut off, and partly on account of peculiar 

 seasons. 



QuKS. — Is it any advantage to have hlvjs painted ? Ans. — 

 Yes. 



QuES. — How can we secure the whitest comb? Ans. — 

 Have your sections on only when honey is coming in. 



evening SESSION. 



Prof. L. R. Jones gave a lecture on the bees and the 

 flowers. He also showed -by stereopticon views the polleniza- 

 tion of flowers, and the aid that the bees are to the same, 

 which was very instructive and well Illustrated. The ques- 

 tion was askt Prof. Jones, if it was any benefit to spray fruit- 

 trees while in bloom. He said no authority In the United 

 States had ever given out that spraying in bloom had ever 

 given as good results as spraying after the bloom had fallen, 

 and many bad results had been obtained from spraying while 

 in bloom. 



Cassius R. Peck then gave a report of the work done at 

 the Experiment Apiary. It was a very concise report, but 

 owing to some peculiarities in the season some parts of the 

 work did not reach the desired object, and will be continued 

 next season. 



