1898. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAl^ 



643 



paid in, and that will induce others to get suSBcient courage 

 to join. 



Dr. Mason — We don't have any need for that in Ohio, so 

 far as adulterated honey is concerned. We have a first-class 

 State law, and a first-class man as Comaiissioner to see that it 

 is carried out. I have been watching for the last two years 

 for some one to prosecute, so as to get the glory for the 

 Union, but I can't find any one dealing in adulterated honey 

 except such as is labeled as required by our excellent " Pure 

 Food " law. 



Mr. Whltcomb — The best plan for getting members for 

 the Union that I have found, is, when you go out and meet 

 your brother bee-keepers, talk to them. Every member that 

 is here to-day can get two or three of his bee-keeping friends 

 who are not members to come in. We must have a fund be- 

 fore we can commence prosecutions. It takes money to con- 

 duct a prosecution, and we need to have a good fund Inrst. 

 That is what we have been waiting for, to get the membership 

 strong, and to get a fund before commencing that work. We 

 must not make a failure of the first prosecution. When we 

 get a good membership and get money in the treasury, then 

 we can go ahead and prosecute and do some good work. I 

 know of no better way than for every brother and sister who 

 Is a member of the organization to go home and get some of 

 their bee-keeping friends to join — send in their dollars, and 

 have them become members. That would swell the treasury 

 and the membership admirably. 



Questions were then taken up for discussion as follows : 



BEEKEEPING, PUBLISHING OR MANUFACTUBING. 



" Which is the most profitable, keeping bees for honey, pub- 

 lishing a bee-paper, or manufacturing bee-supplies ?" 



A. I. Root — Whether you are going to keep bees for 

 honey, or publish a journal, or manufacture supplies, you 

 can't succeed in any one of them unless you put brains and 

 muscle into it. When I look back over the years that I have 

 been engaged in the work — and I believe I have made a suc- 

 cess in all three departments — I would say that I succeeded 

 because I put brains, hard work and energy into each. If 

 the rest of the world don't know how many hours I put in, 

 Mrs. Root does. She said again and again that I would work 

 myself out, and kill myself. But it is better to wear out than 

 to rust out. I kept bees for honey, and had lots of hardship 

 and worry. My early experience was a series of blunders, but 

 little by little I began to get the upper hand. When a man 

 goes into a certain business and puts his whole life and energy 

 Into it, he will sooner or later get his reward. Whatever you 

 are doing, you want to do it with all your might. I don't 

 think publishing a bee-paper would have been profitable if I 

 hadn't put energy and soul into it. But I made a success of 

 it. We had to make a success of honey-production and of bee- 

 papers before there was any field for the manufacturing busi- 

 ness. Years ago, when I first started, and when the people 

 were all feeling sorry for me because I had let this new craze 

 run away with me, I said, " Look here, gentlemen, the time 

 is coming when the bee-keeping Industry is going to rank 

 fairly with the butter and egg business." I had some pretty 

 lofty aspirations. I had faith In strength and energy, and I 

 had faith in the great God above. Faith is a great thing. 

 The one who has faith in God, and faith in his own brain and 

 muscle, is the one who is going to succeed. It seems to me it 

 doesn't make so much difference what you are working at if 

 you are working at It with all your might. And in regard to 

 wearing one's self out, I don't believe I have felt so young and 

 spry as I have in the last four or five months. 



There is another point I want to make. There was one 

 time in bee-keeping when I had made a fair success, and then 

 we had seasons like the past. We had all sorts of discourage- 

 ments and mishaps, and I had about decided to give it up. I 

 piled away my books and papers, and sort of felt that I would 

 quit. Mrs. Root rather remonstrated with me, saying, "You 

 don't want to throw away what you have done. I would just 

 go on, and may be you will have a better honey season." 

 There were only 11 colonies left. I thought it was a good 

 time to " wind up," but she didn't like the idea of my giving 

 up. The next year I increast those 1 1 colonies to ii, and the 

 next year with those 4-4 I got that big crop of honey — over 

 •5,000 pounds. Don't turn your back and show the white 

 feather. If I had quit I would have lost faith in myself, and 

 may be lost faith in God. Then I would have started in some 

 other kind of business kind of half-hearted, and likely made a 

 failure of it, too. Don't give up on account of a few failures, 

 or a succession of failures. I have known some who have 

 been at it four or five years, and said they were ready to quit, 

 whereas if they held on a little longer it would have been like 

 the man who was sinking the oil-well. He had gone down a 1 



good ways and hadn't struck any oil yet, and he was getting 

 discouraged; and then some one bought the well and sent it 

 down only another foot, and struck nil. That is just the way 

 with bee-keeping. When you get ready to say it doesn't pay, 

 and lose faith In man and God, it is a bad place to be. Stick 

 to your trade, stick to your religion, and stick to your faith in 

 God, and to your faith In your neighbors. What is that old 

 text ? "Be not weary in well doing, and in due time you will 

 reap if you faint not." 



Pres. York— I presume that Mr. Root is the only one that 

 can answer the whole question. He has been through all of 

 of it. But he has not answered it yet, as to which is the most 

 profitable. 



A. I. Root — They all have their ups and downs, and 1 

 might say that it is not an easy matter to make a success in 

 any one of them. 



E. R Root — I don't know that I can answer the question, 

 but I will say this: I wrote to Mr. John H. Martin, of Cali- 

 fornia, and askt him why there wasn't a bee-paper publishfc 

 on the Pacific Coast, and he said they told him it was more 

 profitable to produce honey. I presume that was the fact. I 

 don't think that in our locality in Ohio we could produce 

 honey and make a big thing out of it. Perhaps it is more 

 profitable to produce supplies. 



A. I. Root — But there is a young bee-keeper only a couple 

 of miles from us that has produced profitable crops of honey 

 year after year. 



Pres. York — Last year in Chicago I averaged 100 pounds 

 of honey to the colony. As to the second part of the question, 

 I am publishing a bee-paper, but I have not found that there 

 is so very much money in it. Perhaps when I get to the third 

 part of the question I will make some money ! I think as Mr. 

 Root says, it depends a great deal upon the man in any case. 



Dr. Miller — With regard to one point brought out : I am 

 not so sure that it is right to throw your whole soul and might 

 into it. There are some things, perhaps only a few, where it 

 is wise to throw your whole might into them, but I very much 

 doubt whether bee-keeping is one of the things. I have in 

 mind a case that I knew years ago, of a man who was very 

 enthusiastic about bee-keeping. He went into it all over ; he 

 workt so hard at it that his soul was worn out in course of 

 time. Then he almost abandoned it entirely, instead of going 

 on and making use of the advantage of his experience. He 

 practically deserted the brotherhood, and then went into pub- 

 lishing a paper. He threw his whole soul into that, and made 

 one of the best papers that could be publlsht ; yet if it had 

 not been for the new generation following him, in course of 

 time that would have been deserted utterly. Fortunately the 

 rising generation took that off of his hands and continued It 

 successfully. Then he went into the business of producing 

 supplies, and he made a big success of that — went into It with 

 his whole soul ; but if it had not been for the rising genera- 

 tion that would have been deserted entirely. Then he went 

 running off after cabbages, and I don't know but he has made 

 a success of thaf. If instead of throwing his whole soul into 

 bee-keeping and allowing the hobby to run away with him— 

 throwing the reins to the wind, instead of controlling it as he 

 might have done — I believe today we might have gotten a 

 great deal more from him than we have. I believe the Lord 

 gave to him ability that He did not give to the ordinary mem- 

 bers of the human family. I believe one thing we are to do is 

 to hold a firm grip on the reins of the hobby that starts with 

 us. When I find that bee-keeping occupies the whole of my 

 time, then I want to let it go to a certain extent and take 

 something else with it. 



DEPENDING ENTIRELY UPON BEE-CULTURE. 



" How many of the members present depend entirely upon 

 bees and honey to make their living ?" 



On a call for a showing of hands, two responded in the 

 aflSrmative. 



Dr. Miller— My living is all made by what I know about 

 bees, but it is not all made by working directly with bees. 



J. S. Scott — I understand that does not mean the produc- 

 tion of honey from the bee. I buy and sell honey as well as 

 produce it. I don't produce honey to the extent of making my 

 entire living out of it. 



Dr. Miller — In a certain sense that would allow Mr. Scott 

 to hold up his hand as well as myself — that is, we depend en- 

 tirely upon bees and honey for our living. Wipe away all bees 

 and honey and we are dropt to the ground. 



ACTUAL COST OF A POUND OP HONEY. 



" What does it cost to produce comb honey; also extracted 

 honey ?" 



Pres. York— Perhaps the question should include the 

 words " per pound " In order to enable us to get at it. 



