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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Nov. 16, 1899i 



field when the photographer happened along-, and as the 

 latter was in a hurry, they all went into the apiary just as 

 they were. The two boys at the right are twins, 5 years 

 old ; the next one is the youngest, 3,'/i years ; the next, the 

 fourth, 10 years old ; next, the fifth, 8 years old ; next, the 

 sixth, 12 years old ; and the one on his knees is the oldest, 

 being IS years of age. Mr. Bell informs us that none of 

 his boys are afraid of the bees. Should he be able to make 

 bee-keepers of all those boys, what a large number of out- 

 apiaries thev could manage. In case they should ever de- 

 cide to do this, they would need to go West to the large 

 alfalfa regions where there is plenty of room for both boys 

 and bees. The Editor. 



Report of the Proceedings of the 30th Annual 

 Convention of the United States Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association, Held at Philadelphia, 

 Pa., Sept. 5, 6 and 7, 1899, 



BY DR. A. B. MASON, SEC. 

 [Continued from pagre 709.] 



After the general discussion Hon. EugeneSecor read the 

 following paper on 



Fads, Fancies and Follies in the Apicultural World. 



YANKEE GENIUS. 



A live Yankee's an experimenter. 



As most of you here understand ; 

 He has breathed the pure ozone of freedom 



So long in this limitless land. 

 And been wooed by the goddess Invention 



Till every old method is scanned. 

 What appliance, machine, apparatus. 



Or anything heretofore planned. 

 Is quite perfect till the light of his genius 



Shines thru the "American brand ?" 

 The Dead Sea of unworkt opportunity 



Recedes when he raises his hand ! 



INSPIRED. 



Not content with the ways of his father. 



Believing himself the grantee 

 Of the brains of the last generation. 



The pride of the family tree. 

 He is anxious to show his kinsmen — 



And all the good folks yet to be — 

 The paved highway to fame and to fortune. 



Which others, before, failed to see. 



THE PROOF. 



Hence the shelves of the Government office, 



Where models of patents are kept. 

 Are the wonder of every beholder 



That into the building has stept ; 

 They convince the observant on-looker 



That Yankee inventors ne'er slept. 



PATENTS ON YOUTH. 



They have patented every idea. 



Yes, every conceivable thing, 

 From a mammoth steam thresher and stacker 



To the tiniest baby-swing ; 

 And I'm waiting, impatient, for patents 



On )'oiitli and perpetual Spring — 

 For these thin, wintry locksare embarrassing 



When bees 'round my cranium sing; 

 And we're loth to resign the ambitions 



Which flowery young manhood did bring. 



IN PARENTHESES. 



By the waj', this proud eagle of Freedom 



Has not been confined in its flight 

 To inventional vauntings and soarings 



To lead this old world to the light. 

 He once crackt an old bell in this city 



Proclaiming the reign of the right ; 



And from that trying time to the present 

 Old Glory's been always in sight ", 



And the eagle still screams 'bove the rattle 

 Of musketry, " Fight for God 1 fight 1" 



AN APOLOGY. 



But as this is a bee-men's convention, 



Not held on the Fourth of July, 

 And as my subject is better adapted 



To blowing j-our follies sky-high. 

 Than to waving the national banner, 



I return to my task — and sigh — 

 For I'm thinking you'd rather hear something 



Of new things — of something to try. 

 In the place of reviewing old skeletons 



From wrecks of the days going by — 

 And it's pleasanter to feed you with taffy 



Than to witness your faces awry — 

 But the example of George the Immortal 



Points straight to the truth — that's why 

 I am giving you doses of tansy 



Instead of all candy and pie. 



BEE-KEEPERS EXCEL. 

 Now, if Yankees in general are smart enough 



To give us so much that is new. 

 Pray, what might be expected from bee-men — 



The cream of the whole blessed crew ? 

 There is something so strangely bewitching 



About the bee-business that few 

 Can resist the temptation, when in it. 



To show the great things they can do ; 

 For the novice behind a bee-smoker 



Is burning with " try," thru and thru. 

 " There is room at the top " — thus hemusesi — 



" And /'// give the world moreen a cue 

 In the art of improving the fixtures 



And methods in use hitherto." 

 And until he has hatcht a new theory 



He heeds not the warning curfew — 

 But just wait ! here's a child of his genius. 



Laboriously born, take a view : 



THE SELF-HIVEK. 



The contrivance is called a Self-Hiver; 



Its object exceedingly plain ; 

 T'is intended to fool Mrs. Queenly 



And all her worshiping train. 

 Some fine morning they plan for a frolic — 



And nothing their zeal can restrain — 

 But our genius, without pressing a button, 



Stands by and repeats this refrain : 

 " Now I've got 'em, I've g^ot 'em, I've got 'em,. 



I'm sure they will bring me much gain !" 

 But just how they enrichthis exchecquer 



I've waited for answer, in vain. 

 (Would you get the most eggs from a turkey?" 



Just humor her whims, in the main.) 



THE NON-SVVARMER. 



There's another ingenious invention. 



First cousin to that just described — 

 With an itching to try something novel 



How easy is error imbibed ! 

 A non-swarmer is lovely in theory. 



But over its grave is inscribed : 

 "Here lies one that was born in a hurrj-. 



And died without clergy — proscribed." 



REVERSIBLE HIVES. 



Please reverse the old dial of j-our memory- 

 Some half a score years, more or less ; 



Does the hive with that recently vronderful 

 Reversible feature impress 



The bee-keeper of this day as useful 

 And needful to compass success ? 



Does the man that gets honey now use it ? 

 Don't all in a chorus say yes ! 



The reversible function is obsolete. 

 If this one's permitted to g-uess. 



MOTH-PROOF HIVES. 



Hid away in some store-room or garret. 

 Mayhap, when not looking, you'll find 



A reminder of times when some peddler 

 Grew fat till his face fairly shined, 



As he traveled from farmstead to farmstead! 

 Unloading his hive — and his mind 



