84 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



life by liaving them in our gardens, 

 and at the same time please tlie eye. 

 I have lieard men say tliat they pre- 

 ferred the color of the black bee to the 

 yellow Italians, while I confess I pre- 

 fer the yellow, and others prefer a 

 mixture of the two. 



It is evident to my mind, that the 

 bee of the future (if not of the present) 

 will have some other color. Messrs. 

 Dadaiit and lleddon say give no more 

 leather, while I and others say give us 

 more gold. I would not be under- 

 stood to advocate the production of 

 yellow bees at the expense of honey- 

 storing qualities. Can these gentle- 

 men assign any reason why leather- 

 colored Italians can amass any larger 

 stores than the yellow Italians V I 

 verily believe that it is more dithcult 

 to keep the latter up to the proper 

 standard in any locality where black 

 bees exist, or even a mixed breed, 

 where the mother bee is from an ob- 

 jectionable race. 



I am still breeding the yellow Ital- 

 ians. I i)resume Mr. lleddon did not 

 intend his letter for publication, but 

 if he desires to compare notes on the 

 relative value of the " leather and the 

 gold " through the pages of the Amer- 

 ican Bke Journal, here am I. We 

 have taken sweet counsel together by 

 way of the silent ])en in the years gone 

 by, and I will promise that we will not 

 come to blows. 



Youngsville, Pa., .Jan. 28, 1882. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Honest and Kind Criticism. 



A. J. COOK. 



I am more than pleased with the 

 Bee Journal for Jan. 2.5. It shows 

 that even bee-keepers can criticise in 

 a fair and amiable spirit. In reading 

 the able papers by Messrs. Tinkerand 

 Clarke, I was reminded of something 

 I have read about our late lamented 

 President : " In the debates in Con- 

 gress, Garfield never insulted his op- 

 ponents ; he was always just to them. 

 He never cultivated the cheap noto- 

 riety of sneering retort, and he was re- 

 spected and liked by those with whom 

 he radically differed." 



Mr. Langstroth once said to me that 

 he wondered if being stung did not 

 make bee-keepers cross, uncharitable 

 and selfish V I suggested that Satan 

 had more to do with it. Mr. \V. F. 

 Clarke, if I remember rightly, has 

 been stung, and so he is a living refu- 

 tation of Mr. Langstroth 'sproposition. 

 Let me suggest to Mr. Kohnke that 

 he need have no fear that Mr. Muth 

 will take serious umbrage affair, can- 

 did criticism ; that is what we all like 

 and crave. 



I am very busy and only have time 

 to say to my good friend. Rev. W. F. 

 Clarke, that iny article was written 

 before his criticisms on Mr. Heddon 

 appeared, though published later, so I 

 never tliought of liiin. I could never 

 say thathecontracficted well-grounded 

 facts, for I not only don't believe sucli 

 to be the case— I positively know it 

 not to be true. 



In the future I hope to explain more 

 fully in regard to the pollen matter. 



Mr. Prentiss, of Sandusky, says he 

 knows tliat pollen killed nearly 100 

 colonies of bees for him last winter. 



Let me add, Mr. Editor, tliat the 

 canard about the manufacture of comb 

 honey has outlived its usefulness. It 

 is no longer good, even as " a joke." 



Cornell, N. Y., Jan. 27, 1882. 



Northeastern New York Convention. 



The 12th annual Convention of the 

 Northeastern Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion, was held at Utica, N. Y., Jan. 

 2.5-27, 1882. 



On account of the absence of the 

 President, W . E. Marks, and Vice 

 President Doolittle. because of sick- 

 ness in their families, W. E. Clark, of 

 Oriskany, was chosen President pro 

 tern. 



After the calling of the roll and the 

 reading of the minutes of the last 

 meeting, the reports of the Secretary, 

 Treasurer and standing committees 

 were read and accepted. 



There remains in the treasury, ac- 

 cording to the report, $63.65. The 

 Society is in a. prosperous condition, 

 both financially and numerically. 



Secretary House read the following 

 address from Mr. Thomas G. New- 

 man, editor of the American Bee 

 Journal : 



Saggestions Aboat Conventions. 



Brother Apiarists: — New York 

 has several organizations of bee-keep- 

 ers, but the •' Northeastern Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association " is the father of ihein 

 all, and of right, is, and should be, 

 looked up to as the State Society. So 

 long presided over bv that illustrious, 

 but laniented bee-master, father 

 Quinhy, its fame is world-wide, and 

 its iiilliience not exceeded by any So- 

 ciety on the American Continent. Its 

 members include some of the most 

 progressive and successful apiarists of 

 the age. 



It would, therefore, be eminently 

 proper for the Ncu'lheastern Conven- 

 tion to take advance ground, and in- 

 augurate some of tlie many reforms 

 necessary to the well-being and per- 

 manent good of American apiarists. 

 Allow me to make a few suggestions. 

 I seldom write essays for Conven- 

 tions, and had it not been the special 

 request of your excellent secretary, I 

 should not have written this, and now 

 content myself with simply throwing 

 out a few " hints," and trust that you 

 will give them your best attention. 



1. Some plan should be devised to 

 make a more perfect organization, 

 and knit together, more closely, all 

 the apiarists of our country. County 

 Societies should be auxiliary to the 

 State Society (for such is yours, except 

 in name), and all the members of the 

 county organizations should thereby 

 become members of the State So- 

 ciety, entitled to all its benefits and 

 privileges, and proportionately bear 



the expenses of holding such. The 

 Presidents of State Societies should 

 become ex-officio. the Vice Presidents 

 of the National Society, and thus co- 

 operate unitedly for the general good 

 — and delegates should be sent from 

 the Counties to the State — and from 

 the Slates to the National Society. 

 This can easily be accomplished, and 

 would contribute to the general wel- 

 fare. Organization is life; in union 

 there is strength. Disorganization is 

 iveakness, and leads to dissolution — 

 death I 



2. The present method of conduct- 

 ing conventions, by so many and such 

 long essays, is killing in its influence, 

 and often works positive damage to 

 all concerned. To illustrate : 



A long essay is read, and before it 

 is ended, those who listen to it are 

 tired out, and forget or do not quite 

 comprehend the points, and so it 

 passes, without being sufficiently un- 

 derstood or discussed — goes into the 

 minutes, and under the sanction of the 

 Society, is publislied to the world as 

 its views, when, perhaps, it represents 

 the opinions or feelings of but a 

 moiety of those present, thereby do- 

 ing positive damage, because it mis- 

 represents the society in general. If 

 essays are admitted, but one should 

 be thrust upon a session, and if possi- 

 ble that one should be printed, and 

 placed in the hands of the members to •■ 

 be discussed at the next session. In 

 this way some of the difficulty could 

 be overcome, and the detrimental 

 effects avoided. 



3. If sncli organization wasobtained 

 it would facilitate correct statistics, 

 and the united power of the apiarists 

 of the Niiition could be exerted to de- 

 mand legislation against fraud and 

 adulteration ; obtain redress for in- 

 jurious rulings of the Postal Depart- 

 ment, such as denying the admission 

 of bees to the mails, etc., and correct 

 the unjust discrimination of railroads 

 in classing honey at exoi'bitant rates 

 when they carry similar staple articles 

 at one-fourth the freight demanded 

 for honey. 



Again, a brotherly tie would be 

 formed— helping one another — not 

 only in the matter of marketing our 

 crops, but perhaps in helping the un- 

 fortunate, succoring the families of 

 deceased members, and possibly pro- 

 viding for those overtaken by calami- 

 ties, etc. 



These are but a few of the things 

 that could be accomplished by united 

 etfort, but we only wish to throw out 

 these suggestions, and leave it with 

 others to discuss the matter, and de- 

 vise a scheme for carrying it to a suc- 

 cessful issue. 



But I will not weary your patience 

 by further particularizing— while I am 

 absent in body, I shall be present in 

 spirit, and sincerly hope your meet- 

 ing will be a success, and beneficial not 

 only to yourselves but apiarists every- 

 where. 



Chicago, 111. 



Ttie essay was discussed by Messrs. 

 Bacon, of Verona, Snow, of Fayette- 

 ville, Clark, of Oriskany, and Dickin- 

 son, of South Oxford. The remarks 

 of these gentlemen were generally in 

 accord with tlie spirit of the essay. 



