290 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



(jiettlng Up a Weekly Bee Paper. 



The editor of that excellent Monthly 

 bee paper, the Bee-Keepers'' Instructor, 

 in the April number, remarks as fol- 

 lows on this subject : 



" One of our correspondents, some 

 time since, in tlie course of a very kind 

 and encouraging private letter, wrote 

 as follows : 



" I was readint: an editorial in one of my papers 

 quite recently, that said "editors are tlie hardest 

 worked and least appreciated people in the uni- 

 verse.' I am afraid there is some trnth in it. But 

 there is a silent influence in every sentence writ- 

 ten by these untiring worliers, of which they have 

 not the least conception ; influence-* that improve 

 and elevnte the reader, help to make the world 

 morally better, and help to advance science and 

 acientiflc bee-culture. iVlany treasures of golden 

 thoughts we gather from the pens of these noble 

 men. God bless them every one !" 



Since receiving the above letter, we 

 have often thought over the passage 

 quoted, and wondered if the majority 

 of readers had as keen an appreciation 

 of editors' work and labor as our cor- 

 respondent, it occurring more recently 

 to our mind while looking over the 

 last volume of the American Bee 

 Journal. And we felt curious to 

 know liow many among its subscribers 

 had a just appreciation of tlie arduous 

 labor requiied to conduct a publica- 

 tion like the Journal successfully, 

 and what a severe tax the editorial 

 duties are on a person's time, strength 

 and. patience. To most people it 

 probably seems a very simple matter ; 

 they receive their i)aper week after 

 week, read it, and then toss it aside 

 without once thinking of the hard 

 work — expenditures of time and 

 brains— required in its production. 

 But to those ' behind the scenes ' it is 

 different, for they can fully appre- 

 ciate, from personal experience, the 

 amount of hard, unremitting, unceas- 

 ing work that it has taken to elevate 

 and keep the Journal to the stand- 

 ard of excellence ii has attained.'" 



It is true that only a few ever think 

 of the many weary hours spent in the 

 production of the Weekly Bee Jour- 

 nal. We have heretofore labored 

 almost incessantly in the office and at 

 our desk, and should continue to do 

 so, were it not for the fact that our 

 physical system can no longer endure 

 it — and for the present we shall cease 

 snch labors at night. The Bee Jour- 

 nal will, however, not be suffered to 

 deteriorate from " that standard of 

 excellence " which the Bee-Keepers' 

 histructor so kindly says " it has 

 attained." 



Tlie Prospect for Fruit.— April, with 

 its cold and unpleasant weather, was 

 not very encouraging. So tar. May is 

 " like unto it," but we look hopefully 

 to the coming days of this month. By 

 our exchanges we notice that the 

 small fruit is not injured much in this 

 region. The Anna, 111., Farmer and 

 Fruit Grower says tliere will in all 

 probability be enough to keep the 



usual fruit train running. The Prai- 

 rie Farmer says : " Peaches in the 

 Alton and St. Louis districts were 

 somewhat injured, but of most varie- 

 ties there will be a fair supply. Cher- 

 ries promise well. Apples will be 

 abundant, everywhere, unless some- 

 thing unforeseen befalls them. On the 

 whole we look for an ample supply of 

 the usual fruits in most localities 

 throughout the Northwest." Vennor 

 predicts a cool summer, followed by 

 an xniusually severe winter — but his 

 recent failures rob the prediction of 

 much of its weight. 



More Malevolence. — It will be re- 

 membered that in the Bee Journal 

 for April 12, page 225, we stated that 

 we had refused some articles from 

 Jlr. C. J. Robinson because he stig- 

 matized Messrs. Langstroth, Miner, 

 Howard, Cook, Kohnke and others as 

 "cranks" — using personal abuse in- 

 stead of arguments. In the Bee- 

 Keepers' Exchange for May, page 121, 

 he says : 



" Newman in Ids A. B. J. held me 

 up as a crank, because I reflected on 

 the dealings between Parsons and the 

 (U.S.)Department. Both Newman and 

 Langstroth are probably dupes of the 

 Wiley Parsons, " etc. 



We refused to let him call our cor- 

 respondents " cranks " and other abu- 

 sive names— ttierefore we held him up 

 as a crank ! Such is his assertion — 

 but it is wholly untrue ! 



In 1878 we were "introduced" to 

 Mr. Parsons, while attending the 

 National Convention in New York, 

 but had no conversation with him 

 then, and have never seeti or heard 

 from him since. It is silly to say we 

 are his " dupe ;" our only fault being 

 that we will not use the Bee Jour- 

 nal to condemn him, unheard, simply 

 because one man sees fit to denounce 

 him for sometliing said to have oc- 

 curred a quarter of a century ago, 

 and of which we know nothing ! If 

 for this we are to be abused so per- 

 sistently — let it come. Our conscious- 

 ness of right will balance the ac- 

 count. 



^" We regret to learn that Mr. R. 

 L. Shoemaker, of Newcomerstown, 

 O., while manufactiu'ing bee hives, 

 was badly injured by a block of wood 

 thrown from a rip saw which entirely 

 took out one of his eyes, and other- 

 wise disabled him. We learn that he 

 is re'coveriug, and just able to set up 

 a little while. If this accident has de- 

 layed the execution of orders for 



material, of course this is sufficient 

 excuse. We do not know of any, but 

 perhaps some may have been delayed. 



1^" A private letter from Mr. C. 

 Tite, of Yeovil, England, and a copy 

 of the Western Qazettel, informs us that 

 Englishmen are waking up to their in- 

 terests, and that lectures on bee-keep- 

 ing by gentry, clergymen and others 

 are being delivered frequently in many 

 parts of that country, and experts are 

 givingpublic manipulations with bees, 

 either in connection with the lectures 

 or at times and places that are then 

 announced. The prices for a swarm 

 of bees varies from 10s. to 15s. ; a 

 colony of Ligurians (Italians) in a 

 movable frame hive being aljout £2. 

 The standard frame unanimously 

 adopted by the British Bee-Keepers' 

 Association is S?.iXl4 inches, outside, 

 and will hold 6 sections 4x4J^ inches, 

 which is adopted as the standard size 

 of section for comb honey. 



Preininiiis. — Those who get up clubs 

 for the Weekly Bee Journal for 

 1882, will be entitled to the following 

 premiums. Their own subscription 

 may count in the club : 



For a Club of 3,— a copy of " Bees and Honey." 

 " " 3,— an Emerson Binder lor 18S2. 



" 4,— Apiary Register for 50 Colonies, 



or Cook's (Bee) Manual, paper. 



5,— " *' cloth. 



" " 6,— Weekly Bee Journal for 1 year, 



or Apiary Register for 200 Col's. 



Or they may deduct 10 per cent in cash 

 for their labor in getting up the club. 



^" " Mrs. Mayburn's Twins," with 

 lier trials with them in the morning, 

 noon, afternoon and evening of one 

 day, by John llabberton, author of 

 " Helen's Bisbies." has already passed 

 to a second edition. The New York 

 Sun, in an editorial notice of it, says : 

 " It is a most interesting, wholesome, 

 and instructive picture of certain 

 pliases of married life. We commend 

 it to the tlioughtful attention of all 

 young husbands. No better book has 

 been published this year, than 'Mrs. 

 Mayburn's Twins,' by John Habber- 

 ton. All wives should own it, and all 

 husbands should profit by it. It is 

 published by T. B. Peterson & 

 Brotliers, No. 30G Chestnut Street, 

 Philadelphia. 



^" Always forward ns money either 

 by postal "order, registered letter, or 

 by draft on Chicago or New York. 

 Drafts on other cities, or local checks, 

 are not taken by the banks in this city 

 except at a discount of 2.5 cents, to pay 

 expense of collecting them. 



^" Binders cannot be sent to Can- 

 ada by mail— the International law 

 will not permit anything but samples 

 of merchandise weighing less than S oz. 



