THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



499 



latter, as would make the former his 

 superior? Let us make the question 

 more aVjrupt : How many thoroughly 

 practical apiarists, in the United 

 States, have you in your mind's eye 

 that you consider competent to im- 

 part a practical education, even in two 

 or three years, that will insure success, 

 unless science be combined with it V 

 We cannot now recall even one suc- 

 cessful apiarist, much of whose time 

 has not for many long years been oc- 

 cupied in acquiring a scientific educa- 

 tion, and whose every progress in 

 science has not been dearly bought 

 with a reverse — and why 't Because 

 the dollars-and- cents standard of the 

 apiary allowed of no interruption in 

 its practical working to investigate 

 scientific problems, until dire neces- 

 sity forced the solution on the apiar- 

 ist, and it became a matter of choice 

 between obviation and ruin. 



ilr. Clarke eloquently eulogizes 

 Prof. Cook, and we believe he rever- 

 ences him as a scientist and respects 

 him as a man. yet we think he does 

 him great injustice with his doubt. 

 That the Professor has never felt 

 called upon to abandon an eminent 

 position, where the benefits derived 

 from his instructions cannot be esti- 

 mated by dollars and cents, to demon- 

 strate that he is eminently practical, 

 should give rise to no doubt of his 

 ability. But were it so. then how 

 necessary that we should have a Pro- 

 fessor of Apiculture, to whom we can 

 look for the scientific facts in connec- 

 tion with our favorite pursuit, know- 

 ing that no one in our ranks is com- 

 prehensive enough to demonstrate all 

 its branches. 



Mr. Clarke agrees with Mr. Heddon, 

 and we agree with Mr. Clarke, and 

 have often so stated, that in the future 

 much of the honey of commerce wiU 

 be produced by specialists. If we are 

 right in our surmise, then how neces- 

 sary that every facility be afforded to 

 acquire the fullest preparatory educa- 

 tion. What argument can be adduced 

 to promote education in the natural 

 sciences, that will not apply with 

 equal force to apiculture in our uni- 

 versities ? Where is the State or com- 

 munity that would not receive its 

 proportion of benefit, through an in- 

 crease in revenue, if this were one of 

 the higher branches taught ? The 

 future history of bee-keeping would 

 not show so many vacant places, 

 caused by the dropping out of those 

 who had placed reliance upon their 

 fancied practical skill, and whose con- 



fidence advanced them beyond their 

 scientific attainments. 



We raise no objection to the estab- 

 lishment of a practical apiary, pro- 

 vided it be under the jurisdiction of 

 the Professor, for it is as absolutely 

 necssary he should have the best fa- 

 cilities for solving his problems and 

 demonstrating their solution, as that 

 the chemist have his crucibles, the 

 astronomer his charts, and the engi- 

 neer his compasses. 



Death of Mr. A. F. Moon. 



■We learn with regret that Mr. A. F. 

 Moon, of Rome, Ga., died at his home, 

 at 4 a.m., on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 1882, 

 aged 58 years. 



Some of our readers will remember 

 that Mr. Moon wrote us a private let- 

 ter, dated Jan. 16. 1S81, concerning his 

 misfortunes, and feeling assured that 

 bee-keepers everywhere deeply sym- 

 pathized with him, we published a 

 portion of it on Feb. 9, 1881, as follows: 



The past has been a most unfortu- 

 nate season with me. I have received 

 no honey, and had no queens or bees 

 to sell, and have not been able to 

 transact any business, on account of 

 my lameness, which ended in the loss 

 of my limb. In fact, I was compelled 

 to go on crutches all the seeson. I 

 am somewhat better now, but have 

 not been to our postoflSce since the 

 11th of last May, which is only 2 blocks 

 from me. This, you know, is hard for 

 a man accustomed to walking and 

 stirring around. The Weekly came 

 in to-day's mail, which just fills the 

 bill ; it is just what all bee-keepers 

 want — a Weekly Bee JouRXAL. Long 

 may it live, with success to its editor. 



For several weeks it was known 

 that the amputation of the entire leg 

 would be necessary, and this was 

 finally submitted to as a dernier resort 

 to save life, on Tuesday Aug. 1, 1SS2. 

 but, alas, he died the very next day. 



Mr. Moon obtained his two first 

 colonies of bees in 1834, when he was 

 11 years of age, by hiring out to get 

 the means to purchase them : he kept 

 bees continually up to the day of his 

 demise — always keeping abreast of 

 the times, by giving the fullest ener- 

 gies of his active mind to progressive, 

 practical and scientific bee-culture : 

 he was a specialist, and at home in 

 every department of apiculture. 



He helped to organize the " Michi- 

 gan Bee-keepers' Association," was 

 one of its first executive committee, 

 and became its second President. 

 At the meeting which organized the 

 "North American Bee-keepers' So- 

 ciety," he was elected Chairman, and 

 though the Kev. L. L. Langstroth was 



elected its first President, being ab- 

 sent. Mr. Moon presided over the first 

 National Convention, in 1870. 



In 1873, he moved to Georgia, and 

 at Rome edited and published Moon^s 

 Bee World for three years, when it 

 was suspended and its subscriptions 

 unfilled, were supplied by the Amer- 

 ican Bee Jourxal. 



Since then his health has been de- 

 clining, and mortality has been strug- 

 gling for the mastery. About a year 

 ago he commenced an article for the 

 Bee JorRXAL in these words : 



" Time, with his sickle, is mowing 

 the days and hours. Seasons come 

 and go ; days and months, like the 

 seasons, succeed each other. Sum- 

 mer, with all the joyous anticipations 

 that could be produced by the warm 

 and genial rays of the sunand change 

 of the season, will soon give place to 

 autumn, and this to cold, bleak win- 

 ter." 



At least " the winter of death '" has 

 come to him. His later articles were 

 written while he was suffering great 

 pain of body, but now that is all over 

 — mortality has triumphed and our 

 friend has been laid low by " the all 

 devouring scythe of time.'" His busy 

 life is ended, and his race is run ! All 

 that is left to us now is to draw " the 

 mantle of charity "over his short com- 

 ings, emulate his earnestness and zeal, 

 and when we, too, are called upon to 

 pass through " the valley of the shad- 

 ow of death." let us hope to be as 

 peaceful and confiding as he ! 



The National ConTention. 



We have received from Prof. Cook 

 the following circular relating to the 

 above convention. We greatly regret 

 we shall not be able to attend, but cir- 

 cumstances beyond our control wiU 

 make our absence imperative. We 

 regret it more especially, as this wiU 

 be a most interesting meeting, and 

 those who can attend will be more 

 than repaid the expense and loss of 

 time: 



The next meeting of the National 

 Bee-keepers" Association promises to 

 be a grand success. Such men as D. 

 A. Jones. A. I. Root. James Heddon. 

 O. O. Poppleton and Dr. J. P. B.. 

 Brown have promised attendance. 



It is expected that the Association 

 will visit in a body, the apiarv of Mr. 

 Hill, of Mount Pleasant, which is one 

 of the best conducted in the States. 



Mr. D. A. Jones will exhibit speci- 

 mens of the bees of the Indies, in- 

 cluding the famous Apis dorsata. 



There will also be exhibited at each 

 intermission, miscroscopic prepara- 

 tions, showing structure of the sting, 

 month-parts, etc., and of the so-caUed 

 dry feces of bees. 



