THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



293 



For thp Amoncnn Jloo Journnl. 



Anti - Monopoly. 



WM. F. CLARKE. 



That it is possible to overstock an 

 apicultural area is readily admitted ; 

 but liow many colonies "of bees are 

 sufficient to do it, is a point on which 

 there is difference of opinion. I have 

 an impression tliat :Mr. IIedd<in un- 

 derrates the lioney-yieldint; capacity of 

 his own locality, and that, while there 

 is a substratum of truth in what he 

 says, he betrays the over-sensitive- 

 ness of a professional specialist, and 

 is too much enamored with the charm 

 of monopoly. But, be this as it may, 

 I wish to submit to Mr. Ileddon and 

 others of his way of thiukiui?, that 

 " locating and occupying a field " by 

 no means covers the whole ground of 

 this discussion. It also embraces the 

 important point of enlarging a field 

 by providing bee pasturage. 



Mr. Ileddon's article assumes that 

 a field is to be estimated according to 

 its honey resources as developed by 

 accident. It does this by implication 

 rather than by direct assertion. But, 

 next to the question how much honey 

 a locality will yield left to chance, 

 there arises the question what more 

 it may be made to yield by a judicious 

 provision of plants that produce the 

 luscious nectar which bees love to 

 gather? This question has not es- 

 caped Mr. Ileddon's attention. Few- 

 things do that have any bearing on 

 apicultural success. lie has bought a 

 tract of land out of the profits of bee- 

 keeping, and is "rowing a variety of 

 honey-yielding plants. lie has sown 

 the waste places around Dowagiac. 

 even the gravel-pits with melilot, and 

 shows visitors, with pride, the rap- 

 idly-increasing breadth of this and 

 other bee forage. 



This may be done to almost an un- 

 limited extent. There are districts in 

 Germany where bee-keeping is the 

 leading industry, and where the farm- 

 ing is carried on with a special eye 

 to providing for the bees. " God bless 

 the bees " is a common petition in the 

 public prayers of the pastors in those 

 localities, and as we should always 

 try to answer our own prayers when 

 we can, the people sow honey-produc- 

 ing plants, by means of which both 

 the bees and the bee-keepers are blest. 

 Bee-keeping is yet in its infancy in 

 many respects, in this matter of pro- 

 viding bee forage among the rest, and 

 by-and-by we shall not only ask. Is 

 this a good field for honey-gathering, 

 but is it capable of beingmade one ? 

 Or, being already good, can it be 

 mside better V 



Mr. Ileddon looks at this matter too 

 exclusively from the stand-point of 

 bee-keeping as a specialty. Now, 

 while I believe it absurd to expect 

 every man to be his own honey-pro- 

 ducer, and hold that none s"hould 

 keep bees but those who have natural 

 and acquired qualifications for so 



doing, I consider that there is a legiti- 

 mate sphere for bee-keeping in a 

 small way, in the case of many iier- 

 soiis who are not professional apicul- 

 turists. The old British idea that 

 bees are properly part of the live- 

 stock of the farm, and that no farm 

 is completely stocked unless it can 

 boast a few hives, is, to a certain ex- 

 tent, correct. A mixed husban<lry is 

 the true theory of farming. There 

 are cases in which a farmer may 

 wisely devote his attention to some 

 agricultural specialty, but they are 

 few and rare, comjiared with those in 

 which the true policy is to raise a va- 

 riety of products. As a rule, a farm 

 should produce not only milk, but 

 honey. A well-managed bee-hive is 

 as profitable as an average cow. Make 

 allowance for the proportion of farm- 

 ers who have no natural aptitude for 

 bee-keeping, or will not qualify them- 

 selves for taking intelligent care of 

 bees, and still there are a large num- 

 ber left who might easily keep 10 or 

 12 colonies of bees each, and find the 

 profit of so doing a helpful item in 

 the yearly income. Usually, there is 

 a member of the family whose duties 

 lie in the house, who could hive a 

 swarm of bees ; or, at any rate, watch 

 at swarming time, and blow the horn 

 to call the farmer up from the field 

 when there is hiving to be done. 



iJesides the farmers who might keep 

 bees on a limited scale to advantage, 

 there is the village shoemaker who 

 would find it a pleasant change from 

 his bench to look after a few colonies. 

 The woman who takes in washing, 

 the poorly-paid school-master or min- 

 ister, and a host of others. The pro- 

 fessional gardener does not argue that 

 because he has started a market 

 garden in a neighborhood, others 

 must keep out the business and peo- 

 ple in general abstain from making 

 gardens. Even at horticultural shows, 

 there is a distinction recognized be- 

 tween the amateur and tlie profes- 

 sional, and the legitimacy of garden- 

 ing on a small scale, and as a side- 

 show, is admitted. 



A woman, compelled by circum- 

 stances to wash for a living, could 

 make more money with less toil and 

 far more independence, by keeping 

 10 colonies of bees, provided she has, as 

 many women have, a natural apti- 

 tude for bee-keeping, with the addi- 

 tion of the acquired knowledge and 

 experience, and much as I like a well- 

 ironed shirt, I should rather see her a 

 bee-keeper than a washer woman; 

 not because I think the latter calling 

 menial, but because the former is less 

 laborious, and gives more scope for 

 intelligence and the indulgence of a 

 lady's tastes and instincts. Mr. Iled- 

 don will, perhaps, reply that he had 

 not these classes in view when he 

 penned his article, but whether in- 

 tended or not, it seems to me that the 

 whole tenor of bis argument is calcu- 

 lated to discourage the small bee- 

 keeper ; and, looking at the matter 

 from the broad standpoint of the api- 

 cultural interest at large, I do not 

 think it is good policy, or strict jus- 

 tice, to do this even undesignedly. 



Well, then, to join issue fairly and 

 '.squarely, let us look at the Kendall 



illustration. It proceeds on the as- 

 sumption that where one bee-keeper 

 (professional) locates, according to 

 the old Scotch song, " There's iiae 

 room for twa." The same ground 

 might be taken as to village store- 

 keeping. It is a small place, and a 

 merchant is already in the field. He 

 is doing a good business. Another 

 spies out the spot, and thinks he too 

 will open out there. "My friend," 

 says number one. " I can do all the 

 trading needed here. If you start 

 business beside me, yon will seriously 

 lessen my profits, and make very 

 small ones yourself. I calculate to 

 enlarge my store if necessary, and to 

 keep pace with the growth of this 

 village. I want to make a big thing 

 of it, and if you commence, I will 

 undersell you, and drive you out of 

 the field." "Sir," says number two, 

 " I shall be satisfied i'f I can make a 

 comfortable living, and save .some- 

 what. I like tills place, believe it will 

 grow, and think there is enough lor 

 two of us, if we are not over covetous 

 and ambitious." 



It is not a case of " the survival of 

 the fittest," but a question whether 

 iiumlier one shall permit another to 

 " share in his good fare." They go to 

 work, each having his business wits 

 sharpened up to the keenest possible 

 edge. Both become shrewder mer- 

 chants because of the competition, 

 both are more anxious to build up the 

 place that each may do a better busi- 

 ness, and after a little unfriendly 

 rivaling, both learn to " live and let 

 live." Human nature likes to take 

 the cake and eat all of it ; but it is 

 often unavoidable and always benevo- 

 lent to let somebody else have part of 

 it. That we should respect the rights 

 and interests of others, is most true, 

 but it is not always easy to define 

 those rights and fix those interests. 

 It would be a long time before a vil- 

 lage would have a second store, if the 

 prior consent of merchant number one 

 must be had before starting it. The 

 fact is, there are many positions in 

 life which can only be held by the 

 personal ability of the occupant. 

 Rivalry and competition cannot be 

 prevented. We must accept the chal- 

 lengeof RhoderickDhu toFitz James: 



" For this is Coil-and-taiijrle-ford, 

 And thou iiiiist keep it with thy sword." 



The village doctor, the village 

 backsmith, the village hotel keeper, 

 and last, but not least, the village 

 clergyman, are in the same fix as Mr. 

 Iledcion. If they are as competent as 

 he is in their several walks of life, 

 they will hold their own as he has 

 done, or move to " fresh fields and 

 pastures new," as he will doubtless 

 do, when another Heddon mightier 

 than he shall get a footing in Dowa- 

 giac. There is too much of the white 

 feather about this " keep-away-from 

 Dowagiac" proclamation. I would 

 rather hear Mr. Heddon exclaim with 

 Fitz James : 



" Come one, come all, this rock shall fly 

 From its firm base, as soon as I !" 



Mr. Heddon says : " Never locate in 

 a field already occupied," and he ex- 

 plains " occupied " to mean that it has 

 already in its limits a bee-keeper who 



