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THE AMERICAISl BEE JOURNAL. 



spired Huber must influence all who 

 aspire to rank among his disciples. 

 No man succeeds very much in any 

 line of things which does not stir him 

 with lively interest. But this alone is 

 not enough. The true bee-keeper 

 must have keen perceptions, and be 

 at once of an observant and reflective 

 turn of mind. He must be a modern 

 Job for patience, and a modern Bruce 

 for perseverance. No matter what 

 his natural aptitudes may be, he will 

 make serious mistakes at first, and 

 needs to learn thatj as Napoleon was 

 wont to say, " He is not the best gen- 

 eral who makes no mistakes, but he 

 who repairs them as quickly and as 

 thoroughly as possible." He must not 

 be irrascible, for in that quality the 

 bees are more than a match for the 

 most irrascible of mortals. He must 

 have perfect self-control, for if a man 

 cannot control himself, he may rest 

 assured that he cannot control the 

 denizens of the bee-hive. He must 

 be sanguine and hopeful, for he will 

 see many dark days. His motto must 

 be:— 



"Never give up ; it is wiser and better. 

 Always to hope tuan once to despair." 



He must have a mind for details, and 

 regard nothing as trivial that has to 

 do with the welfare of a colony or an 

 apiary. " Unconsidered trifles " have 

 often led to important discoveries, 

 and astonishing results, and the man 

 who is naturally prone to be negligent 

 of apparently little things must either 

 conquer that habit or come to the con- 

 clusion that he is not adapted to shine 

 as a bee-keeper. 



Lastly, at the risk of being laughed 

 at by certain apiarists who can take 

 bees to bed with them and sleep un- 

 disturbed, I shall venture to specify, 

 a certain indifference to stings, which 

 is characteristic of a few of the hu- 

 man family. There is no denying the 

 fact that some people are higiily sen- 

 sative to the virus of the bee, while 

 on others it has little or no effect. 

 Some curious experiences have been 

 had in this line, of which truly in- 

 telligent bee-keepers will take note. 

 It has been a favorite idea with many 

 that when you become accustomed to 

 being stung by bees, you cease to 

 mind it. I was of that opinion at one 

 time myself. I had become hardened 

 to the thing until I did not mind a 

 bee-sting more than a pin-prick. But 

 on a luckless day I got a sting from a 

 furious Italian just on the middle tip 

 of my upper lip, which resulted in 

 several hours' intense agony and a 

 week's sickness. Ever since then, a 

 sting in any part of the body results 

 in a renewal of those painful effects. 

 The virus at once flies to the head, 

 and causes the greatest distress. I 

 am aware that in thus speaking I 

 issue my own death warrant, as a bee- 

 keeper, but I am at the same time 

 stating facts which " nobody can 

 deny." I am precluded from keeping 

 bees except on a small scale, as an 

 amateur, from purely scientific in- 

 terest, and with the use of precautions 

 in the way of gloves and veil, such as 

 thicker-skinned and more hardened 

 bee-keepers despise. But I lay it 

 down as a maxim that unfortunate 

 people who are keenly sensitive to the 



effects of stinging, had better give 

 bee-keeping, as a business, " a good 

 letting alone." 



In addition to the natural aptitude 

 which has been imperfectly sketched, 

 an education in bee-keeping must be 

 obtained. It matters little how this 

 is done, provided it be thorough. Let 

 no one rush into bee-keeping imper- 

 fectly equipped with knowledge on 

 the subject. It is positively ridiculous 

 to see how some people act in regard 

 to this matter. They seem to suppose 

 that they have only to get a few 

 colonies of bees and they are com- 

 pletely set up in the business. Their 

 next step is to invent a hive or some 

 wonderful improvement that is to 

 eclipse everything in the market. 

 After a little spluttering and flourish- 

 ing they give up in disgust what they 

 ought never to have attempted. 



It is no doubt possible for a tyro in 

 bee-keeping to become self-educated 

 in a sense. With the invaluable bee 

 books and excellent bee journals that 

 are available, the theory can easily 

 be mastered. Then comes the practi- 

 cal part, and " aye, there's the rub." 

 To manage bees with an eye to profit 

 from honey production, is an attain- 

 ment far beyond mere theory, how- 

 ever correct. I do not think this can 

 be gained in any other way so quickly 

 or so well as for the beginner to ap- 

 prentice himself to some good practi- 

 cal bee-keeper, and happy is he who 

 has the opportunity of so doing. I 

 am inclined to believe that our best 

 bee-keepers will have to start schools 

 of apiculture, as indeed some have 

 already done. It may be so arranged 

 as to be an advantage to them as well 

 as to tlieir pupils. Besides these 

 private schools, apiculture should be 

 taught both in theory and practice in 

 agricultural colleges. The Michigan 

 Agricultual College has set a good ex- 

 ample in this respect, which ought to 

 be followed by every similar institu- 

 tion on the continent of North Amer- 

 ica. Bee-keeping has now reached 

 such proportions that it ought not to 

 be ignored at those educational es- 

 tablishments which are devoted to 

 the development of rural industries. 

 As a source of national revenue it 

 takes rank with general farming, 

 stock raising, dairying, and similar 

 out-door pursuits. As a science, bee- 

 keeping covers a large field of re- 

 search, and as an art, requires instruc- 

 tion quite as extensive as some other 

 rural industries. This meeting will 

 only be acting in harmony with its 

 design and legitimate functions in 

 making a strong deliverance on this 

 subject. Bee-keeping has quite long 

 enough been left to chance and hap- 

 hazard. It becomes those who are 

 familiar with its wants and possibili- 

 ties to exalt it to a proper position be- 

 side other occupations, and to demand 

 for it suitable educational facilities. 



What I have said is intended to be 

 introductory to an earnest and thor- 

 ough discussion of the whole matter, 

 and if it secures this my object wiU be 

 secured. 



Northwestern ConTention. 



The Northwestern Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will hold its fourth annual 

 convention at Owsley's Hall, N. W. 

 corner Roby and West Madison Sts., 

 Chicago, 111., on Wednesday and 

 Thursday, October 17 and 18, 1883, 

 commencing at 10 a. m. on Wednes- 

 day and holding five sessions. 



The Rev. L. L. Langstroth (the 

 father of American apicluture) has 

 promised to be present, and many of 

 the most prominent apiarists of the 

 Northwest will be there and aid in 

 the deliberations and discussions. 



This meeting will be held during 

 the last week of the Inter-State In- 

 dustrial Exposition, and reduced 

 railroad fares may be had on nearly 

 all the railroads. A cordial invitation 

 is extended to bee-keepers every 

 where to attend this annual reunion. 



Meals may be obtained at the Res- 

 taurant near the Hall at 25 cts. each. 



Beds may be secured at the Gault 

 House for $1, or at other Hotels at 

 regular rates. 



Thos. G. Newman, Sec. 



C. C. Miller, Pres. 



i^" The sixth annual meeting of 

 the Northern Michigan Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will be held at Stone's 

 Opera Hall, Sheridan, Montcalm 

 county, Mich., on Tuesday and Wed- 

 nesday, Oct. 9 and 10, to open at 10 a. 

 m. of the first day. Evening sessions 

 will be held, which will be interest- 

 ing. At our last meeting it was re- 

 quested that all interested in apicul- 

 ture attend, and all who would, and 

 could, furnish for exhibition apiarian 

 supplies in the way of hives, extrac- 

 tors, implements used in the apiary, 

 honey, honey-producing plants, and 

 anything that would be interesting to 

 a bee-keeper. Ample arrangements 

 liave been made to entertain all who 

 will come. Let us have a general 

 turn out, and see what we can learn 

 one of the other. It will be a dull 

 scholar who cannot profit by such a 

 gathering. Peel assured we shall 

 have an interesting time. 



Geo. W. Stanton, Pres. 



O. R. GooDNO, -Sec. 



AdTertisements intended for the Bee 

 Journal must reach this ofiice by 

 Saturday of the previous week. 



®° The Iowa Central Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will hold its regular 

 annual meeting on Friday, Nov. 2, 

 1883, at the Court House, in Winter- 

 set, Madison county, Iowa. All bee- 

 keepers are cordially invited to attend, 

 and let us have one of the best meet- 

 ings we have ever held in the State. 

 J. E. Pryor, Sec. 



Arbor Hill, Iowa. 



i®" Please announce that the Iowa 

 Central Association, will meet at Win- 

 terset, Iowa, Nov. 2, 1883. 



Z. G. COOLEY, Sec. pro tern. 



