150 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Mar. 7, 



style of haughty grandeur, extremely technical, and wherever 

 possible use Latin and French terms, and an abundance of 

 irony and sarcasm ! 



At first glance you may not see the wisdom of such edi- 

 torial work, therefore lot me explain. Your problem is, to lift 

 the apicultural literature of to-day from a state of partial 

 degradation, and put it back to that standard of perfection as 

 Bro. Heddon saw it, "years ago" (I suppose he refers to the 

 time when "bee-gums" were in fashion). Now, in order to 

 accomplish this— in order to eliminate this /oitif brood, stifle 

 this paralysis, exterminate these drones and parasites which 

 threaten the "spinal column of our business," an heroic 

 treatment must necessarily be adopted. You must impress 

 upon your readers, and especially your correspondents, your 

 own perfect and superior knowledge of everything pertaining 

 to apiculture ; they must realize how little and insignificant 

 they appear beside" sucb an intellectual giant ! And the effect 

 of it? Why, you would see it at once, in your bank account, 

 and in your subscription list (i. c, if your subscribers do not 

 pay too far in advance !). This course might not agree very 

 well with your own spinal column — but the other? Why, 

 bless you, my dear fellow, there is no telling how much " the 

 spinal column of our business " would be benefitted by such 

 an elevating of the apicultural literature of to-day ! 



3rd. The last and most important reform, which you must 

 inaugurate in order that your journal may attain and main- 

 tain that high degree of excellence End perfection, and one 

 which would cause the bleeding heart of every member of the 

 aforesaid spinal column (not yours) to leap into his or her 

 throat for joy, has reference to the mechanical and business 

 departments — which I can put in a few words, viz.: 



Increase the size and volume of your journal to twice its 

 present size and capacity; print only on extra-sized and super 

 calendered book-paper, of the finest quality and of heavy 

 weight ; illuminated cover, with a fresh lithographic illustra- 

 tion of an apicultural character on the title page of each num- 

 ber ; raise your subscription price to 85.00 per annum, and 

 your advertising rates to $4.00 per agate line — per insertion 

 — no discount for large space or long time contracts! The 

 advertising columns of your journal would soon be changed 

 into sweetness and purity, white and clean as the driven 

 snow with the mercury at 30 below. You might have diffi- 

 culty in making both ends come together well, but this you 

 could easily overcome by supplying a few extra links when- 

 ever necessary in the form of tens, twenties and fifties from 

 your private exchequer ! But you would have the satisfaction 

 of ridding the columns of your journal of the supply dealer, 

 the queen-breeder, the inventor of all the various adjustable, 

 automatic, self-spacing, self-acting, reversible, non-swarming, 

 wire-bottom, queon-and-drone-excluding, non-conducting, in- 

 destructible, time-and-labor-saving devices ; the honey-dealers 

 and va.-jcus other drones and barnacles that are now sapping 

 „Le life-blood, aye, the very marrow out of " the spinal column 

 of our business !" These would all flee like rodents from a 

 burning ship. They would know that they are not wanted. 



What a grand achievement! Contemplate this glorious 

 triumph ! Behold yourself, Mr. Editor, perched upon the 

 highest pinnacle of fame — the very apex of the aforesaid 

 spinal column ! Physically, from the terrible strain of this 

 stupendous contest, more than likely you would succumb — but 

 what is the sacrifice of one hero as compared to the salvation 

 of many ? Rest assured, however, you would never be for- 

 gotten. A magnificent shaft would mark your last resting 

 place, with this epitaph : — 



" ALAS, POOR TOKRICK !" 



He labored "honestly, earnestly, fearlessly and conscien- 

 tiously " to save " the spinal column of our busi- 

 ness," and — broke his own back ! 



Requiescat in pace. 



Pardon me, Mr. Editor, for occupying so much of your 

 valuable space, but I do feel like adding an earnest word of 

 encouragement and congratulation to you. I know what it is 

 to be a publisher and an editor. I know what the cost is, and 

 what the income ought to be, but usually is not. 1 know the 

 many difficulties and obstacles by which an editor is hampered, 

 because I have been there myself. I can say honestly and 

 frankly, that your journal will compare favorably in quality 

 of contents, in variety of topics, in general make-up, and par- 

 ticularly in typographical appearance, with any other class 

 journal of the same price extant. Your co-workers and prin- 

 cipal correspondents seem to be men of honest purpose in 

 writing on the various topics relating to apiculture, and I 

 have often wondered that you were able to secure so much 

 excellent talent; and I believe that every intelligent, unbiased 



bee-keeper who reads your journal, will agree with me in say- 

 ing that 52 numbers of the American Bee Journal are worth 

 just .^10 — if they take enough interest in apiculture to read it 

 regularly and thoroughly. 



Your faithful and progressive eflorts in the interest of 

 apiculture deserve not only the support and co-operation of 

 every progressive bee-keeper, but also the most substantial 

 and liberal patronage of every one who can make the use of 

 your advertising columns profitable. Evanston, 111. 



[Thank you, Mr. Hoffman, both for the kind testimonial 

 for the American Bee Journal with which you close your 

 eloquent article, and for the clear and comprehensive manner 

 in which you have elucidated the " vague ideas " of a wonder- 

 ful would-be critic ! As I now fully understand what is neces- 

 sary to a perfect bee-literature ; and as no doubt my readers 

 must by this time be aware of the true spirit which prompted 

 the writing of the most useless essay in question (and which 

 never should have been assigned in the first place), this num- 

 ber will be a good one with which to end further discussion 

 on this subject in the American Bee Journal. — Editor.] 



That Italian Bee-History — Not Historical Facts^ 

 but Unreliable Statements. 



Reply to C. J. Robinson, the Historian— 



By M. M. Baldndge, of the "Far West." 



The Good Book says : " All men are liars." Now, if this 

 be true, then both Mr. Robinson and I are included. I plead 

 guilty, of course! " Whom the gods would destroy, they first 

 make mad." The latter part of that citation must apply, I 

 think, to Mr. R. 



As there has been a change of weather since my article 

 on page 311 (1894) was written, I will now resume and con- 

 clude my examination of what I designated therein as " simply 

 a symposium of unreliable statements." They will be found 

 on pages 118 to 120 of the American Bee Journal for 1894, 

 and I will do my very best to give them substantially as 

 printed : 



1. I challenge an? one. says Mr. RobinBon, to point out any incor- 

 rect statement recorded by me. 



Before I am through, I think even Mr. R. will admit that 

 I have pointed out not only one misstatement, but several of 

 them. Now keep both eyes and ears open and see. 



2. Mr. Parsons says in his oUiolal report, made to the Chief of the 

 Patent Offlce, and printed on page 543 of the Agricultural Report for 

 1859, that "he purchased ten (10) colonies of Italian bees for the 

 government, and ten (10) colonies for himself." 



Now there is not one word in the report Mr. R. refers to 

 about Mr. Parsons buying any bees for himself ! I know this 

 is true, for that Report lies right in front of me as I write 

 this. And there is no excuse for such a misstatement from 

 one who claims to be a reliable historian. 



3. Mr. Parsons reported that he made a contract with one Mr. 

 Hermann to buy ten (10) colonies of Italian bees for the Patent Office, 

 and personally to transport them, in original hives, to America, but 

 Mr. H. sent an Austrian, a Mr. Bodmer. instead. 



I don't know what report Mr. R. refers to for this state- 

 ment, but I do know that Mr. Hermann was not to accompany 

 Mr. Parson's first purchase of ten (10) colonies of Italian 

 bees, and in original hives, to America ; and I also know that 

 Mr. Bodmer did not accompany them at all. In short, no one 

 catne to America in charge of said purchase. The truth is, 

 Mr. R., by not knowing the facts, has two separate importa- 

 tions of Italians so mixed up in his head that I must, by and 

 by, try to explain matters more fully, then he will see the 

 blunder he has made. 



4. Mr. Langstroth saj-s. on page 82 of the Bee Journal for 1881, 

 that said bees were landed In New Fork April 19, 1860. 



No, no, Mr. Langstroth has said nothing of the kind. He 

 simply said that one of the importations of Italian bees was 

 landed at that date, but Mr. L. did not say that it was the 

 first importation of Italian bees that was landed there through 

 Mr. Parsons' efforts. It may be news to Mr. R., and perhaps 

 for the first time, to learn through me, that the ten (10) colo- 

 nies of Italian bees were not in cigar-boxes, but in original 

 hives, and that they were landed in New Y'ork several months 

 prior to April 19, 1860. A few of those bees were still alive, 



