1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



603 



No; not dishonest, by any means, but the work of a careless 

 boy. I once saw on exhibition at a Fair crates of honey which 

 looked fine in front, but naany of the crates contained honey 

 unfit for table use. Do you not think such things affect the 

 honey market ? 



However, the people who guard against all of these things 

 and try to give the customer Just what ho buys, are not 

 troubled very long about a market for honey or anything else. 



Car)zidmr) Bccdorr)^ 



The North American Convention at Toronto. 



The Toronto convention is just over, and I propose to 

 write some jottings in regard to it, not with a view of giving 

 complete details of the proceedings, or in any way forestalling 

 the report which will be promptly furnished by the Secretary, 

 Mr. Hutchinson, but simply to put an record some general im- 

 pressions of the meeting while they are fresh and vivid, for 

 the benefit of those who were not fortunate enough to be 

 there. 



In the first place, thanks mainly to the forethought and 

 energy of Pres. Holtermann, the preliminary arrangements 

 were made very thoroughly, and worked without a hitch. 

 This remark applies both to the hotel accommodations and the 

 facilities for the public gatherings. "Mine host," of the 

 Palmer House, carried out his promises to the letter, and 

 spared no pains to make his guests comfortable. The audito- 

 rium of the Normal School was a splendid place of meeting ; 

 the beautiful grounds, the easy access to the elegant hall, the 

 classic surroundings, the corridors filled with statuary of the 

 great literary lights of the past, the efficient caretaking, the 

 absolute quiet of the surroundings, all combined to make an 

 ideal place of assembly. 



It was a joint meeting of the North American Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association and the Ontario Bee-Keepers' Association, the 

 former of which, as the older and continental organization, as 

 well as by courtesy the guests and visitors of the latter, nat- 

 urally took the lead, and had precedence accorded to it. Spe- 

 cial interest was given to the occasion by the presence of Rev. 

 L. L. Langstroth, the father of bee-keeping in North Ameri- 

 ca. Through the thoughtful generosity of a few friends who 

 judged that a Northern trip would do him good, now that, 

 happily, his health is in a measure recuperated, and his at- 

 tendance at the meeting would add a pleasing feature to it, 

 the means were furnished to enable him to come, and to make 

 him comfortable while here. He was received with every 

 mark of respect, the convention rising to receive him, and 

 remaining standing while he was conducted to a seat of 

 honor. Owing to deafness, he could not take part in the pro- 

 ceedings farther than to address the meeting several times, 

 which he did with surprising strength of voice and clearness 

 of intellect, considering that he is in his 85th year. All 

 joined in hearty greetings and best wishes for continued long 

 life, prosperity and happiness to the G. O. M. of American 

 bee-keeping. 



There was a good, though not very large, attendance of 

 representative bee-keepers from both sides of the lines, al- 

 though there were some conspicuous and much-regretted 

 absences. Among these none was more generally felt than 

 that of Dr. Miller. The genial Doctor is a convention in him- 

 self. There was another doctor on hand, however, one of the 

 same type — Dr. Mason, of Auburndale, Ohio, who looked, as 

 he is, the impersonation of good nature, cheerfulness and fun. 

 As we say and sing on this side of the lines, " for he's a jolly 

 good fellow," which nobody can deny. The Doctor also 

 looked the embodiment of good health, as a doctor should do 

 to advertise and recommend his profession. I wish this latter 

 remark could be truthfully made of two other distinguished 

 visitors from the United States — Thos. G. Newman and A. 1. 

 Root, both of whom are in feeble health, and only the shadow 

 of their former selves. Mr. Newman, however, showed that 

 although the outward man is out of repair, the inward man is 

 as vigorous as ever. His masterly address — oration it might 

 be called without any flattery — on the objects, work and 

 achievements of the National Bee-Keepers' Union, delivered 

 with great fervor and power, was the gem of the meeting. 

 Mr. Root was, as usual, very silent, and played truant from 

 the meeting a good deal, as he generally does, running around 

 to see the gardens and conservatories, of which there are 

 many in Toronto, far more than can be visited In the course 

 of a two days' stay. 



Mr. G. M. Doolittle — the worst misnamed man, surely, on 

 the face of the earth — was present, to the great delight of 

 many who knew him well through his admirable writings, but 

 had never before met him. Like Dr. Mason, he has a splen- 

 did physique, and is the picture of good health, overflowing 

 cheerfulness, and kind feeling toward everybody. 



This meeting was also notable from the large attendance 

 of lady members. Usually the queens of society have only 

 been present in small numbers, but this time they were out in 

 force. The "Home of the EIoney-Bees," at Medina, Ohio, 

 was represented by two young ladies — daughters of Mr. A. I. 

 Root — chaperoned by Mr. J. T. Calvert, a run-away Canadian, 

 who, having wandered around till ho struck the Root estab- 

 lishment, succeeded in rooting himself there, by marrying the 

 eldest daughter of the family, for which piece of good fortune 

 he is to be congratulated, though his gain was our loss. 



The bee-journal editors also were out in full force. Mr. 

 York, of the '• old reliable " American Bee Journal ; Mr. A. I. 

 Root, editor of Gleanings ; Mr. W. Z. Hutchinson, of the Bee- 

 Keepers' Review ; Mr. Holtermann, editor of the Canadian 

 Bee Journal ; W. P. Clarke, agricultural editor of the Mon- 

 treal Witness, and a frequent contributor to the bee-journals, 

 made up a quintette of members of the fourth estate not 

 often present at one and the same time. 



Other distinguished Americans present, were : Mr. Aspin- 

 wall, a famous inventor of agricultural implements, among 

 them the celebrated Aspinwall Potato Planter, and the Aspin- 

 wall non-swarraing bee-hive; Mr. Ira Barber of New York 

 State, who winters his bees in the torrid zone ; and others 

 " too numerous to mention." Among Canadian bee-keeping 

 notables were Mr. J. B. Hall, President of the Ontario Bee- 

 Keepers' Association ; Mr. McEvoy, Foul Brood Inspector ; 

 Mr. Holtermann, lecturer on bee-keeping at the Ontario Agri- 

 cultural College; Messrs. McKnight, Pringle, Pettit, Post, 

 Darling, Wells, Holmes, Hoshall, Emigh, Gemmill, and other 

 noted Canadian bee-men. I hope I have not omitted any who 

 should be named with distinction, but I write from mtoory, 

 not having a full list of attendants before me. 



The most important matter discussed was the proposed 

 amalgamation of the North American Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion and the National Bee-Keepers' Union. Mr. Newman's 

 masterly effort in regard to this matter has been already men- 

 tioned. There was a spirited discussion in which Dr. Mason, 

 Mr. York, W. F. Clarke, and others participated. The out- 

 come of it was a proposed scheme of union, the development 

 of which was left to a committee consisting of Dr. Mason, 

 Messrs. Newman, Gemmill, Calvert, Holmes, Eugene Secor 

 and R. F. Holtermann. Space will not admit of going into 

 details, but the prospect is fair for a consolidation of the two 

 bodies, which will conserve the interests of the National Bee- 

 Keepers' Union, and put new life into the North American 

 Bee-Keepers' Association under the name and style of the 

 North American Bee-Keepers' Union — a consummation most 

 devoutly to be wished. 



Among the topics introduced by essays, and discussed, 

 were: "The Surest and Best Way of Producing a Crop of 

 Comb Honey," by B. Taylor, of Forestville, Minn.; "Intro- 

 ducing Queens," by S. T. Pettit; "Who Shall Winter Bees 

 Out-of-Doors— Who in the Cellar?" by F. A. Gemmill ; " Mis- 

 takes of Bee-Keepers and Bee-Journals," by Allen Pringle ; 

 " Some Things of Interest to Bee-Keepers," by G. M. Doo- 

 little ; and " Legislation for Bee-Keepers," by R. McKnight. 

 The discussion ou the last-named subject was rather hot and 

 peppery, but the general verdict at the close of it was, "no- 

 body hurt." 



Early in the meeting an admirable address of welcome 

 was made by Hon. John Dryden, Minister of Agriculture for 

 the Province of Ontario ; also an able summary of what is 

 being done for the promotion of bee-keeping in the Ontario 

 Agricultural College, by Dr. Mills, President of the institu- 

 tion. A lectureship was begun by way of experiment in 1890. 

 During four years a class of 30 to 60 members was con- 

 ducted by W. F. Clarke. The experiment was considered 

 successful enough to warrant the establishment of a perma- 

 nent lectureship, which is now in charge of R. F. Holtermann. 



There was a full attendance at the evening sessions, but 

 the number present was somewhat thinned during the day in 

 consequence of the Toronto Industrial Fair, to which the 

 managers gave the bee-keepers free access, and for which 

 they were duly and cordially thanked by the convention. 



Altogether, we Canadians think that our guests and vis- 

 itors had a good time, and that the annual meeting of the 

 North American Bee-Keepers' Association of 1895 will be 

 remembered as a red-letter one, and will mark the dawn of a 

 brighter and better epoch in the history of the organization. 

 " So mote it be." 



