I'HE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



453 



(^oxxtsponHtxxct. 



This mark O Indicates that the apiarist la 

 located near tne center ol the state named : 

 3 north of the center; 9 south; O* east; 

 ♦O west; and thi8(< northeast: ^northwest; 

 *> southeast; and P southwest of the center 

 of the State mentioned. 



Tlie National Bee-Keepers' Union, 



SECOND ANNUAL KKPUHT. 



To review the work of tbe National 

 Bee-Keepers' Uuion at the end of the 

 secoud year is a very pleasing duty — 

 for we do not discover anything which 

 coidd have been done more satisfac- 

 torily — the results having been all 

 that could be desired. 



The officers were all re-elected by 

 over a two-thirds vote, wilh the ex- 

 ception of the General Manager, who 

 received every vote cast. Regarding 

 this unanimous expression as a " vote 

 of confidence," the Manager entered 

 upon the work of the second year 

 with renewed energies, hoping for a 

 large increase of membership, and a 

 consequent additional influence for 

 the Union. 



Tbe Union Vtctorions Every Time I 



In all the attacks against the pursuit 

 of bee-keeping, which the " National 

 Bee - Keepers' Union " has deemed it 

 expedient to vindicate, it has scored a 

 victory 1 What no individual apiarist 

 could have achieved single-handed, 

 it has satisfactorily accomplished in a 

 short time. 



In the face of this showing, it is 

 strange that any bee-keeper should 

 hesitate to become a member of this 

 organization. It ought to have thou- 

 sands of members where now it has 

 only hundreds. It is to the interest 

 of every apiarist to become a member. 

 Nay. it is not only that, but it is a 

 duty, which, if neglected, will operate 

 to his or her disadvantage. As the 

 Union will defend only its members, 

 ■who became such before any lawsuits 

 were commenced against them— all 

 should take time by the fore-lock, and 

 " join the Union " at once t 



Several " suits " have been allowed 

 to go by default in justices' courts, so 

 that we could '-appear' them, and 

 thus have the decision from the 

 higher courts. This plan has been 

 eminently successful, and productive 

 of good. 



nailing Qaeen-Bees and Attending 

 HVorkers. 



The first thing which demanded 

 the attention of the Union during the 

 past year, was the action of the Post- 

 Master at Griffin, Ga., who refused to 

 receive a '• queen-bee" in the mails, 

 because of the " attending workers,'" 

 the Postal Regulations permitting 

 only " queen-bees '' in the mails— not 

 drones or workers ! 



The Manager of the Union, Prof. 

 Cook (Vice-President), and the Hon. 

 Edwin Willits, each made an appeal 

 to the Post-OfBce Department at 



Washington to have his action over- 

 ruled. It was only a technicality, but 

 as " necessary attendants " were es- 

 sential when mailing queen bees, it 

 was a vital point to apiarists. 



The General Superintendent of the 

 Railway Mail Service, ordered the 

 Regulations to be revised, so as to 

 read " queen-bees with necessary at- 

 tendants," and so advised the Post- 

 Master in Georgia, the Manager of 

 the Union, and others. Since that 

 time we have heard no complaint on 

 that score. 



The Canadian Bee Journal comments 

 on this matter in the following words : 

 "That the Bee - Keepers' 'Union' 

 is in itself a mountain of strength to 

 the bee-keepers of the United States, 

 is a fact beyond dispute. The postal 

 laws were so construed during the 

 past month that a few bees were not 

 permitted to go with the queen by 

 mail, and this meant nothing more 

 nor less than that the traffic in 

 ' queens by mail ' was put an end to. 

 Thanks to the ' Union,' and the efforts 

 of one or two influential gentlemen 

 outside, the barrier has been removed, 

 and the necessary attendants allowed 

 transmission along with the queen." 



Sending Queens to Canada. 



Complaint was made that queen- 

 bees sent to Canada had been stopped 

 at Suspension Bridge. This was re- 

 ferred by the ^Manager of the Union 

 to the Superintendent of Foreign 

 Mails,and that difficulty was promptly 

 removed. It was occasioned by the 

 offlciousness of the Post-Master at 

 Suspension Bridge, N. Y., and he was 

 notified to "let the bees pass." So 

 ended that trouble. 



California Fruit-Bees Trouble. 



The Bohn case, mentioned in my 

 last Report, was appealed to the Su- 

 perior Court. Thedecisioo there given 

 was on technicalities, and practically 

 ended the difficulties. The expenses 

 of the suit and appeal amounted to 

 $384.50 ; of this the Union has paid 

 one-half, and Mr. Bohn the other half. 



In this case the resistance of the 

 Bee-Keepers' Union was too much 

 for the fruit-growers— and that 

 trouble, which was proclaimed by a 

 Nebraska apiarist to be " too much 

 for the Union to compete with," is 

 now all conquered I the raisin-grow- 

 ers admitting that they were mis- 

 taken ! 



Foolish warfare against bees seems 

 to be the rage ! The idea that fruit 

 suffers because of the presence of 

 bees is simply ridiculous I The good 

 they do in fertilizing the fruit trees 

 far outweighs any possible evil that 

 may follow from their presence. 



That Scientlfle Pleasantry. 



Dr. J. H. Kellogg, of Battle Creek, 

 Mich., in his book entitled " Good 

 Health," had reiterated the Wiley lie 

 about the manufacture of combs from 

 paraffine, and filling them with glu- 

 cose, and capping them by machinery, 

 etc. The Manager of the Union 

 wrote to him concerning the matter, 

 and asked for a retraction. Br. K. 

 replied, thanking the Manager for 



calling attention to the error, promis- 

 ing to correct the plates of his book, 

 and by every means in his power to 

 counteract the influence of the false 

 statement, which he had copied from 

 Prof. Wiley. He retracted the mat- 

 ter in his paper entitled Oood Health, 

 for August, 1886. 



The wily part played by the origina- 

 tor of that so-called " scientific pleas- 

 antry," will cause his name to be 

 execrated by honest persons all the 

 World over. And if he should live a 

 thousand years, and devote all his re- 

 maining life to atone for the damages 

 he has already done to an honest pur- 

 suit, he would die an infinite debtor 

 to it; for the multiplying tongue of 

 slander and falsehood never can be 

 controlled or made to cease its villain- 

 ous calumnies 1 His name will 



"Go down 



To the vile dust from whence he sprung, 

 Unwept, unhonored, and unsung." 



RenioTal of Bees from Cities and 

 Villages. 



M. Darling, of Waterbury, Conn., 

 was sued for S500 damages by a neigh- 

 bor, and to compel the removal of his 

 bees. The case was instigated by 

 malice and jealousy, and was dis- 

 missed as soon as it was discovered 

 that he was " backed up " by the Na- 

 tional Bee-Keepers' Union 1 The ex- 

 penses were $50, of which the Union 

 paid one-half. 



S. W. Rich, of Hobart,N. Y., was 

 sued by a jealous and disagreeable 

 neighbor for $1,.500 damages, and also 

 to compel him to move his apiary out- 

 side the city limits. This suit is 

 defended by the Union, and is as yet 

 undecided ! 



C. C. Richardson, a gardener, was 

 sued for keeping honey bees on his 

 land in Tipton, Ind., alleging that 

 they were a nuisance. This was also 

 defended by the Union, and as a re- 

 sult, it was dismissed by the court. 

 The costs were $20 ; and one-half of 

 it was paid by the Union. This is the 

 " case " which was so badly misrepre- 

 sented at the Indianapolis convention, 

 by an officious neighbor, and it is with 

 much satisfaction that I am now able 

 to say that the " Union " was " too 

 much " for the enemies of the pursuit 

 of bee-keeping ! 



The City Council of Fort Wayne, 

 Ind., passed an ordinance against 

 keeping bees within the city limits. 

 If enforced, it would practically wipe 

 out the pursuit of bee-keeping there. 

 Such a pressure was brought to bear 

 bv the bee-keepers, backed up by the 

 Union, that the ordinance is a dead 

 letter, and it is expected that it will 

 soon be repealed, if it has not already 

 been done. 



In Arkadelphia, Ark., the City 

 Council ordered Z. A. Clark to remove 

 his bees from within the city limits 

 within 30 days. Major J. L. Wither- 

 spoon, ex- Attorney General of Arkan- 

 sas (who stands at the head of the 

 Bar of the State), was employed to 

 attend to the matter on behalf of the 

 bees. The National Bee-Keepers' 

 Union backs up Mr. Z. A. Clark to 

 fight the case on its merits. 



The thirty days have expired, and 

 the bees are still there. Public opin- 

 ion is strong against their removal, 



