614 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



American Apiarists seldom 

 have anything to complain of in the 

 treatment they receive in any country 

 of the world, but by referring to page 

 623, it will be seen that Mr. Fleisch- 

 mann has written an article for a Ger- 

 man bee-periodical, which is very 

 unfriendly as well as unjust. The Rev. 

 Stephen Roese has replied to it for that 

 periodical, and translated both for the 

 Amekican Bee Journal, as well as a 

 very friendly editorial on the same sub- 

 ject from the pen of our friend C. J. H. 

 Gravenhorst, of Braunschweig, Ger- 

 many. For the latter, and his refer=- 

 ences to us, we make our politest bow. 



While it is true that the Grst bees 

 brought to America was landed at Bos- 

 ton in 1670, still for 150 years at least 

 apiculture received but little attention, 

 and was not carried on as an exclusive 

 occupation. 



It is not yet 40 years ago that the 

 books of Langstroth and Quinby were 

 published, and these marked the begin- 

 ning of the era of scientific bee-culture. 



In 1861 the first number of the 

 American Bee Journal was published, 

 and that has rendered much valuable 

 service for 30 years — and now the 

 number of those keeping bees in America 

 is about 300,000 ; and the annual 

 honey product, in ordinary years, 

 amounts to about 100,000,000 pounds, 

 which is worth at least $10,000,000. 

 The wax product is worth about $750,- 

 000. These are not what Mr. Fleisch- 

 mann so flippantly calls " honey-produc- 

 tion on paper," but sober facts. 



We are well aware that the Census 

 Report of 1880 contained many errors, 

 and have often pointed them out. 



One simple item will show its error so 

 palpably that no further words will be 

 necessary. California's honey crop is 

 the largest of any State, and yet in the 

 Census Table it is credited with only 

 about one-half as much as Arkansas, 

 one of the States producing but com- 

 paratively a small amount of honey ! 



It also gives North Carolina credit for 

 50 per cent, more than Michigan, and 



more than Illinois or Iowa ! Such 

 " statistics " are very misleading, to say 

 the least. 



Last year the honey crop of California 

 alone amounted to 6,500,000 pounds. 

 Over 5,000,000 pounds were shipped to 

 home and foreign ports. This is one- 

 fourth of the whole amount credited by 

 Mr. Fleischmann to all the States and 

 Territories of North America. 



Of course, the Census Bureau made a 

 great blunder, and it is, in a measure, 

 responsible for Mr. Fleischraann's attack 

 on Ameriban apiarists — but not for his 

 malignity or abuse. 



It is a notorious fact that the statis- 

 tics given in the census of 1880 are 

 utterly unreliable ! This was admitted 

 by Col. C. D. Wright, Chief of the 

 Bureau of Labor Statistics at Washing- 

 ton, who was one of the principal 

 persons who directed the formulating of 

 the census of that year. 



In an address delivered before the 

 Social Science Association at Saratoga, 

 N. Y., in 1887, Col. Wright reviewed 

 the whole census matter, and pointed 

 out its shortcomings, and then said : 



These two questions — capital invested 

 and average wages— as answered by^the 

 census, illustrate the fallacy of attempt- 

 ing to solve a certain line of economic 

 questions through the census as it has 

 existed. In making the criticism, let it 

 be understood that I arraign myself as 

 severely as any one else ; for within a 

 few years I have followed, in all the 

 census work in which I have been en- 

 gaged, the old form ; nor did I fully 

 comprehend the enormity of the error, 

 and the infinite harm it has done, and 

 is likely to do. 



With this admission by Col. Wright, the 

 assertions, arguments and innuendoes 

 of Mr. Fleischmann fall harmlessly to 

 the ground. "The earth labored and 

 brought forth a mouse." 



Tliose who are in arrears for sub- 

 scription to the Bee Journal for this 

 year are reminded that the year is about 

 closing, and it is time to pay up for this 

 year, and add a dollar for next year. 



