AMERICAN BEK JOURNAL. 



781 



sunflowers, etc., as I do not think the 

 amount of honey obtained will recoup the 

 bee-keeper for the labor and material ex- 

 pended. In recognizance of these things, 

 and the preponderance of ignorance of 

 bees, honey, and apiculture that is afloat 

 over the land, accomplishing its diabol- 

 ical effects in the hands of journalists 

 and reporters, against an honest pur- 

 suit, bee-keepers should not be loth in 

 joining agricultural, forestral and horti- 

 cultural societies, where they can show 

 thoughtful men their deceptions, and 

 right the wrong already done to an hon- 

 est pursuit. 



I am not opposing apicultural associa- 

 tions, as I know their effects have been 

 salutary, and that intercourse " is the 

 soul of commerce." By the reading of 

 essays, spirited debates, and sub-rosa 

 conversations, there are exchanges of 

 ideas and new phases of the subject 

 matter brought out that redounds to the 

 mutual benefit of all concerned. But 

 there is a deal of admonishing done 

 among these associations which I take 

 as useless, given by those, no doubt, 

 who are very timid about facing the 

 skeptical ones, showing them that they 

 have been deceived, and thereby dis- 

 possessing their minds of wrong and wild 

 ideas. They are after the nature of the 

 following poem, and desire other bee- 

 keepers to wage war upon the fabrica- 

 tors of " Wiley " and execrable honey 

 lies, ignorant fruit sprayers, illiterate 

 farmers, and misled grape-growers, 

 which runs thusly : 



I told Hezikah to tell the Widow Gray, 



To tell Mother Browu. next dooi% 

 To tell Dickey D wight, who goes that way. 



To tell Deacon Barnes, at the store. 

 To tell the stage-driver. Timothy Bean, 



To come for me sure, and in season ; 

 But I've waited all day. and no stage have I 

 seen. 



And now, what do you think is the reason? 



Whatever others may say, I am still of 

 the opinion that that apiarist who 

 argues and works with one that has been 

 led astray, in so far as to the eating of 

 grapes and fruits by bees, the spraying 

 of fruit while in blossom, and the thou- 

 sand and one lies bearing on bees and 

 honey is concerned, is more to be re- 

 vered as a benefactor of apiarists than 

 one who discourses learnedly and at 

 great length before audiences of indus- 

 trious and intelligent bee-men, who no 

 more need it than does a robust and 

 healthy person medicine. 



Now, I hold that bee-keepers could 

 accomplish a great good, and help to 

 undo a great deal of the Gordian-knot 

 kind of injury already done us by join- 



ing or attending these kindred societies. 

 Take, for instance. Forestry. By advo- 

 cating the planting of trees that are 

 premious in honey-producing capabili- 

 ties, we will help to stock the land in a 

 few years with trees that will be remun- 

 erative to the bee-keeper, as well as 

 serving the intent for which they were 

 planted. Look at the thousands of acres 

 of public park lands throughout the 

 country, which could have had their 

 representation of honey-producing trees 

 as well as not, if only a few bee-keepers 

 had labored with those who had the 

 authority of these places. Still there is 

 a chance, for numerous parks are being 

 yet created, but in nine cases out of ten 

 will be stocked with such trees as the 

 oaks, elms, sassafras, beeches, pines, 

 birches, and sycamores, unless steps are 

 taken by the bee-keepers for a fair rep- 

 resentation of honey-secreting trees. 

 We should not let these chances pass 

 by unheeded, as there is everything to 

 gain and nothing to lose, even though we 

 may not live to be the beneficiaries. 



Take the streets of our cities and the 

 waysides of our country, and behold 

 what an aspect they present for the 

 furtherance of a honey-producing me- 

 dium ! What tree of more pulchritude 

 and symmetricalness could you nominate 

 for roadside, street and public park 

 planting than the graceful linden ? We 

 should possess more of the spirit which 

 predominates in this direction in the 

 crowning gem of America's constitution- 

 ality — the City of Washington, D. C. 

 "Unter den Lindens" would not only be 

 found in Germany, but in all the large 

 cities of our grand and glorious United 

 States. Washington has her Unter den 

 Linden in the Massachussetts avenue. 

 Her North and South Capital streets are 

 buttonholed with the stately tulips, 

 which are fit emblems to thus adorn the 

 meridian of the United States. The 

 maples and other kinds come in for their 

 share on the various avenues. I quote the 

 following from the third annual report 

 of the Ohio State Forestry Bureau, for 

 the year 1887: "The plantings have 

 also been made with proper regard for 

 certain objective features, for instance, 

 the famed ' Unter den Linden' of Ber- 

 lin is less than a mile in length, and 

 now more appreciable in history than in 

 reality. The ' Unter den Linden ' of 

 the American capital is Massachussetts 

 avenue. This superb sweep of resi- 

 dences, statues, and fountains, and 

 even through its more sparsely settled 

 portions to its terminus on the banks of 

 the Anacostia, presents four miles of 

 vigorous and stately young lindens, 



