276 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEVU. 



marketing expedition, the little black sachel 

 that had been standing for several days on a 

 shelf near at hand, so that when I thought 

 of anything that I might wish to take with 

 me I could put it in the sachel and thus not 

 forget it, received a dainty but wholesome 

 Innch as its last consignment, and I kissed 

 the wife and babies and was off. 



I have several times been over the road 

 between here and Chicago, hence there would 

 be nothing new in the scenery, so, to pass 

 away all the day's ride I had sent for a book 

 to read. It was "Picture Making by Pho- 

 topraph." It came a day or two before my 

 departure, but I resolutely put it away with- 

 out even looking at it, because I knew too 

 well what even a glance at its pages would 

 mean. 



I reached Chicago between five and six 

 o'clock and went at once to the office of the 

 American Bee Journal where I found Bro. 

 "George" putting the finishing touches to 

 a preparation for absence. Six o'clock 

 found us on the train for a six mile's ride 

 out to Ravenswood, where the editor of the 

 American Bee Journal and Dr. Peiro live 

 as neighbors. Bro. York has a pleasant 

 home. Mrs. York is not only an excellent 

 house-keeper, but, if I mistake not, she is 

 also an excellent " business manager." Bro, 

 York once wrote me that although Mrs. 

 York was not publishing the American Bee 

 Journal, she knew all of the time pretty 

 nearly what was going on at the office. As I 

 am more than willing to admit that Mrs. 

 Hutchinson is a better business woman than 

 I am, I feel sure that Bro. York will not be 

 offended at my throwing out these vague 

 hints. 



I had supposed that there would be some- 

 thing of a little crowd gather in Chicago to 

 go on the same train to St. Joseph, but when 

 six o'clock came and Bro. York and myself 

 and Dr. Peiro climbed aboard of the " Eli," 

 (the train is given this name I suppose, be- 

 cause it " gets there ") we were all the crowd 

 of bee-keepers there was on board. Out at 

 Aurora we picked up Dr. Miller, which, in 

 one sense, doubled our crowd. Soon we 

 were snugged away in one of the compart- 

 ments at the end of the car and I brought 

 out my collection of apicultural photographs 

 and passed them around. Then we talked 

 of the past and built castles in the future, 

 and, as Dr. Miller remarked, enjoyed the 

 best part of the convention. At last we were 

 tucked away with a Dr. in each berth, and 



my last memory was of raising the curtain a 

 wee bit and seeing the moonlit, prairie land- 

 scape apparently slipping silentyl back to- 

 wards Chicago. When we awoke in the 

 morning the sun was shining brightly on 

 what might be fairly called the garden spot 

 of the earth. How home-like it did seem to 

 see rolling land again with good sized trees 

 growing upon it. Then there was orchard 

 after orchard bending with bright red apples 

 that glistened in the morning sun. The soil 

 was dark and rich, and, with one exception, 

 there was a thrifty look about the farms, and 

 that was the great fields of corn stalks going 

 to waste ; that is something seldom seen in 

 Michigan. 



As we left the " Eli " at about ten o'clock, 

 the first man to meet and greet us was E. F. 

 Quigley of the Progressive. He is a nice ap- 

 pearing young man, but, like myself, is a 

 little too quiet in conventions. Bro. Quig- 

 ley you must talk. 



President Abbott had left no stone un- 

 turned to make our stay in St. Joseph a 

 pleasant one. The Commercial Club Rooms, 

 at which the meeting was held, were the 

 most pleasant of any place at which the 

 North American has ever met. They were 

 really luxurious. Carpets on the fioor, 

 stained glass windows, tables furnished with 

 writing materials and covered with maga- 

 zines and illustrated papers, while the chairs 

 were great, big, comfortable, leather-cover- 

 ed, platform rockers. A few members had 

 already arrived and Secretary Benton was at 

 the desk taking in the dollars and giving 

 out badges and " numbers." 



Just a word of explanation about the 

 "numbers." At all conventions there will 

 always be present members who are stran- 

 gers to the one reporting the proceedings, 

 and when such a member addresses the 

 meeting, if the President does not know 

 him and announce his name it must be 

 asked for, which makes an awkward break 

 in his remarks. By numbering the list of 

 members and attaching the respective num- 

 ber to the lappel of each member's coat, all 

 this annoyance is done away with. This plan 

 ought, however, to be carried one step far- 

 ther. Let the secretary make arrangements 

 with some near-by printing office to put the 

 names and numbers in type at the end of 

 the first session, and print enough copies to 

 furnish each menaber with a copy. Then a 

 simple glance at the list will show everybody 

 who is present, and a glance at the numbers 



