THE jeSMERICSN ]BMfB JOtJRNSI^. 



181 



Xlie Bee-Keepers' Union. — The 



case of Z. A. Clark is now being attended 

 to by two of tlie most noted lawyers of 

 Arlsansas : Hon. S. W. Williams, of Little 

 Roclf, and Major Witherspoon (ex-Attorney 

 General) of Arljadelpliia. Mr. Clarlc gives 

 the following particulars of the present 

 status of the case : 



I was released on luibeas corpus bond on 

 Marcli 3, for my appearance at 10 a.m. the 

 next day. 1 had not been home with my 

 family more than about three hours when I 

 was arrested and taken before the Mayor 

 and fined $14 and costs, and remanded to 

 jail again. Of course it would be nonsense 

 to pay the fine, and go back and have the 

 samething to go over again the next day. 

 Judge Williams advised me never to yield, 

 as we rest on a constitutional right to de- 

 fend our homes and property. I have .suf- 

 fered physically and mentally since this 

 persecution began. We failed on the habeas 

 cm-pus before the County Judge, and as my 

 wife was worried and distresseet about the 

 matter, she had the whole apiary dumped 

 outside the corporation line. This is a dis- 

 astrous loss, as I have been hard at work 

 about eight years to build up this apiary, 

 and now it is taken from us without a trial 

 by j ury. 



The Mayor fined me one day when no 

 one had seen any bees about my place. He 

 sent the Marshal to my house to ascertain if 

 he could see any bees. One day it was 

 cool, and no bees were flying. The Marshal 

 did not see any bees, and swore that he did 

 not, but the Mayor fined me " all the same." 



We have appealed all the cases — eleven 

 in number— the first day's fine was .8.5, and 

 an additional dollar for each day; the last 

 day's fine being $1.5. He even fined me 

 after we had made affidavit asking for a 

 change of venue, because that 1 "could not 

 get a fair trial, and that he was prejudiced, 

 etc." 



1 am confident that if bee-keepers could 

 fully realize my condition, the Bee-Keepers' 

 Union would have 10,000 members in 34 

 hours. 



The following is a sample of many letters 

 we have received. It is from J. T. Scofield, 

 of Barnesville, Ohio : 



I hope the Arkadelphia case will enlist 

 the sympathy of bee-keepers who were not 

 heretofore members of the Union. Our 

 brother beekeepers should be defended, 

 and if necessary the case should be appealed 

 to the court of last resort by the Union, and 

 fully vindicated. 1 will pay assessments if 

 needed. 



Mr. James McNeill, of Hudson, N. Y., 

 wrote thus on March 13, 1888 : 



I am much Interested in Mr. Z. A. Clark's 

 plucky defense of his rights in keeping 

 bees. It is our duty to stand by him, and 

 hold up his hands while he is suffering iiu- 

 prisonuient, and put to great inconvenience 

 and pecuniary loss in the defense of a prin- 

 ciple which is dear to us all. Surely in a 

 matter of this character the injury of one is 

 the conceni of all. I would willingly pay 

 a dozen assessments rather than have Mr. 

 Clark worsted in this matter. 



No assessment would be necessary, if 

 but a tenth of the bee-keepers of America 

 should join the Union. The Manager does 

 not favor an extra assessment, and will not 

 consent to such, unless it becomes an abso- 

 lute necessity. If its devotees will not de- 

 fendjthe pursuit, who should do so ? The 



defense should have universal support. A 

 lew ought not to bear the burden for all. 



Mr. A. C. Tyrrel wrote the following 

 letter on this subject : 



I enclose SI which please place to benefit 

 fund to aid Mr. Clark in his suit with the 

 city authorities of Arkadelphia, Ark., who, 

 by an unjust ordinance, and enforcing the 

 same, have deprived a worthy man of his 

 liberty, and rights arcorded to every citizen 

 of the United States. Granting that Mr. 

 Clark has been guilty of a crime in not 

 obeying the decree of a City Council, and 

 Slayor of that unsavory city — under the 

 Constitution of the United States, he should 

 enj(iy the right of a speedy and public trial 

 by an inparttaJ jury, which it appears has 

 been denied him. He should have applied 

 for and have been released immediately on 

 a writ of habeas cor/) its, and forthwith in- 

 stituted criminal proceedings against the 

 Mayor for depriving him of liis liberty, and 

 for "refusing him a trial by a jury of his 

 countrymen. He has a strong case if prop- 

 erly managed, and I believe he is entitled to 

 damages for the unlawful act. In view of 

 the fact that similar suits are liable to be 

 commenced against bee-keepers without a 

 moment's warning, let every bee-keeper 

 in the United States who is able contribute 

 81 to the Bee-Keepers' Union, to be ex- 

 pended in defending worthy bee-keepers 

 who are unable to procure counsel. The 

 amount is so small none would feel the Joss, 

 for it is not a loss when expended for a 

 worthy purpose, and you will have the 

 sweet satisfaction of knowing that a small 

 portion of your money has been of lasting 

 benefit to an unfortunate brother— a victim 

 of prejudice and ignorant fanatics. 



Honey from Apple Ulos!«onis. — 



Prof. Cook remarks in the New York Tri- 

 bxhne that but few kinds of honey are su- 

 perior to that from apple blossoms. The 

 color is light amber, and though not quite 

 equal in appearance to that from clover or 

 basswood, it is not so dark as to be objec- 

 tionable. The flavor is very characteristic, 

 and reminds one of quince preserves. Upon 

 sampling it no one has ever expressed any- 

 thing but admiration of its quality. The 

 fact that so early in the season as apples 

 bloom, there are very few bees in the hives, 

 as there are yet but few pleasant working 

 days, accounts for the fact that we usually 

 get very little honey from the fruit blossoms. 



Wliite Clover and Plum blossoms 

 are received from Mr. E. Israel, of Miss- 

 issippi. He says the bloom of the elms and 

 maples have come and gone. White clover 

 has been in bloom since the last of Feb- 

 ruary, but he has not yet seen a bee on it. 



Frank I^eslie'.s Sunday IMaga* 

 Kine for April marks the fact of its being 

 an Easter number by a fine hymn tune, 

 " Christ is Risen," by G. Wenham Smith, 

 and two Easter poems, viz : " Easter— Be- 

 side a Tomb," by Myrta Harper Lockett, 

 and "Easter Flowers," by MariaA. Agur. 

 " His Banner Over Me," comes to a happy 

 conclusion, and a new story by George 

 Macdonald, entitled, " The Elect Lady " is 

 begun. As usual in this magazine, there 

 are many short articles, and an abundance 

 of illustrations, both large and small. 



Ciatherin;;' !4taliM<ics.— Mr. F. Wil- 

 cox, of Mauston, Wis., on March 9, 1888, 

 sent us the following on the above subject : 



in reply to your editorial on page 147, 

 "Gathering Statistics," 1 will say: 1 have 

 just mailed to J. K. Dodge, statistician, a 

 list embracing o?ie name from each county 

 of Wisconsin where apiculture is of any 

 comparative importance. Those personally 

 known or recommended to me were marked 

 to designate that fact. As to the willing- 

 ness or fitness of the others, 1 advised him 

 to satisfy himself by correspondence. 



Your plan of asking for volunteer corres- 

 pondents, is a good one, and will help you 

 very much. In my opinion, no one should 

 be depended upon until he first consents to 

 serve, however well qualified he may be. 



I do not understand just how the Depart- 

 ment will use two correspondents from a 

 county. If each reports the crop of the 

 whole county, it will be a double report ; it 

 each attempts to report a portion of the 

 county, I fail to see how they will know 

 when they have it all reported and none 

 counted twice. 



If but one is employed to report the 

 county, and he is paid something to cover 

 the expense of correspondence, the name 

 of every bee-keeper in his county can be 

 obtained from the assessors or town clerks 

 when he can furnish each bee-keeper with 

 blanks, and ask for a report at certain 

 specified dates. I doubt if a full and ac- 

 curate report will ever be obtained without 

 the use of money enough to pay the un- 

 avoidable expenses. 



Permit me now to offer a word of friendly 

 criticism of your plan of collecting statis- 

 tics by assessors. The first impulse with 

 some persons is to conceal some portion of 

 their property from the assessor. The as- 

 sor also wishes to underrate the number of 

 horses, cattle, hogs, sheep, colonies of bees, 

 etc., that his town, city or village may have 

 some advantage when it is equalized 

 by the County lioard. In short, the asses- 

 sors would not report more than halt or 

 three-fourths the bees to the county clerk. 

 In regard to the honey crop of the previous 

 year, the assessor could get a fair estimate, 

 but I can see but one way that the informa- 

 tion can be used when we get it, that is, let 

 one reporter from each county estimate 

 what per cent, of last year's crop the pres- 

 ent crop is, and then figure out the number 

 of pounds from the assessor's returns. 



Now 1 stop. I do not feel competent to 

 give much advice on this subject. 



The task is one of Herculean dimensions, 

 and what the result may be it is too early 

 now to even guess. We shall arrange the 

 names into States, and perhaps counties, 

 but that will represent considerable labor. 

 The list will iii all probability be printed. 



A Corr«'spoii«lent desires us to state 

 " which is best— to have the entrance face 

 the end of the frames, or their sides ?" To 

 have it at the ends of the frames saves the 

 travel of the bees, as they can enter at the 

 end of any frame desired. 



I^ew Music— We have received from 

 Richard A. Saalfield, 41 Union Square, New 

 York,the following pieces of music : Kocka- 

 by Lullaby, by Chas. H. Williams ; The 

 Old Love Story, by Edwin Christie ; White 

 Sails in the Harbor, by J. P. Skelly ; Pretty 

 as a Butterfly, (Schottische) by Newcomb ; 

 Tripping Through the Clover, (Polka) by 

 Ed. Hoist. They retail for 40 cents each. 

 Sent post-paid at half-price (Sl.OO for the 

 lot), by the publisher, Richard A. Saalfield, 

 41 Union Square, New York. 



