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Fatlier l^angwtrotli.— It lias been 

 known for some tiiiie that the bee-keepers 

 of America have been trying to provide 

 him an annuity to help him to a subsistence 

 in his old age and many infirmities. 



Our brethren in Great Britain have taken 

 hold of the subject, and here is what the 

 British Bee Journal has to say about our 

 aged friend : 



There is, perhaps, no man living to 

 whom the bee-keepers of the present day 

 owe more than to the Rev. L. L. Langs- 

 stroth, or, as he is termed by our American 

 friends, " Father Langstroth." How often 

 in the progress and development of a science 

 or industry the pioneers (those who were 

 amongst the first and who worked the 

 hardest), Very soon Become forgotten. It is 

 so in bee-keeping ; those who have done 

 the most, and by their exertions have en- 

 abled many in the present day to become 

 not only bee-keepers, but successful honey- 

 producers, are forgotten and ignored. But 

 this is not all, for those who have benefited 

 by others' brain efforts and experiences are 

 frequently those -who do their best to crush 

 them. Do we not find repeatedly that 

 claims are made to inventions and improve- 

 ments without regard to what has been 

 done before ? Names of inventors, dis- 

 coverers, and benefactors are frequently 

 forgotten in the eagerness to benefit at their 

 expense. , , . , 



We miglit mention numbers of instances 

 at the present day, where inventions are 

 used with but slight alteration, and the 

 users deriving a pecuniary benefit, whilst 

 the originators, to whom the invention cost 

 a large expenditure of brain power, many 

 sleepless nights, and perhaps a large sum 

 of money into the bargain, are completely 

 ignored. We have a most striking instance 

 of this in the case of the Rev. L. L. Lang- 

 stroth. We do not wish to enter into the 

 question of whether Langstroth, Munn, or 

 any one else, was the first to invent the 

 frame, but what we wish to point out is 

 that Langstroth was the first to make the 

 movable-comb hive a practical success, and 

 by his work, "The Hive and Honey-Bee," 

 which is still the standard on the subject, 

 he opened up to the world the improved 

 methods of bee culture, which have led to 

 the enormous success witnessed at the pres- 

 ent time. Does every bee-keeper realize 

 that in using a movable-comb liive he is 

 morally indebted to Mr. Langstroth for the 

 benefit he is deriving from it ? And if he 

 does, is he prepared to make some acknowl- 

 edgment and return for this obligation ? 



For many years Mr. Langstroth, who is 

 now 77 years of age, has suffered, and only 

 from time to time, and at long intervals, 

 has he been able to take up with his favor- 

 ite pursuit. We regretted that when we 

 visited America last summerhe was not in 

 a condition to see us, and nothing would 

 have given us greater pleasure than to have 

 • grasped this veteran's hand and looked into 

 his benevolent face. Ever devoted to the 

 science he loves so well, according to a 

 friendly letter we received from him a few 

 days ago, he was even then, during a period 

 of convalescence, at the apiary of Mr. Hed- 

 don, studying the capabilities of the Hed- 

 don system. His head troubles have pre- 

 vented him from earning his living, and it 

 is because this master of bee-keepers has 

 been robbed of his means of livelihood by 

 some of those who have reaped the benefit 

 of his labors, that he is not now, in his old 

 age, In comfortable and independent cir- 

 cumstances. 



From time to time small sums have been 

 subscribed, and in 1879 "The Langstroth 

 Fund" was started in America. In that 



year Mr. Newman visited England, and at a 

 meeting of the British and Foreign bee- 

 keepers, held at our residence in Horsham, 

 a subscription was started, which amounted 

 to about 61. 68., the whole amount collected 

 here and in America barely reaching 401. 

 Since that time small sums have been re- 

 mitted to him, but how out of all proportion 

 is this to to the benefits conferred by him 

 on the world ! It , is now proposed in 

 America to raise a sum of money In order to 

 purchase an annuity, and every bee-keeper 

 there will have an opportunity to pay some 

 tribute to his great leader. ^ 



But why should we stand aloof and do 

 nothing ? On another page our corres- 

 pondent, "Amateur Expert," in his pathetic 

 appeal, savs, " Let us, as British bee-keep- 

 ers give practical expression of brotherly 

 feeling by subscribing to the fund : it will 

 only stimulate his countrymen to do more, 

 and make the annuity the greater." These 

 sentiments we heartily approve, and think 

 it the duty of the many who have benefited 

 by Mr. Langstroth's labors to do something 

 on his behalf, so that this good old man may 

 pass the remainder of his days in comfort, 

 cherished by the thought that there are 

 noble and honest minds on either side of 

 the Atlantic that do appreciate his efforts, 

 and prove a brotherly love and feeling are 

 ready to recognize them. We shall be 

 pleased to open a subscription list to be 

 called the "Langstroth Fund," and earn- 

 estly hope that our appeal will be heartily 

 responded to. Let us bear in mind that 

 " he giveth twice who gives in a trice." 



Donations sent to us, or to Mr. Huckle, 

 Kings' Langley, Herts, will be acknowl- 

 edged in the British Bee Journal, and for- 

 warded to America. The list of contribu- 

 tions is headed : 



£ 8. d. 



T.W. Cowan 5 



Geo. Neighbour & Sons 2 10 



Rev. Geo. Raynor 1 1 



W. Raitt, Blairgowrie 1 



"Amateur Expert" 10 



Geo. Henderson 10 



" Amateur Expert " refers to the matter 

 in these words, which find a ready response 

 in all true American hearts : 



Dear Editor, you have given us in last 

 week's Journal the long letter in defense 

 of the poor drone, from the pen of the one 

 whom " all the States own." Blood is 

 thicker than water, and the whole Anglo- 

 Saxon race is one people, moreover, "one 

 touch of Nature makes the whole world 

 kin." The dear old man has been afflicted, 

 and with the saddest of all sorrows— head 

 trouble. He is so far restored as to be able 

 to write what you gave us last week, but as 

 an actual fact he is past work in the way of 

 bread-winning. 



He has been defrauded of the results of 

 his brains by his fellow bee-brethren, from 

 lack of poveer to defend his rights, and 

 being worn out and in poveity they have 

 decided to buy him a small annuity. Surely 

 we can endorse the sublime words of C. 

 Mackay : 



" I love you, if your thoughts are pure ; 

 What signifies your poverty. 

 If you can struggle and endure ? 

 'Tis not the birds that make the spring— 

 'Tis not the crown that makes the king. 

 If you are wise, and good, and just. 

 You've riches better than all other ! 

 Give me your hand— you shall— you must— 

 I love you as a brother !" 



Let us, as British bee-keepers, give prac- 

 tical expression of brotherly feeling by sub- 

 scribing to the fund ; it will only stimulate 

 his countrymen to do more, and make the 

 annuity the greater. What if the Maloneys, 

 " Amateur Experts," and Heddons do occar 

 sionally have a •' rough and tumble," let us 

 show we are one mother's children by giv- 

 ing our mite. Here are two dollars to start, 

 from— Amateur Expert. 



Mr. A. I. Root, in relation to the un- 

 founded statements put forth, that combs 

 could be manufactured, filled with spurious 

 honey, and capped over artificially, a state- 

 ment that no intelligent man believes, 

 writes thus to the Farm, Field and Stoeh- 

 man : 



. It may be well to mention that the princi- 

 pal ground or foundation for the slanderous 

 stories mentioned on the other side, is the 

 fact that bee-keepers have, for perhaps ten 

 years past, used extensively for the produc- 

 tion of comb honey, what is called "comb 

 foundation." It is made of thin sheets of 

 genuine beeswax, embossed with the im- 

 print of the bottom of the cells of the honey 

 comb. This is made by passing wax sheets 

 between embossed rollers, and lays out the 

 work for the bees, and at the same time 

 furnishes the wax to contain the honey. 

 Each honey-box (or section) contains in its 

 center, when placed on the hive, a sheet of 

 this embossed wax ; and if these boxes are 

 placed in the hive when honey is to be had 

 in the fields, the bees grasp hold of the 

 shallow walls of the cells and draw them up 

 into honey-comb in the same way that a 

 potter pulls up a ball of clay into a crock or 

 jug. Nothing, however, will answer for this 

 comb foundation but pure beeswax ; and 

 the comb built from this wax is filled with 

 honey brought in from the fields, exactly as 

 if the bee had to secrete all the wax from 

 its body, as in old time, before bee-culture 

 had made the great strides it has now, and 

 before it became a great industry, as it is 

 now, comparing favorably with the produc- 

 tion of butter, cheese, eggs and milk. Visit 

 any progressive bee-man in your vicinity, 

 and he will post you about this matter. 



ItreeOin;^ for Business.— The fol- 

 lowing item is from the City and Country, 

 and was written by Mr. A. H. Duff. It 

 commends itself to the judgment of all 

 thinking apiarists. More attention should 

 be paid to the matter of selecting the best 

 colonies to breed from. He says : 



Does it occur to bee-keepers that they 

 should select their breeding stock ? I am 

 well aware that quite a number of them do, 

 but I am afraid tiiere are many that do not. 

 Should we not give bees the same attention 

 in breeding that we do any other kind of 

 stock? If not, why not. It is just as im- 

 portant in breeding bees as it is any stock, 

 to select and infuse new blood, etc. 



There is scarcely any one that has given 

 bees attention at all, but knows that some 

 particular colonies far outstrip others in 

 gathering honey, breeding, or in some other 

 point. Some colonies are more inclined to 

 swarm than others ; others are good comb- 

 builders, and still others are better at filling 

 for the extractor. Some colonies consume 

 one-half less honey during the winter than 

 others, and come out in better condition in 

 the spring, others will breed up more rap- 

 inly, and far outstrip their superiors in early 

 spring, while other colonies are inclined to 

 rob,and are more bother than they are worth. 



All dispositions and colors may be at- 

 tained by breeding. The whole make-up of. 

 the colony, in whatever particular, is alto- 

 gether in the queen. It appears that what- 

 ever point is the specialty in that colony, 

 the whole colony inherits the same thing. 



By breeding from the best honey-gath- 

 erers we produce a strain of bees that swell 

 our honey crops largely, and to combine the 

 best honey gathering qualities with the 

 nonswarming strain, we still add to our 

 crop, and when we combine those two good 

 qualities with gentleness, we have much 

 satisfaction in gathering the crops. Hence, 

 to secure the coming bee it is necessary for 

 a combination of the several good qualities, 

 and there is no doubt that a much higher 

 state of excellence will be obtained. 



