28 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



April 



to do. It is important in the lifi oi 

 the people, and it is dignified. To 

 think thai a factory is more import- 

 ant than an apiary, or a manufac- 

 turer more dignified than a bee- 

 keeper is a mistake. The boasted 

 high efficiency of up-to-date industry 

 is something new, something modi rn, 

 something smacking of the Nine- 

 teenth and Twentieth Centuries. The 

 efficiency of the hive is old, even 

 classic, linking itself with the days of 

 David and Solomon, <>r Virgil or 

 Aristotle. Ami to an efficiency like 

 unto that of the hive does the bee- 

 keeper himseli aspire. The roai oi 

 the city is something to hurt both 

 eat - and souls. The hum of the hive 

 is of the very stuff of quietness, 

 and peace and poise. 



Sometimes it seems as though per- 

 haps the words beekeeper, beekeep- 

 ing, may be part of the trouble. Per- 

 il, ips, if we care much for a greater 

 show of respect from those who are 

 steeped in the ways and the phrase 

 ..f the marketplace, we should be to 

 them always as the moon is to the 

 earth. Show them only one side. 

 and let that be the business side, the 

 side of the honey production. Call 

 yourself a honey producer, and see 

 if that doesn't help. It utterly 

 changes the picture. Say beekeeper 

 t" me, for instance, and I see the 

 most charming things — white hives 

 on green grass under the trees, prob- 

 ably in an old orchard. I have even 

 a queer trick of putting a lovable 

 old man into the picture, an old man 

 full of rich philosophies, doing things 

 quietly and a bit leisurely, tit course, 

 that is really absurd, because it has 

 been given me to have a wide 

 enough acquaintance among bee- 

 keepers to know that they are not 

 always lovable old men! If one who 

 knows somewdiat of the beekeeping 

 world thus unconsciously persists in 

 inaccuracies in a generalized picture, 

 may not our friends of the factory 

 ami the conn tinghousc do the same? 

 Say beekeeper to them, and who 

 knows what they see? Probably they 

 conjure Up a mental picture of a few 

 neglected old "gums" presided over 

 backwoodsman or a hill billy. 

 Si' the\ mill V, we do, also, at that 

 particular picture-. 



ay honey producer. Immedi- 

 ately I lose my ni.e old man under 



the orchard trees, and the man of 

 tin- marketplace loses his hill billy 

 w ith the bee gums, and we both ei 

 up 0-date, keen, em I gl l il 

 mi 11 loading a food commodity into 

 a car. Ami the man of the market 

 place iii i I'' mile, fin- In- re he 

 lie very qualities I" which he 

 In iu s with ri 



management, hustle, modern meth- 

 ods, su, 



Bui what' 



iers "i hone} producers, 



w hetli. eopli 



■ mill or salute, we may rest quietly 



on the realizal ton > 'i thi 



nity of our work. It is a work thai 



Uses hands and brains and hearts 

 It has brought no p "Id to 



the iin n >mplexil ies of mod- 



ern industrialism. Labor has no long 

 score, no aching grudge, to settle 

 with us. Bolshevism grow : s neither 

 from our ranks nor as a ri 

 against us. And we are produci 

 a foodstuff of real value. Moreover, 

 no store or bank, not even the boast- 

 ed sunlight factories, could be made 

 as hygienic as our apiaries. The 

 worthwhile beekeeper keeps them so. 

 It was God made them SO, in the be- 

 ginning. And to the wholesomeness 

 ! : air and sun. he added bird 

 song and the beauty of blossoming 

 things and the indescribable charm 

 of the bees themselves — that old 

 charm woven of swift wings and 

 mysterious ways and the most soul- 

 resting sound in the world. 



In My Beeyard 



I wish the maddened, saddened world 

 Could sit down here with me 



And look away across the day 

 And see the things I see. 



No splendid vista there would show — 



Just beehives in a quiet row, 

 And tin- blue beyond the Ire. 



But Oh, while you're sitting and 

 looking 



Across the hives to the blue. 

 From somewhere softly stealing 

 i omes over you the feeling 



Of old dreams coming true. 



I wish the tired and tortured world 

 Could come from east and west 



And hear the bees beneath the trees 

 Returning from their quest. 



'Twould heal the very soul of them, 



The worn and weary whole of them. 

 And give them utter rest. 



For Oh, while you're listening quiet, 



Beneath the bending trees. 

 From somewhere softly blowing, 

 The peace of (Sod comes flowing 

 Right through the humming bi 



Nashville, Tenn. 



Texas Inspection Meeting 



The Apiary Inspectors of Texas 

 met in College Station on January 24 

 and 25. This was the second annual 

 meeting held under the new plan of 

 co-ordinating the efforts of the vari- 

 ous County Inspectors into an Edu- 

 cational force under tin- leadership 

 of Mr. F. B. Paddock, State Ento- 

 mologist. 



In the forenoon of Friday, Mr. H. B. 

 I'. irks, of the Extension Department, 

 outlined the work now being done in 

 educating the box-hive beekeeper of 

 the more backward developed coun- 

 ties to adopt modern methods. The 

 Extension Department and the law 

 enforcement agencies are now word- 

 ing together along the lines of awak- 

 ening interest and enthusiasm in 

 beekeeping. 



Professor S. W. Bilsing outlined 

 the work of his class in beekeeping 

 at the A. iK: M. College, and at the 

 final meeting of the inspectors dem- 

 onstrated by a visit to the College 

 apiary, the work of the boys in his 

 class. 



More flexible and sensible regula- 

 tions were adopted covering the 

 shipment of honey from and into 

 quarantined areas. The rigid regula- 

 tion heretofore in effect had been 

 found unworkable and a form of cer- 

 tificates to accompany future ship- 

 ments was adopted that will tend to 

 place more responsibility upon the 

 producer himself and awaken him 

 to a realization of the possible dan- 

 gers of shipping infected honey. 



Strong representations were made 

 to the State Legislature now in ses- 

 sion looking toward the establish- 

 ment of State Experimental Apiaries 

 for the study of beekeeping under 

 Texas floral and climatic conditions. 

 Since this meeting a bill has been in- 

 troduced in the Legislature provid- 

 i,000 for the establishment of 

 these apiaries and for the expenses of 

 maintenance and operation 



. E. G. LESTOURGEON. 



ege Station 



