STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATIOl^. 89 



they have found far better prices. It is not always advisable 

 to crowd to the great centers with our product, because it does 

 not stay there, it has to go out. The first question asked by 

 the Reception Committee in California when we got off the 

 train was, "How are the Dakotas, Minnesota, the iron and 

 copper districts of Michigan and Wisconsin for a honey 

 market?" It was rather a stunner to me what California 

 wanted to know anything about that for ; but, through coopera- 

 tion, they had a salesman who was ready to go at a mornent s 

 notice to sell honey in car-lofids, and he did go immediately 

 after that convention, and he went right up into that coun- 

 try. He was investigating. 



There's another side to what this National is doing that 

 I rather regret bringing up, in one sense of the word, that is, 

 there is a tendency, because we are strong in numbers, to 

 impose upon brothers and neighbors with our bees. Some 

 have done so, that could have been avoided, and had they 

 not belonged to the Association they would not have tolerated 

 what they have, and the boast has been made, "Oh, v^ell. 

 my bees have bothered, or if they do bother in your vine- 

 yards., as they do in California and some of the fruit dis- 

 tricts, you will have to put up with it. I belong to an Asso- 

 ciation that will soon be 2,000 strong, and you dare not face 

 it." I have had to settle by correspondence and legislation 

 between 30 and 40 lawsuits in the short time I have been 

 in office — a part of a year. It is not a credit to our Associa- 

 tion, in one sense, that we have had that number of con- 

 flicts. I do say we have not lost a case as yet, although 

 there are two turned against us, but the appeals of these 

 look very favorable to our side; but almost all of these 

 could have been avoided. I wanted to make a brief of each 

 of those in my Annual Report, but I am sorry that, for the lack 

 of time, it could not have been done. One member wrote me 

 and criticised, saying, "Don't, under any conditions, if you 

 make a report of them, say anything in regard to my case. 

 It brings me personally out before the members of the Asso- 

 ciation, and I am really ashamed of the condition in which 

 I have been, and you, through the Association, have ' pro- 

 tected me and got me on my feet — just keep my name out 

 of it." So I have refrained from it, treating all as nearly 

 alike as possible, and in various cases I have simply men- 

 tioned the locality, and not named the parties, the same as 

 I do in regard to foul brood. There is something about 

 the bee-keepers partially unjust, that is, to retain these trou- 

 bles after they are corrected. 



I am in hopes that we may, not far distant, have some- 

 thing that will have a tendency to help on this subject of 

 marketing honey. The Association can do in many ways 

 what individuals cannot. I remember it wasn't many years 

 ago when this question of reduced freight-rate on shipping 

 of honey was up. All honey went under the same class, 

 whether it was comb or extracted honey. We all had to pay 

 a high rate of freight. There was a committee to go before 

 the railroad people to see if we could not get a reduction. 

 It failed because it was not strong enough. It had been 



