FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 13 



The outstanding characteristic of Doctor Miller's life, and 

 the thing for which he is most loved, was his keen interest in 

 "things," as he expressed it. Two weeks to the day before his 

 death five beekeepers visited him, and of those present at that 

 happy meeting no one was younger in mind than he. He told 

 us then that he had always supposed tliat as one grows old his 

 interest in things would fade away, but that on the contrary he 

 found himself more and more interested as the years passed. 

 The youthful spirit of the man is illustrated by the fact that 

 when over eighty years of .age he took up a new line of work, 

 the growing of gladioli. Always a lover of flowers, he began 

 this work at this age as a specialty. He gTew corms for sale by 

 the thousands. The flowers were not for sale, however, for 

 aside from the dozens of cuttings in his home his best "cus- 

 tomer," as he expressed it, was a children's hospital in Chicago, 

 to which the cut flowers were sent daily. Not only was he grow- 

 ing these flowers on a commercial scale, but at his advanced age 

 he carried out experiments in cross-pollination. Recently he 

 made several hundred crosses and gxew the resulting seedlings, 

 and of the number he saved out for further work over a hun- 

 dred of some promise. Of these he finally selected over twenty 

 of the best and he told us that he hoped from these to get six 

 or eight varieties worthy of perpetuation and naming. It takes 

 perhaps ten years to secure enough corms to offer a variety for 

 sale, but tkis seemed not in the least to decrease his eagerness 

 for new forms, which he could scarcely hope to use commer- 

 cially. His interest in these flowers was so keen that he hesi- 

 tated to let us, uninitiated in gladioli, to find out how "crazy" 

 he was about them, and he refused to tell us what he had paid 

 for certain rare and valuable corms. This at the age of ninety 

 years! Such a man is one for whom a person a half century 

 younger in years can feel the same friendship and affection as 

 for one of his own age. His mind was as young as ever; only 

 his body was old. 



To explain the heartfelt affection in which he was held by 

 beekeepers generally would be a foolish task for any but a mas- 

 ter writer. In essential respects I have an advantage over the 

 master writers, for I knew Doctor Miller, and,' too, I know how 

 beekeepers feel, I kpow that his death brings to all of us a feel- 



