The Florida agriculturist., 1889-09-25
For THE FLORIDA AGRICULTURIsT.
Bee-Keepers Convent onS.

Association, in Gleanings for August
gives some practical views on the subject
of agriculture and how the general public
can be best informed as to the methods
of securing honey, and also giving in an
as entertaining way as possible brlei
natural history of bees. He tells where
honey comes from, how the bees gather,
store and ripen it; how extracted honey
is secured, and tells bow and in what way
bees are a benefit in fertilizing and cross
fertilizing fruit and other blossoms. Also
tells about the reported injuries done to
fruits, grapes, etc., by bees, and how they
ETC., and corrects these false impressions.
1t is the bee-keepers own fault if our busi-
ness is not properly brought before the
public at agricultural. horticultural, sci
entific and other gatherings.
This is practical advice from one OF the
best authorities among the bee-keeping
fraternity, but the surroundings in which
our Northern bee-keepers operate are so
different from those in our own State of
Florida, that in the sparsely settled con-
dition of the country, the exhorbitant
railway fares and the few individuals en-
gagged in the industry make the oppor-
tunities for meeting at stated times eX-
tremely impracticable. We, however,
have excellent agricultural journals that
are willing and anxious to publish arti-
cles on the agricultural subject for the
benefit of their readers. 1t should be
borne in mind that it is not to the best
interest of either an agricultural journal
or it's readers to be stuffed with state
ment of what has been done by CORES
pondent in any special industry when a
part of the most essential features per-
tanning thereto are suppressed, which, if
made public, would change the opinion of
the reader to a marked extent, and con-
sequently are misleading to the extent
that the statement is vanished with
truth. The local reputation of the writer
of an article should always be taken into
consideration before much credence be
placed in his statements, and it would be
well to give the matter some attention.
When the reading public are once salts
fled that entire confidence can be placed
in the statements of Il certain writer, and
that he is not seeking to build himself up
in the eyes of the community by the re-
markable successes he has accomplished
over his equally expert but more modest
neighbor, his reputation is made and his
ideas are sought after by those interested
Why are the writings of Messrs. Doolittle
Mason, the Dadants and few others sc
prominently before the fraternity, sought
after? They have reputation for verac
ity and thorough knowledge of the sub
ject they write upon; that creates a de
mand for their articles. "Those things
the most easily secured in this life are sci
dom of much value" And many consider
the experiences in any vocation very
much in the light of a trade secret anC
are valued accordingly.
Competition is said to be the life o
trade, and when an apiarist has secured
a good market for his honey at a fail
price. when q competitor enters the same
field the price obtained is generally less
and finally results in the one holding the
,,oorlzot th at can nrOdIIcn the hast article