Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-01-04
Ehfntng Glrat

The information given at the State
department of Agriculture the other
uay TO the effect that no diseases o.
bees were found by State inspectors iS
the apiaries of Dauphin county nroh,
ably did not mean very much tp III
residents of this city or Steelton. but
as matter of fact 1t told of good CON
uluons IN by-product of agricultllre
that has been growing in annual value
IN TINS county and in Cumberland and
Perry as well in the last four or five
years. Few people are aware thai =
there are within sight of the dome ofy
the State Capitol hundreds of hives
and that bee keeping is getting to be
as much a part of farming as keeping
chlckens or pigeons. This has been
due largely to the attention given to
scientific fruit culture and to the
stimulus given to orchard work nv
the demands of the large city markets
ana the Efforts of the State govern
ment. The humble bee has been rec
ognlZed as of the highest value to the
fruit grower and orchards which have
been developed or revived through use
OF modern methods now have numer-
Gus hives of bees, which, as a Lower
Paxton farmer remarked, not only car
rled the pollen, but kept off thieves.
Hence, the bee combines three duties,
carrying of the essential dust, hoard
ing up honey and acting as a guard
The increase in number of hives can
be seen by anyone taking a trip into
the country or by the amount of honey
for sale in the city markets. 1t used
to be rarity to find farmers selling
honey raised on their own farms, but
now 1t is a common commodity and
as much in demand from individual
farmers as butter. Furthermore a
considerable quantity is sold to COM
mission merchants for the markets of
a hA Gfafa
thousands of hives and has been Civ
ing attention to extinction of bee dis
eases because a study made few
years ago showed that the value of the
honey yield in the State was not far
from million dollars. Now. saws DIR.
Surface, the State Zoologist, it is over
that, and the bees are adding thou
sands of dollars yearly to the apple
crop.
The Allen and East Pennsboro So
ciety for the Recovery of Stolen Horses
and Mules and the Detection of
Thieves, to give 1t its full title, is one
of the oldest of organizations of that
kind in this part of the State and its
meeting at Mechanicsburg on New
Years Day was one of the events of
the year. This organization and a
number of others which are still in
existence in the Susquehanna, Juniata
and Cumberland Valleys is really a
survival of mutual protective asso-
C ltions against thieves which were
formed back in Colonial times. When
the Susquehanna country began to be
opened up there were numerous thefts
of horses and mules and the residents
of townships used TO get together and
effect an organization which could re-
spond to a call. This plan still exists,
although now when a horse is stolen
the society has funds in bank which
,ah1 10 10 1,A 90 I,.I,N
The Allen and East Pennsboro society
has counterparts in number of agri-
cultural counties of the State and such
organizations have kept down thefts of
farm animals because the pursuit is
always vigorous and a horse thief does
not have much show at a trial any
more than he had hundred years ago.
Considerable attention is being
given in Philadelphia newspapers to
the work of August Benziger, a New
York artist, who has completed por-
traits of a number of eminent Penn
sylvanians. They include Charles NJ.
Schwab, Col. ]. Howell Cummings, of
the Governors staff, and John NJ
Brashear, the Pittsburgh astronomer
whose paintings are shortly to be eX-
hibited.
The meeting of the State Educa-
tional Association which is scheduled
for this city in December, will bring
to Harrisburg the largest number of
teachers who have ever attended n
meeting. The association membership
is increasing and in addition to the
meetings there will be many who will
want to get the chance to visit the
State Capitol.
Harrisburg as well as the State
government will be well represented
at the Americanization meeting to be
held in Philadelphia next month.
Governor Brumbaugh, Commissioner
John Price Jackson and others will
attend. Miss Rose Weston who is
active in Philadelphia newspaper
work, was here yesterday arranging
for some of the. details.