Bees in America Read online

  8. See the following sources for information about Hetherington: Wyatt Mangum, “Quinby Smoker”; Frank C. Pellett, History of American Beekeeping; A. I. Root, “Editorial.”

  9. Mangum, “Quinby Smoker,” 48.

  10. “Obituary—O. O. Poppleton.” After the war, Poppleton was in charge of establishing national cemeteries.

  11. “War Stories: How Some Soldier Boys Managed a Bee Tree,” Courier Journal, November 23, 1887.

  12. James Robertson, Soldiers Blue and Gray, 73.

  13. Hattie Brunson (Mrs. C. G. Richardson), oral narrative, “Social Customs of the Past,” Federal Writers’ Project, June 28, 1938 (Beaufort, S.C.). Translated by Chlotilde R. Martin. Accessed on December 3, 2004, at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/features/timeline/civilwar.

  14. Kent Masterson Brown, “Greenhorns and Honey Bees,” 204.

  15. Civil War Trail in Arkadelphia. Available at: http://www.arkadelphia.org.

  16. Jason Wilson, personal e-mail communication, December 10, 2003.

  17. Mason, “American Bee Books,” 484.

  18. Patterson, Shaker Spiritual, 427–28.

  19. Goodwillie, Shaker Songs, 96.

  20. See the following sources for information about Elder Henry C. Blinn: Brian Thompson, interview with the author, January 30, 2004; Deborah Burns, Shaker Cities of Peace, Love, and Union; Goodwillie, Shaker Songs.

  21. Neal, Kentucky Shakers, 84. However, the Shakers were not the first to import bees to Kentucky. According to William Eaton’s history of Kentucky beekeeping, Dr. N. P. Allen headed a committee of seven men who were interested in importing Italians in 1872: “The price of the queen bees was around 15.00 each” (“Sketches from Kentucky’s Beekeeping History,” 25).

  22. John Wade, letter to Ruth Cox Wade, 1864. Available at: http://www.appalachianpower.com.

  23. The title Gleanings in Bee Culture was shortened and has gone through several changes through the years. With the editor’s permission, I use Bee Culture—its current title—for consistency.

  24. Frank C. Pellett, History of American Beekeeping, 168.

  25. A. I. Root, “Introduction,” 1.

  26. A. I. Root, “Our Latest Intelligence Corner,” 35.

  27. A. I. Root, “With Our Bees,” 140.

  28. Edward Goodell, “Bees by Sailing Ship and Covered Wagon,” 39. Goodell’s source is an anonymous man of Pennsylvania Dutch descent. Goodell did not provide a bibliography.

  29. Oscar Haas, History of New Braunfels and Comal County, Texas, 218. The author is much indebted to the Sophienburg Museum, located in New Braunfels, which had a fine exhibit about the Naegelin Bakery and information about Naegelin’s life.

  30. Charles Abramson, “Charles Henry Turner,” 643.

  31. Joseph Dabney, Smokehouse Ham, 436.

  32. Dadant, The Life of C. P. Dadant. M. G. Dadant writes that his grandfather happened to choose Hamilton, Illinois, because he had been corresponding with Mr. A. Morlot, who lived in Basco, Illinois. Morlot offered Charles Dadant a forty-acre farm at $20 an acre. The farm came with two or three colonies of bees.

  33. Kent Louis Pellett, Charles Dadant, 14. Dadant did not support the Catholic Church in France or America. He refused to accept the Church’s tolerance of poverty in France or slavery in the American South.

  34. Ibid., 88.

  35. Ibid., 115.

  36. Ibid., 88. Dadant believed that Fourier’s ideas could be successfully implemented into his business, but he wanted a slow evolutionary process. He had seen how the utopian experiments in France and the Brook Farm community in Massachusetts (where Nathaniel Hawthorne and Margaret Fuller were residents) had failed.

  37. Ibid. It should also be remembered that Langstroth’s great-grandparents were Huguenots and immigrated to America. His grandmother was a firm abolitionist, and this issue was another that both men agreed on.

  38. Dadant had practice in overcoming his friends’ religious convictions. His wife, Gabrielle Parisot, had reservations about Dadant’s marriage proposal. She had been educated in a convent and never completely accepted her husband’s socialism. She took great pride in her husband’s accomplishments in the bee industry, however.

  39. C.P. Dadant, Life and Writings of Charles Dadant, 53–57. A beekeeper named H.A. King asserted that Langstroth had not invented the moveable frame because there had been other hives available in France that were similar to Langstroth’s. King had proceeded with his own patent using Langstroth’s principles. Langstroth decided to sue King, and the letters championing both sides were aired in the American Bee Journal. The feud ended, however, when Dadant, who had experience with the French hives and knew the differences, wrote a letter gallantly titled, “Honor to whom Honor is due.”

  Dadant’s letter was so logical and well-written that he was asked to become an editor of the journal shortly after the letter appeared in the magazine.

  40. Pellett, Charles Dadant, 98–102.

  41. Dumas, “Apiculture in Early Texas.”

  42. Ibid.

  43. Frank C. Pellett, “Obituary—Dr. G. Bohrer,” 123.

  44. Crane, World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting, 590.

  45. Prete, “Can Females Rule the Hive?” 136.

  46. Dumas, “Apiculture in Early Texas.”

  47. Frank C. Pellett, History of American Beekeeping, 115.

  48. A. I. Root, “Announcement—Mrs. Tupper’s Journal,” 7.

  49. Ibid.

  50. Frank C. Pellett, History of American Beekeeping, 99.

  51. Kent Louis Pellett, Charles Dadant, 70.

  52. Ibid., 77. “Dadant observed ruefully, ‘Woman varies.’”

  53. “The Beekeepers Convention,” Pittsburgh Leader, November 15, 1874.

  54. A. I. Root, “Heads of Grain,” 57.

  55. Hubbell, Book of Bees, 24–25.

  56. Ibid., 25.

  57. A. I. Root, “She Will Be Here Today!” 149.

  58. Dumas, “Apiculture in Early Texas,” 107. Dumas does not say whether the wax flowers were made of beeswax.

  59. Ibid. A fire around 1873 destroyed fences, mother cows, and grasses.

  60. Ibid.

  61. Donald B. Kraybill and Carl Bowman, On the Backroad to Heaven. The Hutterites began in 1528 and remain distinctive from the other Anabaptist German communities because they share everything.

  62. Ibid.

  63. Edward Stevenson, Deseret News, August 15, 1885. Edward Stevenson Papers, Latter-day Saints (LDS) Church Archives, box 8, folder 1.

  64. Neal, Kentucky Shakers, 27.

  65. A. I. Root, “Who’s Who,” 3.

  66. Rufus Morgan, “Letters Written from San Diego County.” See also Barbara Newton, “E.W. Morse.” Newton’s article details the trials and tribulations of Morse and his “Honey Adventure” after Rufus Morgan died. The 1879–80 drought was particularly stressful for flora and fauna in the region, and many beekeepers caught “Arizona fever” and left the region.

  67. Ibid. See also Newton, “E. W. Morse, “153.

  68. Joseph Moffett, Some Beekeepers and Associates, 31.

  69. Eric Nelson, “History of Beekeeping in the United States,” 3.

  70. Ibid.

  71. Ibid.

  72. Frank C. Pellett, History of American Beekeeping, 36.

  73. Harry H. Laidlaw Jr., Contemporary Queen Rearing, 159.

  74. Ibid., 160.

  75. Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. and Robert E. Page Jr., Queen Rearing and Bee Breeding.

  76. See Laidlaw, Contemporary Queen Rearing, 170, and Queen Rearing and Bee Breeding. The terminology is a bit confusing, but a queenright hive is one that has a queen in it, as opposed to a queenless hive. A cell finisher is a colony used in the latter stages of queen rearing.

  77. Frank C. Pellett, History of American Beekeeping, 109.

  78. Ibid., 110.

  79. Gordon Waller, “First Bees in Arizona,” 435.

  80. Ibid. Waller reports that “it has been documented that the Spanish introduced
honey bees to Mexico and South America; but one should not conclude that the Spanish also brought them to Arizona since this is not consistent with the historical accounts of honey bees in Arizona.”

  81. Anti-Bee Monopolist, “A Stinger: The Trade in Bee Courses—A Protest against the Bee Convention—How the Bee Business Used to Be,” Pittsburgh Leader, November 13, 1874, 1–2.

  82. Ibid.

  83. Ibid.

  84. “All over the South,” Courier-Journal, April 27, 1882, 5.

  85. “Hiving Honey Bees: The Remarkable Conduct of Some Farmers’ Boys and Girls Explained,” Courier-Journal, July 30, 1882, 2.

  86. Ibid.

  87. “Bees in Church: A Swarm of Them Take Possession of a Maryland Chapel and the Congregation Suddenly Dissolves,” Courier-Journal, September 24, 1888, 5.

  88. Wallace Stegner, The American West as Living Space, 18.

  89. Mark Twain, “How to Tell a Story,” 239.

  90. Dobie, “Honey in the Rock,” 127.

  91. Ibid., 129.

  92. Ibid., 130.

  93. Ibid., 132.

  94. Ibid., 134.

  95. Ibid., 135.

  96. Herman Lehmann, Nine Years Among the Indians.

  97. “Storming a Bee Castle,” Courier-Journal, November 25, 1882, 3.

  98. Welsch, “Funny Beesness,” 36.

  99. Mason, “American Bee Books,” 350.

  100. “Women as Bee Keepers,” reprinted in Courier-Journal, April 12, 1891,

  101. Ibid.

  102. Dumas, “Apiculture in Early Texas,” 120.

  103. Crane, World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting, 590.

  104. Emily Dickinson, The Poems of Emily Dickinson, 392.

  105. Ibid., 64.

  106. Ibid., 430.

  107. Ibid., 632.

  108. Frank Stockton, The Bee-Man of Orn.

  109. Baldwin, 100 Nineteenth Century Rhyming Alphabets in English, 83.

  110. “Bee Superstitions: Queer Customs in Honey Making Which Prevail in Parts of England; Similar Superstitions Also Exist in Several Parts of the Continent,” Courier-Journal, August 17, 1890, 11.

  111. Ibid.

  112. Ibid.

  113. Eaton, “Sketches from Kentucky’s Beekeeping History,” 27. In 1889, Reese and George W. Demaree contributed two exhibits to the World’s Exposition in Paris, France—a solar wax extractor and Reese’s original bee escape.

  114. “Still Buzzing Away: The North American Bee-Keepers’ Society at Lexington,” Courier-Journal, October 8, 1881, 5.

  115. “Utah Beekeepers Meeting” (Journal History, Salt Lake City, April 15, 1879), 2.

  116. “Utah Beekeepers Meeting” (Journal History, Salt Lake City, April 10, 1890), 4.

  117. Frank C. Pellett, History of American Beekeeping, 139–41.

  118. Ibid., 20.

  119. A. I. Root, ABC and XYZ.

  120. E. F. Phillips, A Brief Survey, 45.

  121. John Burroughs, Birds and Bees, 48.

  122. Ibid., 85.

  Chapter 5. Early Twentieth Century

  1. Steven Stoll, Fruits of Natural Advantage. Stoll does not include a discussion of honey or honey bees in his fascinating work.

  2. G. H. Cale, “Where Is Our Moses?” 7.

  3. Kent Louis Pellett, Charles Dadant, 87. The issue of honey adulteration produced a near estrangement between the two men. Pellett writes: “Dadant turned to the ABJ and lashed the Ohio editor. He claimed Root’s knowledge of chemistry was faulty. He could not refrain, before laying aside his pen, from rapping the editor on his religious views and his frequent airing of them in [Gleanings in] Bee Culture.” Pellett offered a warning in his biography: “Belligerent Dadant, ever ready to castigate those who fell afoul of his purposes.”

  4. Kim Flottum, “Bottom Board: Review of Gleanings,” 40.

  5. Even though Hawaii wasn’t a state, it too sent representatives to Washington to learn how to package their honeydew honey, an inferior honey but used in baking. Hawaiian beekeepers did not want to be accused of honey adulteration by California bakeries.

  6. Frank C. Pellett, History of American Beekeeping, 119.

  7. F. L. Aten, “The Past and Present of Progressive Beekeeping,” Texas Department of Agriculture Bulletin 22 (Nov.-Dec. 1911): 353.

  8. Moffett, Some Beekeepers and Associates, 67.

  9. Rita Skousen Miller, Sweet Journey, 30.

  10. “Beekeeping Grows in Beehive State,” Salt Lake Tribune, January 13, 1967, F7.

  11. Joe Graham, “100 Years Ago: Automobiles for Bee Work,” 652.

  12. Moffett, Some Beekeepers and Associates, 43.

  13. Roger Morse, “Bee Tech,” 12.

  14. Ibid.

  15. John Caldeira, “Texas Beekeeping History: The Southland Queen.” Available at: http://Outdoorplace.org [accessed April 25, 2003].

  16. Mrs. Booker T. Washington’s maiden name was Margaret Murray.

  17. Kim Flottum, “Bottom Board: Review of Gleanings,” 40.

  18. Ibid.

  19. Flottum, “Bottom Board: Anna Comstock,” Bee Culture 125, no. 5 (1997): 62, 64.

  20. H. D. Woods, “Beekeeping for Women,” Texas Department of Agriculture Bulletin 22 (Nov.-Dec. 1911): 357–60.

  21. Frank C. Pellett, “How the Women Win,” 372–73.

  22. Frank C. Pellett, “Honey Production in the Sage District,” 296.

  23. Beth Haiken, “Plastic Surgery and Beauty,” 436.

  24. Lois Banner, American Beauty, 216.

  25. G. H. Cale, “Beeswax Needed in the War Effort,” 247.

  26. Aten, “The Past and Present of Progressive Beekeeping,” 353.

  27. Bodog F. Beck, Honey and Health. Bodok, a zealous campaigner for honey, reminded audiences that ice cream made with honey during this period “was a far superior product” (147).

  28. “Honey in the Trenches of Europe,” 839.

  29. Cale, “Beeswax Needed in the War Effort,” 247.

  30. Haiken, “Plastic Surgery and Beauty,” 443.

  31. Ibid., 446. There were so many wounded British men that the government went to extensive lengths to entice American cosmetic surgeons and psychologists to help men regain morale, which officials had been worried would fall and thus threaten national security.

  32. Jay Smith, “Thirty Five Years Ago,” 188.

  33. Philip A. Mason, “American Bee Books,” 482. Quick’s pamphlet was part of the Vocational Rehabilitation Series.

  34. F. Eric Millen, “You Can If You Will,” 158.

  35. Everett Franklin Phillips, “Soldier Beekeepers,” 302.

  36. Millen, “You Can If You Will,” 158.

  37. C. P. Dadant, “Editor’s Viewpoint” (1919), 371.

  38. C. P. Dadant, “Editor’s Viewpoint” (1920), 10.

  39. Ibid., 11.

  40. Gene Stratton-Porter, The Keeper of the Bees, 219, 193, 446.

  41. H. F. Carrilton, “Letter to Editor,” 89.

  42. Moffett, “Mitchell Brothers of Missoula, Montana,” 509; Moffett, “Powers Apiaries, Inc.,” 201.

  43. Miller, Sweet Journey, 114.

  44. G. H. Cale, “Father Francis Jager,” 115.

  45. Frank C. Pellett, History of American Beekeeping, 178. Pellett argues that clover was found as early as 1739; recognized as valuable by Charles Dadant; and debated hotly by beekeepers throughout the late nineteenth century.

  46. Ibid.,178–81.

  47. Eaton, “Sketches from Kentucky’s Beekeeping History,” 30–31.

  48. Charles Lesher, “North Dakota Sojourn—Part I,” 156.

  49. The first YMCA was established in 1850.

  50. Devine, “The Bee as a Reformer,” American Bee Journal 60, no. 3 (1920): 88. Although there may some prejudice against the Irish here, with the boy being called Mac and hailing from Boston, the writer clearly wants to show that bees were important in the juvenile reform system.

  51. Julian Carter, “Birds, Bees, and Venereal Disease,” 247.

  52. Ibid.


  53. Frank C. Pellett, “The Sweet Clover Belt of the South,” 331.

  54. Ibid., 332.

  55. Ibid., 331.

  56. Frank C. Pellett, “Mississippi,” 405–7.

  57. Greenville, Mississippi, was the most progressive city in Mississippi during this time period. The powerful Percy family protected the interests of blacks and saw to it that they were educated and well treated, at least with respect to the standards of the rest of the state. Leroy Percy shrewdly saw that in order to have cotton, the city had to have labor—black labor. And to prevent black people from leaving, he improved their standard of living, as opposed to other plantation owners, who preferred violence.

  58. Charles Abramson, “Charles Henry Turner,” 643–44.

  59. Ibid., 644. Turner was also very well known in the St. Louis area for his social causes.

  60. Ibid.

  61. A. I. Root, “Booker T. Washington.”

  62. Louis Wahl, “Some Experience with a Chinese Beekeeper,” 432–33.

  63. Bodog F. Beck, Honey and Health, 134.

  64. May Berenbaum, Buzzwords, 92. “This bill not only remains on the books, it was strengthened in 1976 by a clause prohibiting the importation of eggs and semen as well as adult bees.”

  65. Randall Teeuwen, “Public Rural Education.” It is worth noting that the Immigration Act passed in 1924 seriously restricted immigration from southern and eastern Europe, but state laws affecting immigrants had begun much earlier. According to Randall Teeuwen, World War I “revealed that a surprisingly high number of drafted men were unable to speak English. Consequently, many states, including Colorado (1918), passed legislation making it unlawful to teach German, and in some cases any foreign language, in private, parochial, and public schools” (23).

  66. Eugene Shoemaker, “Memories of Bee Inspection in the Thirties and Forties, Part I,” 69.

  67. Frank Pellett, History of American Beekeeping, 97.

  68. A. I. Root, ABC and XYZ, 405.

  69. John M. Barry, Rising Tide, 399.

  70. Jes Dalton, “Effects of the Great Flood,” 199.

  71. Henry Stabe, “Louisiana Flood Conditions,” 233.

  72. E. G. LeStourgeon, “Reconstruction in Louisiana,” 8.

  73. Ibid., 10.

  74. Stabe, “Louisiana Flood Conditions,” 336.

  75. Robert Page Jr., “Obituaries: Harry Hyde Laidlaw Jr.,” 58.