E 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



3 



EDITORIAL 



THE MEETING of the National Beekeepers' 

 Association at Burlington, la., on Feb. 19-21, 

 which has now gone 

 The Future into history, did 



of the good work in the se- 



National lection of new of- 



Association. ficers, men being 

 chosen that we be- 

 lieve will be live wires. The new president, 

 David Running of Filion, Mich., is one of the 

 best presiding officers of beekeepers ' meetings 

 that we ho.ve in the country. He has a won- 

 derful faculty in drawing out discussion and 

 clearing up conflicting testimony. We doubt, 

 too, if there is a better posted beekeeper 

 anywhere. The secretary, Frank Markham 

 of Ypsilanti, Mich., is also a honey producer, 

 whose skill is attested by the fact that he 

 holds a gold medal of the Michigan Beekeep- 

 ers ' Association. The vice-jiresident, Hamlin 

 B. Miller of Marslialltown, la., is not only an 

 enthusiastic beekeeper but a good man to 

 build up an association. The Iowa State Bee- 

 keepers ' Association, of which he is secre- 

 tary, is one of the strongest and best in the 

 whole country. Almost every Iowa bee- 

 keeper, and many outside of the State, know 

 ' ' Ham ' ', whose middle name is ' ' Beeswax. ' ' 

 Taking it all in all, the combination of of- 

 ficers is a peculiarly fortunate one. 



The National Beekeepers ' Association has 

 gone thru a varied experience. At one time 

 it had a membership of some two or three 

 thousand with .$4,000 or $.5,000 in its treasury. 

 We have attended some of these meetings 

 when the attendance was .500 and more. At 

 the time of its greatest prosperity there were 

 a few who thought that there were too many 

 supply dealers and bee journal editors on the 

 board of directors for the Association's good, 

 and for a few years there was more or less 

 clashing at its meetings on account of this 

 fact. The result was that the organization 

 went to pieces. While it was intended as a 

 sort of insurance organization to protect the 

 beekeepers against persecution of certain 

 persons who believed that the business of 

 beekeeping was an encroachment upon their 

 rights, it gradually merged over into a fra- 

 ternal and social organization. Its member- 

 ship continued to drop and the attendance 

 at several of the meetings was little more 

 than local, sometimes not over 50 being pres- 

 ent. An effort was then made to re-organize 

 it on a delegate basis, but this fell thru be- 



cause the plan was too elaborate or too some- 

 thing. 



Finally, when Francis Jager of Minnesota 

 and a man of vision, became president of the 

 organization, he made it plain that the Na- 

 tional ought to do something in a national 

 way, and notwithstanding that he was other- 

 wise occupied, and notwithstanding that he 

 was sent on a special mission to Eui'ope dur- 

 ing the past year by the Government, the 

 organization under his leadership attempted 

 and did some things thathave meant a great 

 deal of good to the beekeepers of the coun- 

 try at large. It was instrumental in securing 

 financial help from the Government until now 

 we have $50,000 a year, with 11 special field 

 agents operating under Dr. E. F. Phillips of 

 the Bureau of Entomology, Washington, D. 

 C, and giving their whole time to develop 

 beekeeping in the United States. 



The National was likewise instrumental in 

 getting from the Bureau of Markets regular 

 market quotations, secured by excellent men, 

 free from any possible financial bias. That 

 the Bureau of Markets is going to be of im- 

 mense help to the beekeeping industry of the 

 United States, has now been demonstrated 

 beyond any question of doubt. 



If the National had never done anything 

 more than these two things, even with its 

 present limited membership, it would well 

 have served its purpose. The retiring presi- 

 dent, Francis Jager, shows that he was thoro- 

 ly alert to the needs of the organization ami 

 the beekeepers of the country. To report aU 

 that he said at the last meeting at Burling- 

 ton would fill too many pages of Gleanings. 

 It is to be hoped that the new officers will 

 carry out at least some' of the policies that he 

 recommended. He now returns to Europe soon 

 to go into the American Eed Cross Work, 



It will take careful deliberation to mold 

 the policy of the Association. It will result 

 in loss of ground if the Association tries to 

 adopt the schemes of every man who comes 

 to the meetings and talks loud. In all the 

 beekeepers ' associations there is too great a 

 tendency to put into office men with wild 

 plans who talk well. Above all things a na- 

 tional organization must keep its feet on the 

 ground and must not listen to men of untried 

 ability and visionary schemes. This is the 

 rock on which the National nearly split, and 

 the wise man profits by such mistakes. 



Then, what of the future? Hardly a day 



