204 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



April, 1918 



passes now but the beekeepers of some coun- 

 ty organize a local association, most of these 

 organizations being formed at meetings held 

 by the extension men of the Bureau of Ento- 

 mology. This is excellent work, most of which 

 will be of lasting value. The county clubs 

 in California have shown what may be ac- 

 complished, and their work has only begun. 

 It appears that the smallest units are being 

 organized, and the logical step would be' for 

 them to aflfiliate with the state associations. 

 Too many of our state associations are dead 

 — deader even than some erroneously believe 

 the National to be. They need new life, and 

 they will surely get it when the county or- 

 ganizations begin to send representations to 

 the annual state meetings. 



With rejuvenated state associations, the 

 National must of course become strictly a 

 representative body with delegates from the 

 states. This was tried a few years ago, as 

 has been said above, but the effort was prema- 

 ture, for many state associations were not 

 strong enough to send delegates, and there 

 was also a division of opinion as to the policy 

 of the National. li now having been shown 

 that no National organization can safely en- 

 ter the marketing field headfirst, the policy 

 of the National is definitely that of educa- 

 tion. Some day when there are more com- 

 mercial beekeepers and when marketing is 

 standardized, perhaps there can be a nation- 

 v/ide organization for marketing; but this, of 

 course, can not be made from the top down. 



Gleanings welcomes the organization of lo- 

 cal or state marketing organizations, for they 

 have proven their worth to beekeepers. Every 

 friend of beekeeping must do so. 



Gleanings believes that the revival of the 

 National can progress only as rapidly as the 

 state associations revive. Too many state 

 associations have retained their officers too 

 long, which almost invariably leads to a mori- 

 bund condition. War calls for changes, and 

 beekeeping is at war. General Pershing has 

 sent some officers back from France because 

 they lack "pep." Most of the associations 

 have now elected their oflScers for the com- 

 ing year. If the officers of your state asso- 

 ciation are not much in evidence during the 

 coming season in the effort to increase pro- 

 duction and build up the state organization, 

 put them out of office at the next state meet- 

 ing. Do it politely and without generating 

 hard feeling, but do it. Many state associa- 

 tions meet only once a year, and in many 

 cases the members hear nothing of the asso- 

 ciation except just before the annual meet- 

 ing. The officers should do more than this. 

 They can arrange field meetings, can help 

 their organizations by publicity, and can 

 often send helpful circulars during the year. 

 They can see that all the members who sell 

 on wholesale markets receive the Government 

 market reports. They can support, and, if 

 need be, wake up the beekeeping work at the 

 agricultural colleges. Look into these things 

 during the year — do not wait for the annual 

 meeting to decide whether your association 

 needs new officers. Don 't forget, too, to lend 



your state officers all possible aid and co- 

 operation. 



One of the duties of the state officers is to 

 help President Eunning boost the National. 

 That duty is not specified in the by-laws but 

 it should be on the conscience of beekeepers. 

 See that your officers boost the Government 

 activities and, if they do not, find out why. 

 If this is done all 'round. President Eunning 

 will receive all the co-operation he can hope 

 for. 



Let us see the National next year is made 

 up of delegates of our state associations. 

 Will you help? Will you be there? 



DE. EDW. F. BIGELOW, editor of The 

 Guide to Nature, in the February issue of 

 that journal, pub- 

 Again — How lished an exhaus- 

 Do Bees Build five article on 

 Their Cells? ' ' How Honeybees 



Produce Honey- 

 conib, ' ' in which he seeks to demonstrate 

 that "in making the comb, the honeybees 

 never work in hexagons, but always in cir- 

 cles. ' ' His article is in contravention of the 

 long and universally accepted theory that 

 bees intentionally build their combs hex- 

 agonal. The Literary Digest for March 16, 

 in its department of "Science and Inven- 

 tion," quotes the bulk of Dr. Bigelow's 

 theory as printed in The Guide to Nature, 

 thus giving it very wide circulation — if not 

 approval. In a nutshell, Dr. Bigelow holds 

 that the honeybee deserves not one particle 

 of credit for making a beautiful hexagon; 

 that all she does is to make a rude cylinder 

 (circular) of wax, and by going in and out 

 of such cylinder (which adjoins six like 

 cylinders) she pushes out the sides, and it is 

 tins pressure on the sides of the cylinder, 

 taking up the inter-cylinder Sipace, that 

 makes the hexagon. In other words, circular 

 cells built in close contact become hexagonal 

 when compacted together by pressure from 

 within the cells. The English authority, 

 Cowan, has set forth this theory of cell- 

 building, quoting Mullenhoff in support of 

 his own view. Cheshire is another authority 

 who inclines to this theory. Huber does 

 not do so, and most of the latest authorities 

 do not. 



THE ARTICLE by Chalon Fowls on 

 page 215 of this issue suggests that perhaps 

 we ought to set a 

 The Let-Alone- 

 Hive and Its 

 Limitations. 



definite limitation 

 on the scope of the 

 "let-alone hive" 

 or "let-alone sys- 

 tem." In the article on page 143, March 

 issue, where we describe Allen Latham's 

 "let-alone hive," we were merely showing 

 what had been done and what might be 

 done under some circumstances. 



It's not to be understood that once-a-year 

 visitation to such hives would suffice in the 

 great majority of cases. It would never do 



