5N»si«. 



■T\, 



'%! 



(Entered a» second-class matter July 30, 1907, at the Post-Offlce at Oblca^o, 111., under Act of Marcb 3, 1879.) 



Published Monthly at $1.00 a Year, by George W. York & Company, 117 North Jefferson Street, 



GEORGK W. YORK, Kditor. 



DR. C. C. MILLER, .■\ssociate Kditor 



CHICAGO, ILL, FEBRUARY, 1912 



Vol. LII -No. 2 



Editorial 



Comments 



Bee-Keeper.s' Couveiition.s 



.•\ ,K;ood deal has been said, one time 

 and another, as to what is the best way 

 to arouse interest in those who attend 

 conventions, and to hold that interest. 

 The matter is of so much importance 

 that it would not be a bad thing to 

 have a pretty general discussion re- 

 garding it. 



When two bee-keepers meet, small 

 time is likely to elapse before they be- 

 gin to talk bees. If a third member is 

 added to the number, the interest is 

 likely to be greater than with only two, 

 and in general an increase of numbers 

 means an increase of interest. Yet 

 when the number becomes sufKciently 

 great there is likely to be some con- 

 fusion, and it becomes desirable, if not 

 absolutely necessary, to have some or- 

 ganization with a presiding officer. 

 Thus, instead of a chance meeting, we 

 have a convention. 



Just what is the best way to till up 

 the time of a convention to get the 

 most pleasure and prolit out of it is 

 not easy to say. What may be best for 

 one time and place may not be best for 

 another. Based on the idea that two 

 or more bee-keepers are always inter- 

 ested in talking bees, the time may be 

 taken up with discussions of a more or 

 less conversational character, a (|ues- 

 tion-box furnishing topics for discus- 

 sion. So it has been the case in some 

 conventions that the entire time has 

 been taken up with the i|uestion-bo.\. 



There is some danger that when the 

 '|uestion-bo.N holds a prominent place 

 there may be more or less loose talk 

 without very much careful thinking. 

 A written paper gives more chance for 

 careful preparation, and in some con- 

 ventions such prepared articles take 

 up most of the time. Some, however, 

 will object that the proper place for 

 written papers is in the bee-periodicals. 

 and that they can get more good out of 

 such reading in the quiet of their own 

 homes. This objection has all the 



more force if the bee-keeper is under 

 considerable expense for railroad 

 fares and hotel bills. 



As a compromise, some advocate a 

 short paper to introduce a topic, to be 

 followed by extempore discussion. 

 The danger in this case is that tlie 

 paper is likely to be exhaustive rather 

 than introductory. Also there is dan- 

 ger that instead of short papers the 

 papers may be so long as to take up the 

 whole time, leaving no time for dis- 

 cussion. 



There is no denying that at a con- 

 vention those who attend desire es- 

 pecially those things that they can not 

 get elsewhere. Prominent among 

 these is the social feature — the meeting 

 of other bee-kee-keepers face to face — 

 and also the oral discussions. Much, 

 very much, depends upon the presiding 

 officer as to whetherextempore discus- 

 sions shall be profitable or not. Timely 

 suggestions on his part, and more or 

 less strict holding to the topic in hand, 

 may make all the difiference between 

 failure and success. 



Latterly there has been a tendency 

 toward thinking that less time should 

 be taken in discussing matters directly 

 in the line of practical management of 

 bees, and more as to other matters of 

 organization. More business and less 

 bee-talk. It is a question of no little 

 interest as to whither this may grow. 

 Experience teaches, and in at least one 

 case it has turned out not entirely as 

 expected. Speaking of the Ontario 

 convention, J. L. Byer says in ("dean- 

 ings in Bee Culture : 



The convention was strictl.v a /v/w//rv» one. 

 and it was a quesiioii in tin? mind of some if 

 tliis fealnre was not overdone a bit. W'liile 

 we may argue as the writer lias often done) 

 that details of management, etc.. should be 

 discussed in local conventions, yet the fact 

 seemed apparent at our late convention that 

 many come to eet information who are not 

 as yet interested in freight-rates, co-opera- 

 tion, and a host of other questions that the 

 more seasoned bee-ke'-pers no doubt riglitiv 

 think should be paramount. This fact was 

 made clear by the lively discussion that fol- 



lowed any subject or (uicstion that would 

 occasionally crop uji concerning actual 

 management connected with the apiary. To 

 my mind it seems clear that we nuist be 

 careful in future conventions, and not jump 

 too quickly from one extreme to another, 

 else there be danger of cutting out the at- 

 tendance and interest at ovu- lueelings. 



The whole subject is one of very 

 great importance, and there is very 

 much left to be said. Those who have 

 had experience in attending conven- 

 tions, and have given the matter care- 

 ful thought, may do well to give to our 

 readers their views as to what helps to 

 make a good convention. Our columns 

 are open to them. 



Itaces of Bees 



In an address before the great Ger- 

 man convention of bee-keepers, re- 

 ported in Bienen-Vater, Dr. Weygandt 

 says that the original honey-bee was 

 the Caucasian, and from this all others 

 are derived. Even today it shows the 

 greatest inclination to variation, and 

 from it the breeder may obtain almost 

 whatever he wants by careful and con- 

 tinuous selection. 



He thinks that each race of bees is 

 best adapted to its own locality, a view 

 in which he by no means stands alone. 

 In other words, the native bee is best. 

 However it maybe in other countries, 

 it will hardly do to apply that doctrine 

 too closely, if at all, to this country. 

 Properly speaking, we have no native 

 bee. The black bee was here first, it is 

 true; but the black is really an impor- 

 tation comparatively recent. Because 

 it was first does not at all argue that it 

 is the best. The proof of the pudding 

 is the eating; and the hundreds who 

 had the opportunity, when Italians 

 were introduced, to try blacks and 

 Italians side by side, were practically 

 a unit in saying that more honey could 

 be obtained with Italians. 



Board of 4)ireftors' ^leetiiifj 



t)n another page Secretary Tyrrell, 

 of the National Association, gives a 

 somewhat condensed report of the 

 proceedings of the meeting held by 

 the new Board of Directors at Detroit. 

 Jan. -Ja. IDia. We trust that all our 

 subscribers will read that report very 

 carefully, and try to realize what it will 



