1%8 



CiLEANlNGS IN BEE CUl-TURE. 



805 



queen at any time during the months of May, 

 June. July, or August, for then I cut out all the 

 cells mery ten days and use them. If I do not 

 have colonies which will accept them, as I have 

 just told you, I form nuclei to take them, and, 

 when laying, later on, after the main honey har- 

 vest is past, I supersede all queens, which do not 

 come up to my standard of perfection, with these 

 which are ready to be used at any time, and in 

 any place I may wish. I fear bee-keepers in gen- 

 eral do not fully realize the value of this super- 

 seding matter as they should." 

 Borodino, N. Y. 



General 

 Correspondence 



THE NATIONAL BEE-KEEPERS' CON- 

 VENTION. 



Of What Should the Program Consist.' 



BY DR. C. C. MILLER. 



The article published in the Bee-keepers' Re- 

 njie-M by Secretary Hutchinson, as a sort of pros- 

 pectus of the coming National convention, shows 

 a careful consideration of some of the things that 

 go to make up a good convention. Not only be- 

 cause of its bearing upon the coming National 

 convention, but much more because of its bear- 

 ing upon bee conventions in general, it is worth 

 while to give the matter further consideration. 

 Indeed, so important is it that, for the sake of 

 emphasis, some of Secretary Hutchinson's points 

 may be repeated, even if nothing is to be added 

 to or subtracted from them. Moreover, it would 

 be a good thing if members would take Secretary 

 Hutchinson at his word, and give "help, hints, 

 and suggestions " that may make the convention 

 "vastly better." Like other things connected 

 with bee-keeping, there is room for constant im- 

 provement in conventions, and worse use might 

 be made of space in bee papers than in discussing 

 the topic. 



The discussion of some special topic for the 

 first evt-ning, or, for that matter, at any session, 

 with stereopticon views is good. The only trou- 

 ble is that it may not be practicable to have the 

 stereopticon at all the smaller conventions. But 

 that detracts nothing from its value wherever and 

 whenever practicable. 



Mr. Hutchinson suggests, as a thing never be- 

 fore attempted at a National convention, to have 

 "at least one debate during each of the day ses- 

 sions." Put in that general form, it is certainly 

 nothing new, for more than one lively debate has 

 occurred in many a session. But Mr. Hutchin- 

 son explains that he means something a little dif- 

 ferent — a regular pitting of two debaters against 

 each other, prearranged, each an able defender, 

 the two holding opposing views. That might be 

 a good thing. Again, it might not. If a con- 

 \ehtion is made up of members who are slow to 

 take part in the discussion of topics presented by 

 the question-box, then it would help to have the 

 time partly occupied as indicated. But if the 

 time for formal debate is to crowd out impromptu 



debate — for almost any topic offered in the queS- 

 tion-bo\ is pretty sure to awaken discussion with 

 opposing views — then it might not be a good 

 thing. Mr. Hutchinson says that " we common 

 folks can sit back and enjoy the 'flow of words 

 and the feast of leason.'" Couldn't we enjoy 

 the same thing just as well in our own homes by 

 having the two speeches printed in the bee jour- 

 nals.' Indeed, that's just what we do have in the 

 bee journals, frequently and constantly. But the 

 vim and the snap of the impromptu discussions, 

 when many an idea is brought out that would 

 not be presented in a prearranged debate, nor 

 given in the bee journals, partly because some 

 will take part in the offhand discussions who 

 would not write for the journals the things they 

 say in convention, these things we can not have 

 except in convention, and we want to get there 

 what we can not have elsewhere. In the days 

 when more than now time was taken up in con- 

 vention with prepared speeches or essays, one can 

 recall that one gave scant attention to these many 

 a time, thinking that one would get exactly the 

 same thing to be read at leisure afterward, saving 

 the attention for the wide-awake offhand discus- 

 sions that could never be exactly reproduced on 

 paper. Would it not be the same thing with any 

 formal debate.? 



Most bee-keepers will heartily second Secretary 

 Hutchinson's motion to cut out the banquet. 

 The mass of bee-keepers are not nocturnal birds-, 

 and the banquet, with its late hours, would do 

 more to unfit than to fit them for the next day's 

 work. Whether all would favor an evening of 

 prepared speeches, speakers not previously an- 

 nounced, is a question. But there is no disputing 

 Mr. Hutchinson when he says: "To attend a 

 convention at some distance from home is more 

 or less of a strain, at best, and every precaution 

 ought to be taken that the members should feel 

 just as well and as f>right as they possibly can; 

 otherwise there is little enjoyment." There are 

 breakers ahead in two opposite directions. There 

 is danger that the long-continued strain of close 

 attention may be so great that the sessions be- 

 come a pain instead of a pleasure, and the tired 

 mind may actually refuse to continue action. 

 On the other hand, members feel they want to 

 get in all the time they can in actual c 'uvention 

 work — in real bee-talk. Well-meant but ill-di- 

 rected kindness often suggests that something 

 should be provided for the entertainment of mem- 

 bers in attendance — an excursion by way of boat 

 or trolley, etc. Some may enjoy this, but many 

 will count it time lost. A mayor or other official, 

 who doesn't know a drone from a worker, is 

 chosen to make a welcoming address, enlarging 

 upon the beauties of the place, its prosperous 

 manufacturers, etc., and time is taken for a re- 

 sponse, and this, too, will be counted time lost. 



Well, if such things are not the best to provide 

 proper relaxation, what is to be done to p lieve 

 the constant strain.'' It should be remembered 

 that the strain comes, not from the number of 

 sessions, but from the long-continued strain of 

 each session. Plainly, relief should come by a 

 rest in the middle of each ses ion. In our public 

 schools, instead of a continuous session from 9 

 A.M. till noon, a recess of 15 minutes is taken 

 during the forenoon, and with that rest more is 

 accomplished in the 2^+ hours left than would be 



