22 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



Febrnary 



fident that the sooner this industry is 

 reconized as a legitimate branch of 

 agriculture the better it will be. If 

 one takes this view of bee-keeping, 

 then surely there is no better place to 

 talk bees and advanced apriculture 

 than among the farmers. Institutes, 

 however, are not made up entirely of 

 farmers, as the towns and small vill- 

 ages are generally well represented, 

 especially at the evening meetings. 

 Here, then, is an excellent opportun- 

 ity for men who believe in bee-keep- 

 ing as a specialty to so educate the 

 people with regards to the nature and 

 value of honey as a food as to largely 

 increase its consumption. 



Perhaps it may be well before I go 

 any further to explain the nature of 

 institutes and how they are conducted, 

 as all of your readers may not under- 

 stand this fully. I will assume that 

 they are conducted in the same way 

 and along similar lines in all of the 

 States, and take Missouri for my ex- 

 ample, as I am better acquainted with 

 the method of procedure in this State 

 than I am with others. 



These institutes are held under the 

 auspices of the State Board of Agri- 

 culture. This Board, in our State, is 

 made up of one member from each 

 congressional district, appointed by 

 the Govenor for a term of three years. 

 The Govenor, the Superintendent of 

 Public Schools, and the Dean of the 

 Agricultural College are ex-officio 

 members. The board appoints a Sec- 

 retary who, under its direction, con- 

 ducts most of the business of the 

 board, and has all to say about hold- 

 ing institutes, and the speakers to be 

 employed. Each fall the secretary 

 gives notice through the agricultural 

 press that a certain number of insti- 



tutes will be held in the State. From 

 the applications he receives he selects 

 such places as are the most accessible 

 by public conveyance, and can be 

 reached without to much loss of time 

 by the speaker, and arranges for insti- 

 tutes in these localities, announcing 

 the dates in advance. All expenses 

 are paid by the State except that the 

 local community is expected to furnish 

 the hall in which the meetings are 

 held. Sometimes they go to the fur- 

 ther expense of furnishing music, and 

 in some communities they offer quite 

 liberal premiums on household and 

 farm products. The State furnishes 

 at its own expense speakers who are 

 to open the discussions in their parti- 

 cular lines, and then a general discus- 

 sion of the subject follows. Of course, 

 the speaker is supposed to understand 

 throughly the branch of agriculture 

 which he represents, and the audience 

 is permitted to ask as many questions 

 as it desires, he being expected to 

 answer them. This part of the meet- 

 ing is very helpful and sometimes 

 very interesting ; and, I may remark, 

 would satisfy the most cranky crank 

 on the question-box. 



Now, surely, no one will fail to see 

 that here is the bee-keeper's opportun- 

 ity to sow good seeds, if the right man 

 can be secured to represent the indus- 

 try at these institutes. How, then, 

 are we to secure a hearing? First, it 

 may be brought about in this way : 

 Let bee-keepei's in each community 

 see their local member of the Board 

 of Agriculture and show up to him 

 the importance of the industry, and 

 thus a friendly feeling may be created 

 for apriculture among the members, 

 which may proove an entering wedge 

 toward the securing of some good men 



