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(Entered at the Post-Office at Chicago as Second-Class Mail-Matter.) 

 Published Weekly at $1.00 a Year, by George W. York & Co., 334 Dearborn St. 



QEORGE W. YORK, Editor 



CHICAGO, ILL, MARCH 1, 1906 



VoL XLVI— No. 9 



(fbitortal Hotes 

 anb Comments 



j 



First Study for Young Bee-Keepers 



Among the principal sources from which the beginner 

 draws the information and inspiration that helps to make 

 him a successful practitioner may be named, practice in the 

 apiary, apiarian text-books, bee-papers, and conventions. 

 It might not be the easiest thing to say in what order these 

 should be placed, but it would not be far out of the way to 

 advise somewhat as follows : 



Get at once, no matter what the time of year, a text- 

 book, or book of instruction about bees ; when you have 

 carefully read it through (but don't be satisfied with once 

 reading) get a bee-paper; begin work at bees as soon as 

 spring comes ; and attend bee-conventions whenever the 

 opportunity offers. Then, as time passes, you will feel the 

 need of more bee-books and bee-papers. 



Programs for Bee=Keepers' Conventions 



The following frank remarks in the Bee-Keepers' Re- 

 view with regard to the National Convention at Chicago 

 will bear attentive perusal, and perhaps a little discussion : 



From my point of view, the greatest criticism that can 

 be brought against it is, that the program was a little too 

 full, thus cutting short the question-box department. After 

 I had it all arranged with one paper for each evening ses- 

 sion, and two for each day session, other matter came up 

 for consideration, and it was hard to say nay. I don't be- 

 lieve in doing away with papers entirely, but I do think that 

 one paper for an evening session, and two for the forenoon 

 and the same for the afternoon, are sufficient ; then let the 

 rest of the time be devoted to the question-box. 



There were several very important questions that had 

 been sent to me by mail, and to the discussion of which the 

 convention might have profitably devoted quite a litt'.e time, 

 but the time spent upon the regular program was so great 

 that the question-box received scant attention. It was not 

 reached until the last evening, and when it was seen how 

 many questions there were to be answered, it was voted 

 that only two answers should be given to each question, 

 which proved to be only a farce — a few questions can be 

 properly and satisfactorily discussed by two persons speak- 

 ing only once each in an audience of ISO to 200 persons. I 

 feel the more free to criticise this point, as I am the man 

 who made up the program. Well, I'll know better next 

 time. 



It would be very interesting to know just what change 

 of procedure Mr. Hutchinson has in mind when he says. 



" I'll know better next time." In other words, if he had it 

 to do over again, what would he do differently ? Certainly, 

 he would hardly hold to the theory that it was the right 

 thing to arrange for " one paper for each evening session 

 and two for each day session," for that was exactly the 

 theory that did not work out satisfactorily in the case un- 

 derconsideratioc. Would he modify that so as to have only 

 one paper at each day session ? Would he have one or more 

 sessions without any paper, devoting the whole of such one 

 or more sessions to the question-box ? 



Mr. Hutchinson says, "I don't believe in doing away 

 I with papers entirely." Perhaps not; and yet there might 

 be worse things. It is probably not a very wild guess to 

 guess that seven-eighths of those in attendance at the Na- 

 tional Convention in Chicago would have vastly preferred 

 to have had all the papers thrown out entirely rather than 

 to have had the question-box thrown out entirely. Witness 

 the replies on page 822 of the American Bee Journal for 

 1905, to the question, "What proportion of the time of a 

 bee-convention do you think should be taken up with the 

 question-box for the greatest benefit to the average bee- 

 keeper attending ?" Answers vary all the way from one- 

 fourth to the whole time. C. P. Dadant says : " I enjoy that 

 part best, and learn more than from anything else." J. A. 

 Green says : " At the best conventions I ever attended no 

 papers were read." Others count the question-box the most 

 interesting part of the convention. 



One trouble in this whole business is that in most con- 

 ventions the question-box comes in at the tail-end of the 

 program, and then when the program is too much crowded 

 the question-box has to suffer. If it is the best thing on the 

 track, why not give it the right of way ? 



Brood-Rearing in Winter 



R. C. Aikin says in Irrigation, the official organ of the 

 Colorado Association : 



" I recall that a few years ago there was quite a discus- 

 sion (I think it was in Gleanings, and principally by R. L. 

 Taylor and G. M. Doolittle) as to the time of year bees be- 

 gan to breed If I remember aright, some said in January, 

 and others as stoutly affirmed that it was as late as March, 

 and the disputants seemed a bit warm. It was amusing to 

 read the discussion, and none of them seemed to know for 

 sure." 



Your memory is at fault, Mr. Aikin. The controversy 

 was between R. L. Taylor and Dr. Miller, and both " seemed 

 to know for sure." But Dr. Miller said January and Feb- 

 ruary breeding was not likely to occur in the cellar, only 

 outdoors. 



Mr. Aikin discusses his own observations in a very in- 



