272 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



May, 1920 



ORGANIZATION WORK 



The 'Building of Strong, Permanent 

 Associations ^Demands Some Incen- 

 tive to Membership 



By Prof. H. F. Wilson. 



IN Wisconsin 

 beekeeping 



has long suf- 

 fered from lack 

 of organization 

 because people 

 have looked up- 

 on it as a more 

 or less uncertain 

 business, and 



manj' of our best beekeepers have not con- 

 ducted the business in a thoughtful and 

 businesslike way. The present development 

 is simply a forward movement that comes 

 with the healthy growth of any similar in- 

 dustry. Beekeeping has always been a big 

 "small" industry but lacked development, 

 and a lack of business co-operation among 

 beekeepers has prevented its organization. 

 Beekeeping is now in its ascendency because 

 it was greatly stimulated thru conditions 

 brought about by the war. The uninformed, 

 cut off from the usual supply of sugar, have 

 become acquainted with a better sweet and 

 the possibilities of the humble bee. Fur- 

 thermore, the business man, who ordinarily 

 thinks of every product from a purely finan- 

 cial standpoint, has been educated in the 

 future of beekeeping and honey production. 

 What Is Necessary to Membership. 



Eight thousand people, more or less, own 

 bees in Wisconsin; but many of these peo- 

 ple are also running farms, and the bees are 

 but one of the many side lines kept on the 

 general farm. Because of this fact it is 

 not surprising that so few persons have 



taken an active 

 interest in local 

 or state beekeep- 

 ing organiza- 

 tions. In order 

 to have a strong 

 a n d permanent 

 association of 

 any kind in the 

 industrial world, 

 there must be some strong incentive to mem- 

 bership. In our case co-operation will make 

 incentives. 



Beekeepers first rallied to the support of 

 the National organization because there was 

 an urgent need for protection. Later, when 

 the immediate cause of that rally was taken 

 care of, the beekeepers became more taken 

 up with local affairs and the support to 

 the National fell off. In the same way 

 local and state associations thrive accord- 

 ing to the returns the beekeeper receives. 

 No association of beekeepers can continue 

 indefinitely unless there is a tangible asset 

 to membership. Many old-time beekeepers 

 attend the association meetings to meet and 

 talk with old friends, but the younger gen- 

 eration usually consider matters upon a 

 basis of financial returns. 



How the Work Began. 

 Early in 1916 while studying the condi- 

 tions in this State, it became evident to the 

 writer that, in spite of wonderful opportuni- 

 ties, the beekeeping industry had been de- 

 clining for a good many years and would 

 continue to decline, unless some strong 

 measures were taken to 

 check what might prove 

 to be a real beekeeping 

 disaster. Inquiry among 

 beekeepers showed that 

 bee diseases, winter 

 losses, and lack of pro- 

 tection for the bees in 

 late fall and early 

 spring are the main 

 causes of the destruc- 

 tion of the bees and a 

 decline in the industry. 

 It then became evi- 

 dent that some plan 

 must be developed 

 which would interest 

 the beekeepers in co- 

 operative effort for 

 cheeking the ravages of 

 disease and produce bet- 

 ter beekeeping methods. 

 During the winter of 

 1916-1917 over 2,000 cir- 

 cular letters, containing 

 a list of questions, were 

 sent out to beekeepers. 

 Sixty replies were re- 

 ceived, and four men 

 were willing to arrange 

 local meetings. 



Personal talks with 

 a number of the bee- 



□• Hffiliai^cl Local Hssociohons 



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O Local /{siociaf ions now ready lo affil- 



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