190'; 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1585 



alize this is much easier than to provide a 

 remedy. 



Realizing that one suggestion may lead to 

 what is more valuable, allow me to offer the 

 foundation for a plan. 



Why not have the election of officers the 

 first month of the year? State and provin- 

 cial societies generally meet, or could readi- 

 ly meet, during the last months of the year. 

 If they did not, they could act at any time 

 during the year if they so desire. Why not 

 allow every State or even every society cov- 

 ering a larger area, which afiiliates with the 

 National, to nominate, by election at its an- 

 nual meeting, in no local spirit, either from 

 among its own members or outside men for 

 the various offices in the National? Let such 

 nominations go before the electoi's with per- 

 haps one added name selected, as before, be- 

 ing the one receiving the largest number of 

 nominations as large as before. There may 

 be a clause giving this privilege only to the 

 society having a membership not to be less 

 than a set amount, and. of course, the society 

 would have to be in affiliation with the Na- 

 tional. It was shown by Mr. N. E. France, 

 the General Manager, that there was very 

 little interest taken in the nominations by the 

 members, and a great many did not take 

 part in the election of officei's because those 

 running for office were unknown to them. 

 A state nomination, while not always a guar- 

 antee of a wise selection, would be more 

 likely to be so than when made by an indi- 

 vidual; and I believe that, by this method, 

 local interest and local pride would be stim- 

 ulated and the National convention would 

 grow in membership and influence 



In some of the bieeders' and other associ- 

 ations there has been a clause inserted re- 

 stricting the membership to those interested, 

 so that they could not afford to vote for 

 any thing which might be contrary to the 

 interests of the industry with which they 

 were allied. While we know of men of good 

 judgment and good faith keeping but few 

 bees, and having but little at stake in the in- 

 dustry, who would be and have been good 

 directors along general lines, we want men 

 first of good judgment, th n interested in the 

 success of the industry and with wide expe- 

 rience to represent us. 



This, in my estimation, should be the fit- 

 ness for office kept in view rather than some 

 of the distinctions which have been suggest- 

 ed. 



Let, with the nomination, the qualification 

 be named — say John Smith, 20 years a bee- 

 keeper; has 100 colonies, or has 100 colonies 

 of bees and edits Bee-keejjers' Paradise, etc. 

 The National Bee-keepers' Association at 

 the Harrisburg Convention was pursuing, in 

 my estimation, not only a legitimate but a 

 wise policy when it asked that every Federal, 

 State, Dominion, and Provincial government 

 be asked to get into shape proper machinery 

 to carry on apicultural investigation and to 

 bring bees and honey before the people. 



Pennsylvania bee-keepers realized the val- 

 ue of field demonstrations as they had them 

 last summer to draw attention to the product 



of the bee; and in the no distant future we 

 may look forward to the development of the 

 valuable asset which bee-keepers have in the 

 intei'esting demonstrations that bee-keepers 

 can make in connection with the natural 

 history of the bee and the way in which bees 

 can be handled. 



Prof. Phillips, of the Department of Agri- 

 culture, gave an address containing many 

 valuable practical points for bee-keepers up- 

 on the production and care of extracted hon- 

 ey. Dr. Phillips, if he is careful to confine 

 himself to the proper work of his department, 

 especially with growing experience, added 

 years, and proper equipment, should be able 

 to do valuable work for the bee-keeping in- 

 dustry of the United States and other coun- 

 ti'ies. 



President Aspinwall justly said in his ad- 

 dress, "Bee-keeping is the greatest of all 

 agricultural subjects when we consider the 

 various branches of agriculture which are in- 

 volved. When we consider the need of 

 knowing the life history of the bee, its work, 

 the methods of produtnng wax. a bee-keeper 

 should be a botanist and an entomologist." 

 Father Langstroth said that bee-keeping is 

 the most beautiful science in the whole rural 

 economy. 



Let the actions and demands of the Na- 

 tional Association be in harmony with the 

 importance and dignity of such a calling. 



Brantford, Canada. 



AVINDBREAKS. 



How to Make Canvas Shields when there 



are No Trees or Shrubbery to Shelter 



the Apiary. 



BY A. J. HALTER. 



When the forest is being deprived of its 

 foliage it behooves the bee-keeper to make 

 final preparations for wintering bees, espe- 

 cially those located in the norihern regions. 



A great many bees are placed in cellars, 

 and some in trenches, while a large part are 

 left on their summer stands, in which case 

 windbreaks are of great value. However, 

 for some reason these windbreaks are great- 

 ly neglected, lumber and labor at times be- 

 ing quite an item. 



The past two seasons I have used canvas, 

 such as is used on harvester machinery or 

 straw-carriers, and find it quite durable. It 

 is from 4 to 5 ft. in width. A great many 

 binders or farm machinery are yearly sent 

 out on trial, and are returned, slightly used, 

 to their respective agencies. The canvas, 

 however, is generally replaced before the ma- 

 chine is again offered for sale. This canvas 

 can be purchased at a reasonable price, and 

 by giving it a coat of oil it is made water- 

 proof. 



When the bees are all packed for winter, 

 drive a few fence-posts and tack the canvas 

 against the posts for several hours, and the 

 work is done. During summer remove the 

 canvas and roll it up until again needed for 

 future use. 



