216 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



ical article on the best form of hives for 

 brood uests with supreme satisfaction. The 

 same line of reasoning, coupled with ex- 

 perience led me to adopt the hives I have 

 used so lony. Long life to Bro. Dayton. 



I A'compayning the foregoing was a pri- 

 vate letter from which I make the following 

 extracu —Ed.] 



Deak FiiiEND H. : — How sorry I am to 

 learn you cannot come to visit us, but you 

 no doubt act wisely. These are uncertain 

 times, and our first dutv is to make home 

 and family safe and happy. I have no one 

 necessarily dependent on me, yet I feel that 

 at this time I can be happier by staying near 

 home. The bee business has received a 

 black eye here this year. We have had off- 

 years DOW since IW.t. I have suspected for 

 some time that our old time certainty of a 

 honey crop was gone to stay. The cultiva- 

 tion of a new country invites drouth. The 

 rooting out of wild flowers brings in white 

 clover, which I at one time believed would 

 more than balance the loss of wild flowers, 

 but I now know I was mistaken. Clover is 

 so killed by drouth this year that it will be 

 no good next season. I am not discouraged, 

 as 1 have long believed that I could secure a 

 living crop of honey even in poor seasons. 

 I have been preparing to act, and have made 

 my intention good this year. 



FoBESTViLLE, Minn. Aug. 10, 18'J4. 



^=^;>^V^| 



What are the Benefits of Affiliation, and 



How Can the North American be 



Made More Useful ■? 



E. T. ABBOTT. 



rrjUE articles of incorporation of the 

 'T' North American Bee-Keeptrs' As-ocia- 

 tion (which it would not be a bad idea for all 

 the bee papers to publish in full) adopted at 

 Keokuk, say : 



" This Association shall consist of its of- 

 ficers, life members, delegates from affil- 

 iated local associations, and ex-Presidents." 



They then set forth the conditions on 

 which bee-keepers may become life and an- 

 nual members, and say that " delegates frorn 

 affiliated local associations shall be admitted 

 free." It is further stated that any "State, 

 District, Territory, or Province in North 

 America may become affiliated upon the an- 

 nual payment of fr).()0, which shall be due 



on the first day of January in each year, in 

 advance." 



I would like to learn now how many there 

 are of these " affiliated " associations at the 

 present time. I see a list of eight is given 

 in the report of the meeting at Keokuk, but 

 I find nothing in the last Annual Report to 

 indicate that there were any "affiliated" 

 associations at that time. If not, why not ? 



Then again, what benefit is to be derived 

 from becoming "affiliated?" 



These are merely questions thrown out to 

 provoke an expression of opinion, if possi- 

 ble, on the part of our leading bee-keepers. 



It is a truth which no one can gainsay, that 

 it is human nature not to remain "affili- 

 ated " very long when no benefit of any kind 

 is to be derived from the affiliation. I can 

 see how every individual who attends a meet- 

 ing of the North American can be greatly 

 benefitted, but I confess I do not see where 

 the benefit is to accrue to those who ate only 

 "affiliated," and never attend any of the 

 meetings. It seems to me that it ought to 

 be possible to identify the interest of all 

 local societies more closely than they are at 

 present with that of the National. I do not 

 know just how this can be done, but I want 

 to suggest a plan by which I think it could 

 be brought about at our next meeting, in 

 October. I should like very much to see this 

 the largest meeting that was ever held in 

 the interest of apiculture on this continent. 



This can be done with very little effort, if 

 we all set about it at once in the right way. 

 I would suggest, first, tli it every county in 

 the United States, where there is a sufficient 

 number of bee-keepers, organize at once a 

 local society. Let each member pay in a fee 

 of fifty cents, and then proceed to elect a 

 delegate to the North American, and equip 

 him with money enough to pay his expenses, 

 and $1.00 for the annual membership fee. 

 Discuss thoroughly what you would like to 

 have him present to the North American, 

 and send him out instructed to vote every 

 time for the thing that comes the nearest 

 representing what the local society desires. 

 As part pay for the benefit this delegate is to 

 derive personally from attending the North 

 American, he should be required to write up 

 fully the entire trip and the doings of the 

 North American, and present this to the next 

 meeting of the local society. (3ur Canadian 

 friends should do the same in every Prov- 

 ince in Canada. In this way we could 

 secure a very large attendance, and create 



