244 



TilE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



enough to "go it alone." You are far 

 more likely to succeed if you confer with 

 others who are working along similar 

 lines. It is ihe listening and inquiring 

 mind that paves the way to results. The 

 whys and wherefores are always to be 

 thoroughly considered. We live in an 

 age of progress, when success depends 

 more upon brain than muscle. God pity 

 the man who is not progressive. 



The thought I wish to get hold of is, 

 that much can be done through organiza- 

 tion — the exchanging of thoughts with- 

 out which no individual could otherwise 

 hope to do. 



The young must eventually take the 

 place of the older ones; and I know of 

 no place where thev can be better educa- 

 ted in bee-culture than by attending our 

 annual gatherings, for combined efforts 

 are always most effective. 



The social part of our gathering is by 

 no means to be omitted. To pass it by 

 unnoticed would be unjust, although the 

 last feature spoken of is by no means the 

 least. These meetings are an endless 

 source of pleasure as well as profit to the 

 many who avail themselves of their op- 

 portunities. Speakine of myself, I never 

 go home without feeling a great deal bet- 

 ter friend with myself and with those 

 whom I meet. We are quick to recog- 

 nize the pleasure we derive from these 

 gatherings, and from the friendships 

 made. The hearty handshake of our ed- 

 itors — it is with pride we welcome them 

 at each session. We feel honored by a 

 visit from so worthy a body of co-workers 

 And doubtless they, too, pride themselves 

 that we are possessed of such a thriving, 

 enterprising society. The two great aims 

 of life that actuate the most of our move- 

 ments are pleasure and profit; those no- 

 ble men bring both to us. 



The knowledge and ability of each 

 officer and annual member of our Associa- 

 tion have enabled us to gain the mo.st out 

 of each passing event. T^et us all take 

 home what we gather here, and we shall 

 be better men, and better apiarists. 



Reading is all right. Of all men, the 

 publisher of a journal ought not to con- 

 demn reading, and I don't, but it must be 

 admitted that the meeting of a body of 

 fellow workers, meeting them face to 

 face, grasping their hands, looking in 

 their faces, sitting with them at the same 

 table, visiting with them, hearing "how 

 they do things," fills one up with enthu- 

 siasm in a way that can never come from 

 reading. As friend Huffman puts it so 



nicely: "he goes home feeling a great 

 deal better friend with himself and with 

 those he has met." Few men go home 

 from a convention with other than a 

 friendly feeling for every member. I 

 have known of men being almost at 

 swords' points, over some real or fancied 

 grievance, until they came to meet at a 

 convention. Here, under the influence 

 of a face to face meeting, the rigid lines 

 and set lips relaxed, and both went home 

 to bury the hatchet. Our National con- 

 ventions have been great peace makers. 



In regard to whether it is profitable to 

 attend conventions, I am often reminded 

 of the expression of W. L. Coggshall, of 

 New York, the man with }'ears of experi- 

 ence and hundreds of colonies, the last 

 man we would think of as standing in 

 need of advice, yet he once told me that 

 he never attended a convention without 

 receiving information worth all that it 

 cost him to attend; and sometimes the in- 

 formation was worth a great many times 

 more than it cost to attend several con- 

 ventions. 



There is still another point: Some of 

 our most succes.sful and practical bee 

 keepers write very little for the journals. 

 At a convention they can be induced to 

 talk. If not in the conventon, they will 

 chat with you "on the side," — when tak- 

 ing dinner at some restaurant, for 

 instance. 



SMALL NUCLEI FOR QUEEN REARING. 



Tlieir Advantages are Overbalanced by 

 Their Disadvantages. 



There has been quite an attempt, in the 

 last year or two, to bring into general use, 

 among queen breeders, the small nucleus 

 for having queens fertilized. By small 

 nucleus is meant a single comb not much 

 larger than a section box. These little 

 boxes are used over, or attached to, some 

 full colony, so that the occupants of the 

 boxes may enjoy the heat of the full col- 

 ony. At the end of an article making 



