342 



THE BEBKKEEPERS' REVIEW 



conception arises from our personal 

 experience tliat liigh relative hu- 

 midity gives us a feeling of chill. 

 There is no evidence that bees with 

 very different exteriors are so af- 

 fected. 



At any rate it is evident that 

 condensation of moisture on the 

 combs of honey is not beneficial 

 since this favors the growth of 

 molds. The damp dark interior of 

 the hive is certainly favorable for 

 tne growth of these organisms. It 

 is not yet shown how these are 

 injurious but they can scarcely be 

 assumed to be desirable as food. A 

 still more serious consideration is 

 the fact that honey tends to take 

 up moisture either from a highly 

 saturated atmosphere or from water 

 condensed on the surface of the 

 comb. This dilution of the honey 

 often leads to some fermentation, 

 injuring the honey as a food. 



In conclusion it is evident, and 

 in fact this is about the only point 

 which we can consider proven on 

 this question, in conclusion then, it 

 may be said that we need more in- 

 formation on the subject of humid- 

 ity and wintering. What we need is 

 not more speculation, of which 

 there is a plenty, but there is sore 

 need of observations on the hu- 

 midity of bee cellars and its effect 

 on the wintering of the bees. A 

 slight outlay for whirling ther- 

 mometers (such as the one exhib- 

 ited) would make it possible for 

 beekeepers to accumulate data of 

 great value. We need more experi- 

 menters who are not satisfied to 

 sit at a table and aim their specu- 

 lations at copy sheets but who go 

 to the bee cellar armed with a 

 thermometer and trained eyes, and 

 with this equipment get facts of 

 real value. The thermometer is 

 more easily obtained than the 

 trained eyes. 



New York Bee-Keepers' Associa'n 



The Bee-Keepers' Review — There 

 are a good many beekeeperis in 

 western New York. Why not try 

 and have a branch of the NA- 

 TIONAL Association here! If you 

 will help us get started by giving 

 us a few pointers on forming a 

 branch, then place a notice in the 

 Review that all beekeepers living 

 in wester,!! New York wishing to be- 

 come members of a new branch of 



the National Beekeepers' Associa- 

 tion, write to Vollmer & DeMuth, 

 Pembroke, N. Y. for further par- 

 ticulars. 



( There is no reason why a state 

 so rich in apicultural resources as 

 New Yoi<k should not support sev- 

 eral brailches of the National As- 

 sociation. The organization of a 

 blanch of the NATIONAL is a very 

 simple affair. The first and main 

 proceedure is to advertise it thor- 

 oughly through the bee journals 

 and local papers. To make a con- 

 vention a success, a turnout must 

 be secured. The great mistake of 

 most secretaries is that they do 

 not get their dates sufficiently 

 early to give the bee journals time 

 to properly advertise their meet, 

 consequently many do not know of 

 the meeting until too late to at- 

 tend. Another point in advertising 

 a meeting, is, that one notice is 

 not sufficient to get out a good at- 

 tendance. If it is talked about for 

 two or three months in advance 

 that there will be a meeting of bee- 

 keepers at a certain date at a cer- 

 tain place, many will attend that 

 would not, were only one notice 

 given, especially, if that notice is 

 only a few days previous to the 

 date of the meeting. December is 

 likely as good a month to hold con- 

 ventions as any. Most beekeepers 

 have by that date finished their fall 

 work and put bees in winter 

 quarters. In other words, all have 

 much more spare time at this date 

 than earlier in the season. Re- 

 member what I have said about 

 the main thing is to advertise the 

 meet sufficiently to get out a good 

 attendance. A President, Vice- 

 President and Sec.-Treas. is elect- 

 ed. Quite often the offices of 

 Sec.-Treas. are combined, one hold- 

 ing the two offices. The dues us- 

 ually collected are $1.50, the dollar 

 being for a year's subsciiiption to 

 our REVIEW and the 50c retained 

 for local use, as there is no National 

 fee aside from the amount that is 

 decided upon to pay the branch ex- 

 penses. There MUST be 15 members 

 before a National branch can be 

 formed. Ed.) 



Secretaries should ask for a 

 stock of Official Receipt Cards for 

 membership dues. They are free 

 for the asking. Address. The Bee- 

 Keepers' Review, Northstar, Mich. 



