ILLINOIS STATE BHEtKEEPEEiS' ASSOCIATION 



45 



read, but we can accomplish a little 

 something from the method used bj' 

 advertisers of a mail-order house. 



If you get in the mail something of 

 a similar nature — ^practically a repeti- 

 tion of the same thing, or on the same 

 subject, four or five times^something 

 on the same subject time after time, 

 after a while you will read it. You may 

 not read it the first time, but you will 

 read it before you get through. 



The scheme I proposed in Michigan 

 was for the State Association and our 

 bureau, and perhaps some other office, 

 to co-operate on this thing and use 

 this list of names. Supppse your State 

 Association were to send something 

 to all of these 5,100 names on the sub* 

 ject of disease, and suppose all but 50O 

 threw it away; you would do a good 

 deal of good through the 500' you 

 reached. Suppose in a week or ten 

 days all these men got something else 

 on the same subject — probably 1,000 

 would read the second. Then in a week 

 or ten days, send out another letter on 

 the same subject — and before very 

 long you would reach a large number 

 of people that you had on your list. 

 'They would read what you had to say 

 in some form or other. 



Now I realize that we do not have 

 on our list more than 25 per cent 

 of the bee-keepers in any one county, 

 " but I realize on the other hand that if 

 we get something in the way of litera- 

 ture into the hands of the 25 per cent 

 of the bee-keepers, it will do good 

 work, because they will spread it, and 

 their neighbors will get a knowledge 

 of it in this way. 



If there comes a bombardment of 

 literature on a certain subject into a 

 county, it is going to get about — it is 

 '' ^ going to be talked about, and there is 

 going to be a certain amount of in- 

 terest concerning it. 



We have done already a good deal 

 of work in sending out publications in 

 that way, and we immediately get a 

 lot of requests from these counties, 

 asking: "Please send me your Bulle- 

 tin," or "Please send me your circu- 

 lar," and ultimately I imagine we 

 : would get in touch with about 75 per 

 cent of the bee-keepers. I do not know 

 any way to reach iOO per cent — some 

 way in which we could reach every 

 bee-keeper. 



Mr. Diebold — ISend a premium. 



Dr. Phillips— JThat might be better. 



Dr. Bohrer — ^Do it through the Sta- 

 tistical Bureau of your State. 



Dr. Phillips — "We dont' reach all; be-. 

 sides that, you don't get their ears; 

 they don't listen to everything you say. 



"When we realize that in regions like 

 Illinois, where the disease is prevalent, 

 the bee-keeping of the future is going 

 to be in the hands of the specialist, and 

 you are going to reach the few special- 

 ists in this 25 per cent of the men who 

 are interested, in this manner, we are 

 sure of accomplishing results by send- 

 ing out this literature in the manner 

 that has been suggested. 



If there is going to be a way by 

 which your Association can co-operate 

 with us, I would be glad to take that 

 up with you, and see if we cannot do 

 something that will accomplish good 

 for the bee-keepers of this State. 



Tou have some money from the State 

 which is given to you for the promo- 

 tion of bee-keeping, and I don't see 

 how it would promote it more than in 

 spending the money in endeavoring to 

 get these people educated on the sub- 

 ject of bees and bee-diseases, so that 

 they will know how to handle the situ- 

 ation when necessary. 



Through your blank that you send 

 out you will say, "We have a State 

 Inspector, and his name is A. L. Kil- 

 dow, of Putnam, 111.," and this will be 

 a new piece of news to them; and then 

 he may get more than four requests a 

 year. They will hunt that man up and 

 write to him, and be more interested, 

 and if the thing is worked properly I 

 think it would do a great deal of good. 



Another thing I think your State As- 

 sociation is in a very, good position to 

 do, and that is to go to your Experi- 

 mental Station and say, "We would 

 like to have some publications on this 

 subject issued and distributed by the 

 thousand in the State." If you will 

 furnish help to the men who write the 

 bulletin, and can furnish a large list 

 of names, I am sure, though I have not 

 said anything to these men ajpout it, 

 that they would be very glad to help 

 you in that work, and without any ex- 

 pense to you, and you would find that 

 that would be an additional benefit. 



I would' like to hear suggestions from 

 you as to anything that you may think 

 of that would be more effective in get- 

 ting before the people the information 

 they ought to have. I would be very 

 glad to have these things brought out. 



