ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



107 



Mr. Holterman: I object to the 

 statement that there are not young 

 bees in the spring. 



Mr. France: Now that we have this 

 committee on the question of securing 

 information as to the honey secreting 

 plants, could we not have a committee 

 to have some observations made for 

 another year's report which would be 

 worth more than the ordinary guessing 

 on this point? 



The President: I would undertake 

 to make some tests myself. 



Mr. Selser moved, seconded by Prof. 

 Surface, that a Committee of three be 

 appointed, with Mr. Pratt as chairman, 

 and that it be their duty to make ob- 

 servations on this question and to re- 

 port either verbally or in writing at 

 the next Annual Meeting. Mr. Pratt 

 to choose his associates. Carried. 



Mr: Pratt: I would start off and ask 

 the bee journals to call for. investiga- 

 tions as soon as possible. I will do 

 my best. 



Prof. Surface: I think it would be 

 well to recommend auxiliary commit- 

 tees in connection with this committee. 

 I would be willing to act in this region. 



Mr. Tork: I was going to suggest 

 Prof. Surface be a member of that 

 Committee if he could "lie and sit and 

 watch." 



Mrs. Surface: Evidently that gen- 

 tleman doesn't know Mr. Surface as 

 well as I do. He doesn't sit still two 

 minutes at a time during the 24 hours 

 of the day. ' 



Mr. Holterman: I will confess my- 

 self the more bees I keep the more 

 difficult I find it to carry on investiga- 

 tions of the nature spoken of; and I 

 for one am sorry to say I could not 

 do it, because I would not undertake 

 to do it unless I could do it properly; 

 and I hope no one will unless they 

 can do it properly. That is in con- 

 nection with the secretion of nectar 

 and nectar glands. Some people think 

 if the blossom is once emptied of its 

 nectar it remains empty. 



The President: It does under some 

 circumstances. 



Mr. Holterman: I would like if some 

 investigations were carried on along 

 that line to find out what the action 

 is. Whether it is like a spring or 

 whether it does remain empty. In my 

 estimation there are just two classes 

 of people who can do that work: In- 

 telligent people who are close observ- 

 ers, who have owned a few colonies 

 and who have time to devote to it. 



People that sometimes we are apt to 

 despise, but who are very valuable. 

 And, on the other hand, the Govern- 

 ment Experimental Stations. I would 

 like to have them make some observa- 

 tions along this line at Washington 

 or at other places where they are car- 

 rying on work of this kind. 



Prof. Surface: I believe the last 

 speaker has touched upon a most fund- 

 amental point — the relation of our 

 state experimental stations to agricul- 

 ture. They ought to take up these 

 points. I think they would do it if 

 we would use our influence to induce 

 them to do so. I feel it is one of the 

 most important things for us to do, to 

 get these trained men at work in our 

 subjects and on our behalf. There is 

 no reason why they should neglect 

 wholly and entirely some experiments 

 along the line of bee-keeping. I be- 

 lieve if members of the National in 

 each respective state and the members 

 of the respective State associations 

 would write calling attention to the 

 neglect of this important although 

 minor branch of agriculture and try 

 to prevail upon them to institute a 

 series of experiments and observations 

 by the men trained for such work and 

 hired to lie still in front of a hive — a 

 man can afford to lie when he is hired 

 for it. 



Mr. Moe: How do you spell that? 



Prof. Surface: It is all spelled the 

 same when you are at Harrisburg. I 

 say, if we would do that I believe they 

 could not refuse to take action. If 

 "we would use the influence of our State 

 and National Organizations to pile let- 

 ters upon them week after week after 

 a while it would become such a bur- 

 den to them, to their minds and souls, 

 and consciences, that they could not 

 get out of it any other way than to 

 establish an apiary experimental sta- 

 tion to work in conjunction with the 

 other branches of agriculture. 



I take pleasure in offering a reso- 

 lution that this Association request 

 experiments and investigations by the 

 State Experimental Stations as well as 

 the continuation of the work by the 

 Federal Government. Whatever we 

 can do -to help Dr. Phillips I [certainly 

 think that also should be a part of our 

 work. 



President: Let the question of the 

 secretion of the nectar and the relation 

 Mr. Holterman be prominent. 



Prof. Surface: I would say to in- 

 vestigate certain problems such as the 



