340 AXNUAI. RKPOHTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



they jire (lev()tin<i' iiiore of tlioir time (u tliose who aim to make bee- 

 keepin<r their life work and who, therefore, are willing and able to 

 carry out the plans of honey i)rodiiction advocated by the depart- 

 ment. The speriali/ation in l)eekeeping, which has been noticeably 

 int reasin^ (hiring the last few years, has received a great impetus 

 from the growth of beekeeping during the war, and it is now clear 

 that the future of beekeeping rests in making better beekeepers of 

 those extensively engaged in the work rather than to induce more 

 people to take up tiie work. 



Mention was made in the last report of a new type of extension 

 work that was being tried, namely, the holding of schools for com- 

 mercial beekeepers, eacli of a Aveck's duration. It is obviously im- 

 possilde in short meetings to present the subject of beekeeping in a 

 comi)rehensiA-e manner, and in order that the teachings of the office 

 might be presented better these schools have been continued and have 

 been received with enthusiasm wherever presented. Since these are 

 conducted by men from the office and not by the regular extension 

 men, the number which can be presented is limited. During the year 

 11 such courses were given and 2 others were discontinued at the last 

 minute because of the influenza epidemic. The average attendance 

 at these schools was well over 1(K), which is about as large a number 

 as can be handled efficientl3^ AVhile these schools are planned for 

 commercial honey producers, it is found tluit those not yet heavily 

 engaged in beekeeping but who desire to take up the Avork are able 

 to attend these schools with profit, and at each school there have been 

 several su li persons in attendan- e. 



The bulletin on swarm control, mentioned in the last report, 

 has been completed but not j^et published. Two manuscripts of a 

 practical nature have also been prepared during the year, one on 

 beekeeping methods applicable in the buckwheat region and the 

 other in the region where tulip tree is the major source of honey. 

 It is believed that many beekeepers fail to take 1' ull advantage of the 

 department's publications in which the principles of beekeeping are 

 presented, because of the difficulty of making the necessary local ap- 

 plication, and it has therefore semed wise to prepare detailed and 

 specific directions which will apply to certain designated regions, 

 and to no others, in order that they may be more readily followed. It 

 is hoped to prepare other bulletins of this charncter as soon as data 

 are available, one other having already been partially prepared. 



Wintering or bees. — The object of the work on wintering is, of 

 course, to provide methods whereby the beekeeper may not only save 

 his bees from death during the winter, but whereby the colonies may 

 be able to build up rapidly in the spring to reach maximum strength 

 in time for the honey flow. In order to have a better understanding 

 of the latter phase of the problem, measurements were begun with 

 the first brood of the season of 1920, and at weekly intervals the exact 

 amount of brood in each of several colonies was determined. This 

 gives not only the total amount of brood reared by each colony before 

 the honey flow, but also shows changes which occur in the rate of 

 development. This work was continued up to and then through the 

 honey flow. The making of the observations in an exact manner 

 takes so much time that it has not yet been possible to analyze the 

 data, but from what are now at hand it is clear that this work offers 



