l62 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 84 



Department at current European prices, reeled at Washington, and 

 the reeled silk was sold in the open market. In this way it was dem- 

 onstrated that silk culture could not be made to pay under the then 

 existing conditions, and, since the tariff was at that time being revised 

 by Congress, the statement was made to the Appropriations Commit- 

 tee that an import duty on raw silk would probably result in estab- 

 lishing the silk raising industry in the United States. This item was 

 naturally antagonized by the silk manufacturers, and no provision of 

 the sort was made. 



Under the new appropriations requested by Secretary Wilson, a 

 somewhat more elaborate test of the situation was made. I went to 

 Europe in 1902, looked into the questions of silk culture in Italy 

 and France, purchased at Lyons for the Department a five-basin reel 

 of the latest pattern, and also brought over two expert reelers. This 

 machine was established at the DejDartment ; one Italian girl, resi- 

 dent in the United States, and two American girls were taught the 

 reeling operations ; eggs were sent out as before; and an estimate of 

 the cost was weighed against the sums received from the sale of the 

 reeled silk. Conditions were found so absolutely like those of 20 

 years earlier that even Secretary Wilson was convinced that people 

 could not be kept interested in raising cocoons, and his requests for 

 appropriations for this purpose ceased. 



Quite in contrast in results to the investigations of silk culture, have 

 been the investigations relating to bee culture. Work on both of 

 these beneficial insects belongs naturally to the Bureau of Entomology. 



Some money was spent on bee culture during Professor Riley's 

 administration, the investigations being carried on largely by Nelson 

 W. McLain. This work was begun in 1885, and was carried on at 

 Aurora. Illinois. The main objects were, to introduce and domesti- 

 cate new races of bees, to experiment in crossing and mingling races, 

 to try to bring about artificial fertilization, to study bee diseases, and 

 finally to settle the greatly discussed question of bees versus fruit. 

 Several reports of Mr. McLain's were published, and Mr. McLain's 

 location was changed from Aurora to Hillsdale, Illinois, in 1887, and 

 the work soon ceased thereafter. 



In 1891 some work was done for the Department by Prof. A. J. 

 Cook at I^ansing, Michigan, and by Mr. J. H. Larabee of Vermont, 

 and on July i of that year Frank Benton, a well known apiculturist, 

 was appointed for the ]iurpose of carrying on further investigations, 

 and was stationed in Washington. He was largely engaged in the 

 preparation of a manual of bee culture during the following two years. 

 This bulletin was finally published as Bulletin No. i of the New 



