October, 1919 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



649 



by the average beekeeper, and soon it is a 

 better knowledge of local beekeeping than 

 that possessed by the best of beekeepers. 

 There is no other education in beekeeping 

 that even approaches extension work — for 

 the man who does the work. Now as he meets 

 other beekeepers he can not fail to pass on 

 this additional knowledge. He may be liken- 

 ed, whether he likes it or not, to a sponge, go- 

 ing about taking up knowledge, squeezing it 

 out at each meeting, but taking up a bit 



Virginia beekeepers who listened to Hawkins. 



more than he gives out each time. His meet- 

 ings ought to, and do, become better as he 

 goes on with his work. It is not so much 

 because he was a beekeeper before he enter- 

 ed the work that he can be helpful, but it 

 is especially because he has better opj^or- 

 tunities than any one else to get informa- 

 tion on bees that he can help others. As 

 men differ, so do extension men in their 

 ability to grasp facts and pass them on to 

 others; but there are none of these men who 

 have the false idea that they can get with- 

 out giving and they are truly missionaries 

 in spirit. In just the same way inspectors 

 and state beemen have the chance to grow. 

 That is why all these men can do for bee- 

 keeping and beekeepers what journals, 

 books, bulletins, and even the efforts of bee- 

 keepers themselves cannot do. 



The conclusion from all this is that the 

 beekeepers of the country realize fully the 

 need of mutual education, and it is to be 

 hoped that they recognize the fact that the 

 extension men have something which will 

 help them in their apiary work. Any bee- 

 keeper who thinks that he can gain nothing 

 from meeting with his fellow beekeepers, or 

 who thinks that he has "secrets'" which 

 should not be divulged to other beekeepers, 

 has much yet to learn. 



Seven Extension Short Courses. 



Among the meetings recorded above there 

 were seven extension short courses, planned 

 especially for commercial beekeepers. As 

 has already been told in the journals, these 

 lasted from Monday noon to Saturday noon, 

 and it was not planned that these should be 

 picnics. They are a rather steady grind, 



and a beekeeper who attends all the sessions 

 does a hard week's work. That the beekeep- 

 ers desire this type of work is attested by 

 the fact that the average enrollment at 

 these schools was about 100, and there is a 

 demand for more such schools in the future. 

 The Bureau will be glad to keep on with 

 this work so long as it meets a need and so 

 long as the beekeepers continue to support 

 the work so finely. Several of these schools 

 are already scheduled for the coming win- 

 ter. Of course, the courses are not attrac- 

 tive to, or planned for, amateur beekeepers, 

 for the man with a small interest in beekeep- 

 ing does not care to take the time for the 

 courses. As is well known, the Bureau does 

 its work in beekeeping on the assumption 

 that the future growth of beekeeping in the 

 United States should — must — be along the 

 lines of making more commercial beekeepers 

 and not encouraging those beekeepers who 

 are satisfied with a few colonies. 



Other Agencies Advancing Beekeeping. 



Great credit should be given the inspect- 

 ors, the state workers at the agricultural 

 colleges, and others who have seen the need 

 of getting the beekeepers of the country to- 

 gether. If the extension men can help fur- 

 ther in this work, and if they can keep right 

 on giving advice and help to those who are 

 trying to make their beekeeping better, and 

 if they can add their efforts to those of all 



They came together in Montana to hear Sechrist. 



the other agencies looking to the upbuilding 

 of beekeeping as a commercial industry in 

 America, then the day of better things in 

 this industry is not so far distant. None of 

 this work can be done without criticism, 

 and there are always those who see utter 

 annihilation of the beekeeping industry in 

 any effort for its advancement. Fortunately 

 those who wear these dark glasses are being 

 slowly converted to a realization of the 

 truth that beekeeping cannot stand still 

 without going back, and the number of pro- 

 gressives in the trade is steadily and rapid- 

 ly increasing. It is hoped that the number 

 of beekeepers who meet with their fellow 

 beekeepers during the next year may be 

 double that of the past year; if this is the 

 case, then the good accomplished will be 

 multiplied many more than twice. 

 Washington, D. C. 



