56 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



February 



THE FUTURE EDUCATION OF 

 THE BEEKEEPER 



By H. F. Wilson 



When Mr. Demuth remarked, at 

 our Chautauqua last summer, that 

 scientific application of any formula 

 was just a common-sense use of it, I 

 think he opened the way for all of 

 our beekeepers to become scientific 

 investigators. In fact, some of our 

 btst-known beekeepers of the past 

 and present were and are investiga- 

 tors of the science of beekeping. In 

 beekeeping terms they are known as 

 practical beekeepers, but these men 

 have been successful, because they 

 studied the bees and their actions un- 

 der certain conditions and learned 

 from these studies w-hat was best to 

 do and why certain things should not 

 be done. 



Many observations are made and 

 recorded in the bee journals by our 

 beekeepers that are scientific, but 

 seldom do these observers attempt 

 to reason out the direct application of 

 their observations. 



One of the finest methods of in- 

 creasing the knowledge of beekeep- 

 ing is through observations of the 

 (scientific) practical beekeeper, who 

 takes time to study the reasons for 

 normal and abnormal conditions in 

 the bee colony and is able to reason 

 in a logical manner on the results. 



Scientific investigations are noth- 

 ing but careful observations of nat- 

 ural phenomena, which reach a 

 greater degree of exactness with in- 

 creased observations. Take, for in- 

 stance, the temperature of the bee 

 cellar. For a long time certain of our 

 beekeepers have realized that near 

 SO degrees F. was the best tempera- 

 ture for the bee cellar. This conclu- 

 sion was reached after a long series 

 of observations of the condition of 

 bees at different temperatures in the 

 cellar. Lately this scientific fact has 

 been proven by actual .observation of 

 the temperature requirements of the 

 honeybee cluster during winter. 



The real difference between the av- 

 erage beekeeper and a well-trained 

 investigator is that the beekeeper has 



not had the advantage of special 

 training in chemistry, physics, zool- 

 ogy, and other subjects necessary for 

 the study of the economy of the bee 

 colony. While Dr. Miller is no longer 

 able to defend himself, I do not think 

 it any reflection on his wonderful 

 career to say that his early education 

 in medicine must have helped him 

 greatly in studying the ways of bees. 

 The words "practical" and ""scien- 

 tific" really have the same meaning 

 as applied to beekeeping, and only 

 scientific beekeepers can hope to 

 keep in the game of the future. Hun- 

 dreds of thousands of dollars are 

 going to be invested in bees and thou- 

 sands of colonies will be found where 

 liundreds now exist. 



The beekeeper of the future must 

 be a trained man. Not only must he 

 have training in the manipulation of 

 bees, but he must have a knowledge 

 of physics, chemistry, soils, botany, 

 zoology, business methods, and other 

 minor subjects. 



Given unlimited time, a certain 

 knowledge of these subjects may be 

 obtained through reading or coming 

 in contact with other men. But the 

 world of today is moving too fast for 

 such methods and we must learn 

 quickly or be left by the wayside. 



Where are we to go for this train- 

 ing? Like other agricultural sub- 

 jects, it must be taught in our schools 

 and colleges, where it will take the 

 more technical name of "Bee Hus- 

 bandry." 



Bee husbandry is rapidly being in- 

 cluded in the curriculum of all agri- 

 cultural colleges, and in a few years 

 this subject will be a recognized part 

 of higher agriculture. At the On- 

 tario Agricultural College, Guelph, 

 Canada, a building has recently been 

 completed which, I understand, is 

 the first building erected exclusively 

 for beekeeping in America. We 

 should have many such buildings in 

 the United States. 



During the last few years, bee hus- 

 bandry has become a recognized part 

 of the curriculum of the College of 

 Agriculture in the University of Wis- 



consin and plans are under way to 

 provide a laboratory, complete in 

 every detail. 



The following courses are now be- 

 ing offered to students who wish to 

 take up this work: 



1. A five-weeks' short course in 

 beekeeping in connection with the 

 regular fifteen-weeks' farmers short 

 course. This course is primarily 

 meant for farm boys who^re doing 

 general farming, but has been ar- 

 ranged so that practical beekeepers 

 may receive special instruction in a 

 course combined with poultry or hor- 

 ticulture. Given in 1921 from Febru- 

 ary 7 to March 17. 



2. An elementary course for be- 

 ginners covering one semester of 

 eighteen weeks. 



3. An advanced course for begin- 

 ners extending over the second pe- 

 riod of eighteen weeks 'of regular 

 work. Students who have had work 

 in apiaries are also allowed to enter 

 this class. 



4. A complete short course in bee- 

 keeping for all who cannot afford to 

 remain for longer than one year. 

 This course is intended to give the 

 full year's practice and includes ac- 

 tual care of one apiary throughout 

 the year. Four apiaries, two com- 

 mercial and two experimental, are 

 available for study at all times. Each 

 student is also given a series of prob- 

 lems in management corresponding to 

 the four seasons of the year. 



5. A four-year course in bee hus- 

 bandry, which includes all fundamen- 

 tal studies, such as physics, chemis- 

 try, zoology, botany, business admin- 

 istration, etc. Each student must 

 have spent two summers in a co^m- 

 mercial apiary before graduation and 

 must have carried on a certain series 

 of experiments along the line of gen- 

 eral beekeeping practice. He must also 

 participate in marketing one crop of 

 honey. It is expected that every stu- 

 dent w'ho finishes this course will be 

 able to successfully engage in the 

 business side of bee husbandry or 

 take up college experiinental work as 

 he desires. 



' Wisconsin. 



lUaO clnsb HI ilcrncnlary betkccpiiig at VVi.scuMi>m Uiuvcrbity 



DO BEES NEED SALT? 



Some years ago I 'had a California 

 cooler for milk and butter and other 

 things; it had gunny sacks 'on sides 

 all around and water on top, with 

 small holes in side of tank, so the 

 water trickled down over the sacks 

 and kept them wet all the time. Bees 

 were all over the sacks to get water, 

 and so I put a lot of salt in the tank 

 so the water would be very salty, and 

 that increased the number of bees 

 getting the salt water, so the cooler 

 was entirely covered with bees. But 

 the lady of the house objected to get- 

 ting anything in ami out of the 

 cooler; so I had to give it up, and 

 since have had nothing of the kind. 



But now some California beekeep- 

 ers in the Western Honey Bee say 

 ihey s'oak combs that have been in 

 foulbrood colonies in salt water, and 

 use them again, and no foulbrood ap- 

 pears; salt may have soiuething to do 



