360 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 15. 



bits of white wax are seen — not because it is 

 better, but because it suits my convenience bet- 

 ter — and I never observed any foundation gnaw- 

 ed at that time, but I've had foundation badly 

 gnawed after storing ceased. Still, I may not 

 have observed closely enough before harvest. 



Mks. Axteix properly raises the question, 

 " If hybrids are really as good honey-producers 

 as the pure race, then why charge more for the 

 pure?" Even if hybrids were as good as the 

 pure, it does not follow that successive genera- 

 tions of hybrids would not deteriorate. Some 

 dairymen think half-breed Jerseys as good as 

 the pure; but they say their herds would rap- 

 idly deteriorate if they used only half-breeds for 

 breeding. 



The wiggling that Mrs. Axtell talks about 

 on p. 324, is. I think, entirely different from the 

 back and forward "raking" spoken of in C. B. 

 J. The "wiggling," I have oftenest seen by 

 bees on the comb; the "raking," never any- 

 where except on the outside of the hive. Lately 

 I have seen it suggested that bees wriggle in 

 this way in order to help them disgorge the 

 contents of the honey-sac. But there doesn't 

 seem enough of it for that. 



EXPERIMENTS IN APICULTURE; HISTORY 

 AND SUGGESTION. 



PKOF. COOK GIVES AN OUTLINE OF WHAT HAS 

 BEEN DONE. 



Dear Mr. Editor: — The subject of experi- 

 ments in bee-keeping is one that has taken 

 much of my thought for years; and so the arti- 

 cle in the current volume of Gleanings, p. 228, 

 from the able pen of one of our most expert bee- 

 keepers, the late president of the American 

 Association, was read with no slight interest. 

 I am glad that he and the American Associa- 

 tion are moving in this direction. I believe he 

 is the chairman of a committee to look after 

 this matter. lam glad that this is so. Such 

 action is wise. I believe the government, which 

 is looking after the interests of almost all in- 

 dustries in very telling ways, should not over- 

 look that of bee-keeping. I am also quite cer- 

 tain that, if bee-keepers demand recognition, 

 and ask aid, the government will not be slow to 

 render all possible assistance. 



HISTORY. 



The present Assistant Secretary of Agricul- 

 ture, Hon. Edwin Willits, is a man of great 

 breadth, and so has the broadest sympathy with 

 all useful work. He recognizes in apiculture 

 an industry that has men of the noblest tiber in 

 its ranks; that gathers up what would other- 

 wise be a waste product, and hands it forth to 

 feed the people, thus adding to the nation's 

 wealth; that does a great though unrecognized 

 service in securing more perfect fertilization 

 of the flowers of our fruits and vegetables, thus 

 adding immensely to the fruitage of our fields, 

 gardens, and orchai'ds. Such breadth of knowl- 

 edge and such interest in all that is useful has 

 made him the earnest friend of bee-keepers, as 

 of all other useful citizens. Just as he was 

 leaving his duties as pi'esident of this college, 

 where he had done most excellent service, to 

 assume the still more ai'duous duties of his pres- 

 ent position, I talked over with him the whole 

 field of apic'ultural experimentation, and told 

 him when^ I thought the United States govern- 

 ment could and should assist the bee-keepers in 

 their work. He assured me that bee-keepers, 

 as well as those of other industrial pursuits, 

 should receive attention, and, when possible, 

 aid and encouragement, so far as he was able to 

 secure such service. 



The next year after Dr. E. Willits assumed 

 his duties I was in Washington, and was asked 

 by both Dr. Willits and Dr. C. V. Riley, who. as 

 head of the Division of Entomology, would 

 naturally have supervision of experiments in 

 apiculture, if, in case the Department wished 

 to carry on experiments in apiculture, the bees 

 at this college could be secured for such work. 

 I replied that I thought they could be had for 

 such purposes. In the autumn of 1890 Dr. C. V. 

 Riley visited me here at the college, and asked 

 me if I would supervise experiments here for 

 the government. I said I would do so if he 

 would employ a good apiarist to take charge of 

 the work. I told him that I thought the best 

 service which the government could render was 

 to secure bees from the Orient; that there 

 might be bees in the East that were superior to 

 ours, and that this was work that private en- 

 terprise ought not to have to undertake: there 

 were possibilities in this direction that the gov- 

 ernment ought to develop ; the knowledge thus 

 gained would be valuable to science; and if no 

 practical good came from it. it would still be 

 worth the time and money necessary to the 

 enterprise. I also urged that Mr. Frank Ben- 

 ton was just the man to attempt this work. I 

 think an unsuccessful effort was made to effect 

 this importation of foreign bees. The experi- 

 mental work. I suggested, was in the line of our 

 previous work — planting for honey, breeding a 

 race of bees, experiments to show the value of 

 bees as fertilizers of various flowers of useful 

 plants; effect of spraying blossoms of fruit-trees 

 with the a"senites, etc. I do not need to say 

 that this arrangement was made, and that we 

 were so foitunate as to secure the services of 

 Mr. J. H. Larrabee. of Vermont, to take imme- 

 diate charge of the work. 



Last autumn, while in Washington I express- 

 ed to Dr. Willits and Dr. Riley that my duties 

 were such that I wished to resign the work so 

 far as all responsibility was concerned, though 

 I was willing to advise as before. I suggested 

 that Mr. Larrabee seemed an able man for the 

 work, and recommended that the experiments 

 be put into his charge. I suggested ihat the 

 large plant at the college could be used as be- 

 fore, and that the location was good; for, in 

 case the agent wished aid in any of the sciences 

 closely related to apiculture, as entomology, 

 botany, chemistry, or bacteriology, there were 

 experts close at hand to give the information or 

 perform experiments desired in those lines. 

 This plan commended itself to Dr'^. Willits and 

 Riley, if we may judge from the fact that Mr. 

 Larrabee was appointed, and now has charge 

 of the work. Mr. Larrabee is an honest, care- 

 ful worker, and I believe will do very satisfac- 

 tory work. In case he should not prove to be 

 the right man. he will be first to learn the fact, 

 and will quickly resign in favor of another, 

 though I feel sure there will be no call for such 

 action. 



Mr. Elwood thinks that Mr. Larrabee's time 

 is too much occupied in caring for the large 

 apiary here. The apiary hei-e is not large— no 

 larger, I think, than a person who has no other 

 duties wonld wish. Indeed, I know by experi- 

 ence that a person who experiments with only 

 fifteen or twenty colonies will be criticised from 

 this very fact, though I think with small rea- 

 son. Besides, if Mr. Larrabee feels that he has 

 too many colonies he can reduce the size of the 

 apiary. I am sure. I think the size would be 

 left entirely to him. There is another advan- 

 tage here. Mr. Larrabee can secure help to 

 care for the apiary at any time, as well as aid 

 in scientific lines. The complaint by the au- 

 thorities at Washington is, that they have little 

 money. Why, then, ask them to buy a plant 

 when they have one at their disposal ? 



