FEBRUARY 1, 1916 



GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE 



EXTENSION WORK IN APICULTURE AT THE PANAMA-PACIFIC INTER- 

 NATIONAL EXPOSITION 



BY PROF. GEO. A. COLEMAN, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 



Perliai)s theie is no one subject in all 

 the realm of natui'e-study upon which the 

 general public so much needs enlightemnent 

 as that of the habits, natural history, and 

 anatomy of the honeybee. This is especially 

 true when we consider the very close rela- 

 tionship existing' between the bees and the 

 agricultural and horticultural interests of 

 man. 



That there is a surprising lack of knowl- 

 edge of even the most eomznon facts now 

 known in regard to the development of the 

 workers, drones, and cjueen, and the gener- 

 al economy of the hive, may seem surpris- 

 ing, considering the number of journals 

 devoted to apiculture, and the number of 

 books published in which these topics are 

 discussed. You would not doubt this, how- 

 ever, if you had to tind answers for the 

 thousand and one questions which the author 

 has had propounded to him during the past 

 eight months by people who really ought 

 to know better. The most surprising thing 

 to them seems to be that the bees are actu- 

 ally able to go out from the hive, gather 

 the nectar and pollen from the flowers on 

 the exposition grounds, and return to their 

 own domicil without getting lost. As one 

 lady expressed it, " Wliy, I should think 

 you would be afraid you would lose them 

 all;" and anothei', " Oh! you don't mean to 

 say that they really go outside of this 

 building and find their way back thru that 

 tiny hole in the wall"? " and when assured 

 that such was the case, '' Why, how really 

 wonderful ! " Then every one, adults and 

 children, even the babies, are always anxious 

 to have the queen pointed out to them; and 

 on the rare occasions when her royal per- 

 sonage ]3ermits the opei'ation of egg-laying 

 to be witnessed, the favored few who wit- 

 ness it are simply entranced. The drone 

 is usually taken as a huge joke, and be- 

 comes at once the butt of ridicule. The 

 many operations of the workers in wax- 

 secretion, cell-building, caring for the 

 young, gathering and storing of the nectar 

 and pollen, when explained, become so 

 absorbing to a great many that they come 

 around every time they visit the grounds 

 " just to see how the bees are getting on." 

 Realizing that the Panama-Pacific expo- 

 sition would offer excei)tional opportunities 

 for an exhibit of this kind, and for instruc- 



tion in the matter of haiuUing bees in the 

 schoolroom as well as in the apiary, the 

 author planned and has carried on success- 

 fully during the entire exposition period an 

 exhibit, accompanied by demonstrations and 

 lectures, which I believe is unique of it? 

 kind. It may be interesting, therefore, for 

 you to know something about the manner 

 of arranging this exhibit, apparatus used, 

 ai:d the results. 



The " Observation Beehive Exhibit," as 

 it is known in the catalog of the Panama- 

 Pacific exposition, was organized jirimarily 

 for the purpose of instructing the general 

 public, and particularly teachers in the 

 ])ublic schools, as well as pupils, concerning 

 the habits, natural history, and methods of 

 handling the lioneybee. 



The exhibit was placed in the Palace of 

 Education, on floor space adjoining an 

 outside wall, and occupied a space of 12x20 

 feet. The space next the wall, and extend- 

 ing out six feet, was divided up into three 

 compartments, 5x6 ft. by 9 feet high, and 

 a small office, which were enclosed separate- 

 ly with wire screen to confine the bees when, 

 they Avere being placed in the observation 

 hives, or manipulateed in any way. The 

 space outside these wire cages was occupied 

 by a table two feet wide by ten feet in 

 length, upon which was placed all the best 

 books, journals, circulars, and bulletins on 

 apiculture, all Avired down so they could 

 not be misplaced but could be readily con- 

 sulted. The exhibit also included a modern 

 hive for comb-honey production complete, 

 all the apparatus for the extraction of hon- 

 ey and wax, including an A. I. Root auto- 

 matic reversible extractor, and all of tlie 

 small apparatus and tools necessary in a 

 modern apiary. On wall space at the end 

 were placed two large charts illustrating, 

 by means of paper models and drawings, 

 bulletins of the United States Depai'tment. 

 the anatomy of the queen, drone, and work- 

 er, the manner of secreting wax, collecting 

 ]iollen, etc. — also some models of the honey- 

 bee, done in " modelen " by the pupils in 

 the second grade of the LeConte Public 

 School in Berkeley, which wei'e particularly 

 good. 



The special feature of the exhil)il. how- 

 ever, were the observation hives containing 

 the live bees at work. There were three of 



