498 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Importance of Experiments in 

 Apiculture. 



Written for tfie American Bee Journal 

 BY PROF. A. J. COOK. 



It may be thought a matter of doubt 

 by some — even of our wise and thought- 

 ful men — whether it pays to experiment, 

 and whether our several States and 

 Nation are warranted in expending 

 money, time and energy in experiment- 

 ing and in passing laws endowing de- 

 partments and institutions for the sole 

 purpose of making investigations. The 

 fact that all the most advanced Nations 

 are doing this more and more, and the 

 further fact that one single discovery 

 often brings immense returns, will go 

 far to set all such doubts at rest in the 

 minds of the reading public. 



Whether our States are wise in voting 

 money for such purpose, and whether 

 the Hatch Bill, appropriating such a 

 munificent fund (which establishes a 

 station in each State and Territory, and 

 equips it so that if well manned, it can 

 do much and excellent work) was timely 

 and worthy, it is not my purpose now 

 to discuss. We have money appropriated 

 in several States to further experimen- 

 tation, and aid investigation. 



We have the Hatch Act which appro- 

 priates $15,000 annually to each State 

 and Territory, which fund is to be used 

 exclusively to further research in all 

 directions that will foster and encour- 

 age manual-labor pursuits. Besides 

 these, we have large annual appropria- 

 tions for the Department of Agriculture, 

 which are given with the express pur- 

 pose of developing information which 

 shall aid agriculture in all its varied 

 departments. Thus the amount an- 

 nually appropriated, for the sole pur- 

 pose of research in the line of agricul- 

 tural development and progress, is up- 

 wards of $750,000. 



We see that the civilized world be- 

 lieves that such work is valuable and 

 desirable. We see that our country is 



taking the lead in this new role -of en- 

 dowed research, especially to unearth 

 new and valuable truth in the aid of the 

 industrial pursuits. 



That so much of thought, study and 

 real scientific ability can be devoted to 

 this work of investigation, without real, 

 substantial gain, is certainly not true. 

 Mistakes will be made ; incapable men 

 will doubtless be employed, and, in some 

 cases, hasty generalizations will result 

 in erroneous statements and consequent 

 loss and injury ; but it goes without say- 

 ing that, for the most part, very able 

 men will be — are secured to do this 

 work, and exceedingly valuable discov- 

 eries are being made. Thus we" are 

 warranted richly in the assertion that 

 many new and most valuable facts are 

 now being discovered, and are to be 

 more and more brought to light by this 

 hard-working, untiring body of investi- 

 gators. 



THE GREAT NEEDS OF BEE-CULTURE. 



But how is it with bee-keeping ? How 

 much of this thought and energy are 

 being used to benefit this art? When 

 we consider the large number of apiar- 

 ists, the valuable product which they 

 create, and the tremendous supplemen- 

 tary good that they do, in stocking the 

 country with insects that are pre-eminent 

 in -the most important work of cross- 

 fertilizing the flowers of our most valued 

 fruits and vegetables, it needs no argu- 

 ment to show that of all the host of 

 manual laborers, none are more worthily 

 employed, or more worthy of just such 

 aid as it is the province of these experi- 

 ment stations to give. Uncertain sea- 

 sons ; new and subtle diseases ; unfair 

 discriminations by our postal authorities, 

 which, though, unintended and thought- 

 less, are just as hurtful ; and the dis- 

 couraging competition of cheap, insipid, 

 and often unwholesome adulterations, 

 make it all the more important that the 

 worthy class of honey-producers have 

 attention, and that research remove th,ese 

 several obstacles that essay to check the 

 progress of our eager, hard-working bee- 

 keepers. 



Notwithstanding the magnitude of the 

 business, its direct and indirect impor- 

 tance, and the crying need of patient 

 and thorough watchfulness or investiga- 

 tion in all the lines mentioned above, yet 

 the Agricultural Department has with- 

 drawn all aid, and, so far as the records 

 show, no States except Michigan, Colo- 

 rado, Rhode Island, and possibly New 

 York and Iowa, are doing one thing to 

 aid in this important direction. Even 

 the States that have acknowledged, 



