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VOL. LIX— NO. 2 



HAMILTON, ILL., FEBRUARY, 1919 



MONTHLY, $1.00 A YFAR 



THE CALIFORNIA SHORT COURSES 



An Account of the First Extensive Series of Short Courses Designed for the 



Commercial Honey Producer 



THE State University of Califor- 

 nia, in co-operation with the 

 U. S. Department of Agricul- 

 ture, has recently undertaken a novel 

 experiment. The success of the en- 

 terprise is a source of gratification 

 to all concerned, and it is doubtful if 

 the most loyal booster was prepared 

 for the enthusiasm which developed. 



A short course in beekeeping is not 

 a new thing, in fact the writer has 

 attended several of them in various 

 places. The California short courses 

 differed from others previously held, 

 in that they were planned entirely 

 for the benefit of commercial honey 

 producers instead of beginners. 

 Every other course so far held, as far 

 as the writer has observed, has been 

 elementary in its nature and de- 

 signed especially for the novice. 

 There seemed to be some doubt as 

 to whether the attendance would 

 justify a course designed for the ex- 

 perienced beekeeper. In order to 

 place the course within reach of all 

 California beekeepers, a series of 

 four were decided upon, to be held in 

 widely separated locations, each a 

 full week in duration. 



The first was at San Diego, in the 

 extreme southern part of the State, 

 beginning on November 25. This was 

 followed by one at the University 

 farm, at Davis, in northern Califor- 

 nia, beginning December 2. The next 

 was at Visalia, about 200 miles south 

 of Davis, held the week beginning 

 December 9. The fourth and last was 

 to have been held at Riverside, in the 

 heart of the orange belt, but was 

 prevented by a quarantine estab- 

 lished by the board of health to pre- 

 vent the spread of influenza. Since 

 more extensive honey producers live 

 within reach of Riverside than any 

 other point, it was confidently ex- 

 pected that the Riverside meeting 

 would be the biggest of all — the 

 grand climax of the series. The quar- 

 antine came as a bitter disappoint- 



Another Short Course for 

 Beekeepers 



As we go to press we have re- 

 ceived a telegram from Mr. De- 

 muth asking us to announce that 

 there will be a short course at 

 Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., 

 similar to the ones just closed in 

 California. The dates given for 

 the New York course are Feb- 

 ruary 24 to March 1. 



We hope that the University 

 will be able to advertise this 

 course widely among Eastern bee- 

 keepers and that they will under- 

 stand that the course is designed 

 for commercial beekeepers rather 

 than for beginners. 



Phillips didn't know the camera was loaded. 



ment, not only to many beekeepers 

 who expected to attend, but also to 

 those who had been responsible for 

 the series, and members of the staff, 

 who looked forward to the oppor- 

 tunity of meeting the beemen at that 

 place. 



Considering the fact that an epi- 

 demic of influenza was raging all 

 over the country, and that the ban 

 was only lifted the week previous to 

 the San Diego meeting and clamped 

 down again the last day, it seemed 

 very fortunate that even three of the 

 courses could be held. In view of 

 the number that undoubtedly re- 

 mained at home because of the epi- 

 demic, the attendance was very grati- 

 fying. At San Diego there were some- 

 thing like 100 in constant attendance, 

 with a total attendance of probably 

 150 persons. 



The Course 



The course given was the same at 

 all of the places, and the same pro- 

 gram was followed from beginning 

 to end, with slight variation. Instead 

 of starting out with elementary in- 

 struction in such matters as hive con- 

 struction and methods of manipula- 

 tion, it was assumed that those in at- 

 tendance were beekeepers of experi- 

 ence, familiar with hives and other 

 equipment, and understood fully the 

 meaning of such words as "top-bars," 

 "swarms," "hive-stands," and "pro- 

 polis." 



The outline was made at Washing- 

 ton by Dr. Phillips and Mr. Demuth, 

 who with Professor Coleman of the 

 University, were the principal speak- 

 ers. The whole purpose of the 

 course was to lay a thorough ground- 

 work of fundamentals and then apply 

 these to beekeeping practice. 



With many beekeepers, what they 

 have learned is a matter of experi- 

 ence. Many of us learned manipula- 

 tions long before we understood the 

 reasons for them. By considering 

 the first activities of the bees them- 



