44 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



February 



selves, we can better understand why 

 a particular manipulation is neces- 

 sary to secure a desired result. At 

 the beginning, the work was divided 

 into two parts, "Fundamentals of bee 

 behavior outside the active season" 

 and "Fundamentals of bee behavior 

 during the active season." The bee- 

 keepers' year was thus divided into 

 two parts, the active season, and win- 

 ter ..r the inactive season. Following 

 the presentation of the bee activities 

 during these two periods, fundamen- 

 tals of practice were taken Up in 

 similar manner, and the reason, for 

 manipulations were pointed out be- 

 cause of the nature of certain activi- 

 tii oi the insects. 



One day was devoted to the con- 

 sideration of the subject of disease, 

 and the same general method of 

 handling the subject was applied. 

 Many came with a very definite idea 

 of the nature of the course, and some 

 were skeptical as to whether it would 

 be worth while. Others seemed to 

 expect something in the nature of a 

 beekeepers' convention. 



It was a school, rather than a bee- 

 man's meeting or convention, and 

 there was but little time for the usual 

 social activities common to conven- 

 tions. The sessions started at 9 a. m. 

 and continued till noon. After a brief 

 recess for the noon luncheon- the 

 grind was resumed till time to eat 

 again. The evening sessions were 

 attended, in spite of the hard day, 

 and there was no lack of interest, 

 even up to the close of the last ses- 

 sion. Note books were much in evi- 

 dence, and many went away pre- 

 pared to review the work after re- 

 turning to their homes. 



One very pleasing feature was that 

 the more extensive beekeepers were 

 the most enthusiastic about the 

 course, and most anxious to see it 

 repeated. Many were present who 

 own from 600 to 2,000 colonies of 

 bees. Several had sold honey crops 

 the past season ranging from ten to 



Mcndleson 



twenty thousand dollars in value. 

 When men of this kind stick from 

 the sound of the first gong until the 

 last session is over, it is good evi- 

 dence that the course is extremely 

 practical, and when such men ask 

 that it be repeated again next year, 

 there need bj no fear that the in- 

 structors have wasted their time. 

 There were a number of beginners 

 present and they stuck heroically, 

 although much of the time they did 

 not understand fully what was being 

 said. They absorbed some of the 

 enthusiasm of the old timers and 

 picked up pointers here and there, 

 which were sufficient to sustain their 

 interest to the end. A few staid for 

 only a day or two and then disap- 

 peared, but most of them remained 

 and expressed themselves as sorry 

 that the course was not longer. 

 The Staff 

 The greater part of the work was 

 carried on by the men of the U. S. 

 Department and of the University, 

 as would be expected. Others were 



Demuth taken unawares. 



invited to speak on special topics. 

 Dr. E. F. Phillips, as Government api- 

 culturist, occupied first place on 

 every program. Phillips is a forceful 

 fellow, an easy speaker, and holds his 

 audience without apparent effort. 



George S. Demuth, assistant api- 

 culturist, divided the heavy work 

 with Doctor Phillips. Demuth is a 

 practical beekeeper of long experi- 

 ence who went into government ser- 

 vice about seven years ago; the op- 

 posite, in many ways, of Phillips. The 

 two did some great team work. Each 

 reviewed the work of the other at 

 the end of the course and with nearly 

 every subject one would consider the 

 scientific phase of it while the other 

 made the practical application. It is 

 very fortunate that they are able to 

 supplement each other so nicely. De- 

 muth is an extremely practical man 

 with many years of beekeeping ex- 

 perience. Those who saw him in ac- 

 tion during the course were much im- 

 pressed with the character of his 

 work. Some went so tar as to say 

 that he is one of the greatest teach- 

 ers of beekeeping of the generation. 

 A third Department man whose 

 name was not announced on the 

 program but who, nevertheless, made_ 

 an important contribution to the 

 work, is Jay Smith, the well-known 

 Indiana queen breeder who is spend- 

 ing the winter in special extension 

 work for the Department, in the 

 State of California. Mr. Smith gave 

 some very interesting talks on queen 

 rearing. 



Mr. George A. Coleman, Apicultur- 

 ist of the University of California, 

 had general supervision of the work, 

 in addition to giving some extended 

 lectures with special application to 

 California conditions. Mr. Col, nun 

 was so unfortunate as to contract 

 i he influenza, and was compelled to go 

 to his home before the close of the 

 i i ntirsc, lie managed to gel back 

 to appear at Visalia, but it was verj 

 apparent that the attack had left him 

 very weak and that lie should not 

 have resumed his work. 



Mr. M. H. Mcndleson, who is one 

 of the best known among the pioneer 

 honey producers of California, was a 

 constant center of interest wherever 

 he went. Having produced as high 



