1919 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



229 



in the main agricultural building. 

 The attendance was not large, per- 

 haps only a third of that at Cornell, 

 not over 50. If beekeepers only 

 knew how much they can learn at 

 such courses, the attendance would 

 have been ten times as large. Courses 

 in beekeeping are a new thing, com- 

 paratively, and we, old heads in Un- 

 commercial line are apt to overesti- 

 mate our knowledge and make light 

 of the theories brought forward, 

 backed by experiments which some- 

 times contradict our preconceived 

 ideas. Much that we think we know 

 we have to "unlearn" or correct. 



As I was present during only two 

 days of the course, it will be out of 

 the question to give a review of it 

 all. I prefer to speak of only one 

 point which impressed me more than 

 any other. This was brought out 

 by Mr. Demuth under the name of 

 "morale." 



We already know that we must 

 rear the excess of our bees for the 

 crop and not on the crop. But we 

 must also be careful to encourage 

 their morale, or their activity at the 

 time the crop is on. 



Do bees loaf, and what causes 

 them to loaf? Although the actual 

 loafing of bees may seem preposter- 

 ous as an affirmation, there is no 

 doubt that colonies of certain disposi- 

 tion or in certain circumstances show 

 more activity than others. I positive- 

 ly know that colonies which have 

 been transported from one spot to 

 another some distance away, in 

 spring, show more activity than oth- 

 ers that have remained at the old 

 stand. There appears to be some- 

 thing in the change of surroundings 

 or in the shaking-up which they have 

 experienced, which impels them to 

 greater activity. 



That some bees do loaf at times 

 seems quite plain when we examine a 

 colony of bees and see the uncon- 

 cerned appearance of many of them, 

 which contrasts with the activity of 

 many others in the same hive. 

 Everybody knows that a queenless 

 colony loses much of its activity; that 

 a colony from which the honey has 

 been extracted, during the crop, and 

 combs returned to it still daubed 

 with honey, will more eagerly go to 

 work; that when a super is raised 

 which is almost full and an empty 

 one placed between it and the brood- 

 chamber, the bees seem to hasten t< 

 fill the vacant space. 



As Mr. Demuth put it, "if we can 

 increase the activity of our field 



workers by one single trip a day we 

 will increase our crop largely." 



Empty cells near the brood urge 

 the bees to greater activity. If we 

 can fix our colonies so the bees can- 

 not see the finish of their job, a hive 

 full, we will keep them in a condition 

 of greater activity. 



Although we mentioned this possi- 

 bility of greater activity years ago, 

 yet we did not put as much stress 

 upon it as does Mr. Demuth. He is 

 surely right. Others have spoken of 

 it before. The "baits" or partly built 

 sections put into a super are induce- 

 ments to greater activity. In para- 

 graph 745 of the "Hive and Honey 

 Bee," at the end of the chapter on 

 "Comb-honey Production," we quoted 

 W. Z. Hutchinson, who at page 18 of 

 his "Production of Comb Honey," 

 wrote: "We have seen bees sulk for 

 days during a good honey-flow, sim- 

 ply because the present condition of 

 things was not to their liking." 



If I had gained but this em- 

 phasized idea concerning the re- 

 quired "morale" of the colonies dur- 

 ing the crop, I should consider my 

 trip to Purdue well paid. 



Let me close this argument on 

 morale by quoting Demuth's compari- 

 son of men and bees: "We should 

 try to increase the activity or morale 

 of our bees during the crop in a way 

 similar to the increased activity of 

 the human race, caused by the late 

 war." 



organizing into local associations and 

 that some plan can be worked out of 

 federating these local associations 

 into a general organization which 

 will be sufficiently powerful to meet 

 any emergency that may arise. 



Beekeepers Should 

 Be Organized 



It is becoming more and more ap- 

 parent that only through general or- 

 ganization can the beekeeper hope 

 to secure such a measure of prosper- 

 ity permanently as is opening for 

 other lines of business. Labor is now 

 thoroughly organized in all the trades, 

 and these various organizations are 

 federated into one body, which is 

 very effective in securing for the la- 

 boring man the rights to which he is 

 entitled. Big business is being or- 

 ganized in a similar way, and there 

 is a federation of business men, 

 which looks after the interests of 

 business. 



Unless the various agricultural ac- 

 tivities shall become organized in a 

 similar manner, there will be no 

 means of securing the ear of the pub- 

 lic as to the needs of agriculture. 

 The unorganized business is the last 

 to secure attention, and the first to 

 suffer inconvenience in any abnormal 

 condition. It is to be hoped that the 

 beekeepers will see the necessity of 



Beekeepers' Letter 



The Michigan Agricultural College 

 issues circulars with the above title, 

 in co-operation with the Extension 

 Division of the U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture. The May letter by that 

 active worker, B. F. Kindig, drew our 

 attention very especially because he 

 quotes extensively from our editor's 

 address of the past winter to the 

 Michigan State Association, on 

 "Large Hives." That subject seems 

 uppermost in many minds, among 

 beekeepers. We even find it discussed 

 at length, at the antipodes, in the April 

 number of the Queensland Beekeep- 

 ers' Association Journal. The idea 

 of large brood-chambers is appar- 

 ently accepted everywhere. The Eu- 

 ropeans accepted it long ago, with 

 the movable frames. The only 

 question debated now in this coun- 

 try is: "In what shape should the 

 large brood-chambers be used?" 



The Beekeepers' Letter above men- 

 tioned also calls attention to the oc- 

 casional similarity in appearance be- 

 tween American and European foul- 

 broods. The statement is made that 

 the two diseases rarely appear in the 

 same colony at the sa ne time. Are 

 we very sure of this? 



Beekeeping for Disabled Soldiers 



"Vocational Rehabilitation Series" 

 are issued by the U. S. Government 

 for the benefit of disabled soldiers. 

 Number 37 of this production is en- 

 titled "Beekeeping," contains 32 pages, 

 a number of fine cuts, and indicates 

 how cripples may succeed and do 

 succeed in beekeeping. We cannot 

 expect many of our disabled soldiers 

 to take up beekeeping. It requires 

 special tastes and aptitudes. No man 

 who dislikes the work can succeed in 

 keeping bees. But if the opportunity 

 opens its door to a few, as it is sure 

 to do through the help of these mono- 

 graphs, much good will result. Too 

 many people slip away from the farm, 

 expecting both more remuneration 

 and more leisure in city pursuits. 

 They soon find those prospects elu- 

 sive and anything which will draw 

 them back to the farm, or at least to 

 the suburban plots, must prove a step 

 of value to the country. Go back to 

 the country, you city dwellers, and 

 become producers as well as consum- 

 ers. 



