228 MARYLAND AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 
undoubtedly be lost to man, makes this insect a subject of unusual 
interest to the general public. It may not be out of place to comment 
here that notwithstanding the great increase in recent years in the 
manufacture of. adulterated foods, no one has yet devised a method 
to manufacture comb honey. Moreover, with the passage of the Pure 
Food Law by Congress, inferior substitutes for extracted honey can 
no longer lawfully be sold under the name honey. 
While the State of Maryland offers abundant opportunity for suc~ 
cessful bee keeping, there are comparatively few progressive bee 
keepers in the state. There are however, thousands who keep a few 
colonies. These are too often kept undér conditions, which are a 
menace to the industry. 
While Maryland has not been prominent as a honey producing 
state, yet she has furnished some distinguished bee keepers. For sev- 
eral years Rev. L. L. Langstroth, who may be justly called the father 
of American apiculture, resided in Baltimore. His perfection of the 
movable frame hive revolutionized the industry in this country. Prob- 
ably no improvement has been so universally adopted by the trade as 
the Langstroth’s hive, and his writings on bee keeping speak for his 
‘genius. One of the hives originally owned by Mr. Langstroth was 
‘exhibited by Mr. Chas. H. Lake, a venerable and enthusiastic bee 
‘keeper of the state, at the 1909 meeting of the Maryland State Bee 
Keepers Association. Richard Colvin, who was one of the first to in- 
‘troduce the Italian bee to the United States, also lived in Baltimore. 
No doubt the enthusiasm and knowledge of the business of these men 
“were a great incentive to Maryland bee keepers at that time. 
The first work taken up at this Institution was conducted by Mr. 
‘Chas. H, Lake, now of Baltimore. Mr. Lake is a practical bee keeper, 
and a keen observer of the bees and their activities. He successfully 
conducted a large apiary at the College from 1896 to 1899. During 
these years he did much to educate the bee keepers of the state, by 
making exhibits and otherwise giving information regarding bee 
keeping. 
Prior to the fall of 1910, practically nothing had been done by this 
department to aid bee keeping. At this time.through the efforts of 
the department, a State Bee Keepers Association was formed for the 
purpose of bringing the bee keepers of the state together, so that a 
general exchange of ideas would aid in bettering the conditions in the 
State. At the same time there was inaugurated some cooperative 
work with the Bureau of Entomology, United States Department of 
Agriculture, which made possible a limited investigation of the status 
of the industry in the State. A preliminary report of this investiga- 
tion by the writer, together with a discussion of the management of the 
apiary by A. H. McCray, Apicultural Assistant, U. S. Department of 
Agriculture, is here given with the hope that suggestions made will 
be helpful to the bee keepers. 
