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JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY - 



[Vol. 8 



and perhaps thousands of specimens, illustrative of natural history, 

 apiarian products and equipment, both foreign and domestic. The 

 purpose of the museum is to afford an opportunity for comparisons, to 

 develop or stimulate improvements, for example adapted to a special 

 purpose. Likewise, it shows up inferiority in mechanisms and devices, 

 brands of supplies and products. Those persons of an inventive tem- 

 perament are at liberty to compare inventions of the best and benefit 

 accordingly. Perhaps this is more important than the accumulation of 

 natural history material which is the more common purpose of a 

 museum. 



LiBEARY. — There is being accumulated also a beekeeping library 

 aside from the author's collection. It is found desirable to gather and 

 preserve the transient periodicals as well as supply-catalogs and lists. 

 Such material is especially valuable to the research student. 



The Apiary.^ — ^An apiary on a substantial and practical basis is a 

 new feature in any college. Heretofore, agricultural colleges have 

 shown but a passive interest in maintaining bees. Therefore the 

 development of a demonstrational, yet practical working apiary, has 

 required the working out for the first time, of a great many new fea- 

 tures. Some of these as planned, and yet but partially practiced, 

 aside from the keeping of fifty colonies of bees, are the bee garden where 

 it is hoped to demonstrate some of the more important honey plants; 

 and the workshop where hive, construction is taught. In teaching the 

 construction and building of hives, while it might not readily be pre- 

 sumed, the fundamentals of hive utilization are also brought forth. 

 There is the honey room with its extraction equipment. Besides this, 

 there will be developed a bottling equipment upon the most approved 

 principles. The wax rendering laboratory is also another feature. 



This is partially an item of the Extension Service, yet it is maintained 

 apart from it. Its origin is recent and at first it was designed merely 

 to demonstrate the principles of handling wax. Later it was found 

 that vast quantities of old comb were being burned up by the bee- 

 keepers throughout the State. As a unit of the inspection service, it 

 then became desirable to salvage these combs rather than to destroy 

 them. Plans and facilities were prepared so that now beekeepers are 

 at liberty to send their scrap wax and old combs to the College for ren- 

 dering, at a slight cost. Naturally the more improved equipment of 

 the institution obtains a higher percentage of wax than the beekeeper 

 can get. It saves him then, both wax and labor, and reduces his costs. 

 Already (and the wax rendering service has been in operation but a 

 few months) the value of the wax rendered approaches one thousand 

 dollars. This is an important advance, moreover, in the central- 

 service-station idea. 



