Keith,
	So you are saying because small cell beekeepers who are
successfully keeping bees and say they don't need proof (and I can't
think of too many beekeepers who can have surplus and spare resources)
who are successfully keeping bees on small cell without chems are bowing
out of anything of substance. So does that mean that our success isn't
substantial? Hmm, I can think of many people for whom merely maintaining
numbers and operating without continuous inputs is substantial. In fact,
this is the basis that banks make their decisions on, does this person
or entity show profitability or at least nothing more than a negligeable
chance to go bankrupt. I can't afford to ship off 50 beehives. I need
them, if Jim wants to do the experiment, then why can't he just use some
of his hives for the experiment, or are they also too valuable to him???

	If a car runs without failing over a period of time, one can say
it runs without having to "scientifically test" the theory. It may be
anecdotal, however it is an irrefutable anecdote. There are several
small cell beekeepers these days, some small some large some very large.
I know of several who do not wish their names to be printed alongside or
in association with small cell or Dee Lusby or even Scot McPherson, and
who can blame them really? Who would want the aggrivation? I don't...I
put up with it, and Dee put's up with it, but we don't like the type of
attention we get, but we deal with it. Are our individual successes
within the group anecdotal evidence, sure...but just like my car, it
runs well without being scientifically tested to see if it does...

	Dee's success wasn't the result of a single effort as you seem
to believe. Dee and Ed tried many methods to remain off of chems and
drugs, she had severe losses during the trials of her efforts, and the
successful result occurred after many years of trying this, and trying
that until a mix of successes blended into what is documented on
beesource.com/pov/lusby/. Are Dee's efforts the only source of whole
beekeeping? No certainly not. Dee isn't a master among disciples, she
has learned a great deal from our efforts, opinions and successes as
well. We as a group contribute together the same way Open Source
Software requires the contributions of many to grow. In open source
software, someone comes up with an idea for a new software offering,
they author the initial software, sometimes only as much as a toy,
others are recruited to help the package grow, other people try it and
make comments and suggestions or report bugs and errors, and it
continues to grow. The Linux/Gnu marriage is a well documented success
story in collaborative effort. No one person takes all the credit, the
credit is shared among all those who've contributed. It is the same
here, I have made my observations which initially differed from Dees,
some of my opinions I have shifted more to those of Dee's and some of
Dee's have shifted towards some to mine. As many? No, she's been
beekeeping far longer than I have. However I still have been keeping
bees since 1985, and I do have some worthy opinions.

	And yes, I believe I know the wild claims you are talking
about...I "assume" the claims you mean are mine, and they are Dee's
however the reason we can make those claims is because there are
beekeepers on all ends of the size of operation spectrum which do not
wish to become targets or martyrs for anyone, they just wish to keep
bees in peace. Again who can blame them, however I know who they are and
Dee knows who they are and we communicate with a lot more successful
(and beginning) whole bee or small cell or natural comb beekeepers than
you can probably believe and it keeps us very busy. Some of them don't
have internet access at all either, but some do. However their numbers
remain, and the group grows, it grows in individual colony strength, it
grow in numbers of colonies kept per beekeeper and it grows in number of
successful beekeepers. Just because I am not willing to put someone
else's head on the chopping block, doesn't mean the numbers aren't
there. I am sure there are just as many Small Cell Detractors that also
aren't willing to stick their heads out either.

	Funny though that this wide spread success is discounted because
its merely anecdote. I wonder if my car really doesn't work either,
because its working well is only evidenced by everday anecdote.

--
Scot McPherson
The McPherson Family Honey Farms
Davenport, Iowa USA

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