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        I liked your summary, too, Ray.  For many years I taught a course,
"The Nature of Biological Research."  A major recurring theme was, "trust'
Nature more than theory."  Eventually we worked out the "Ten Principles
of Scientific Research."  If you would like a copy, I can send you one.
 
        Last week on this network we were advised to be cautious about
information unless it had appeared in a referred journal first.  I found
that spending a couple of weeks with an experienced beekeeper each summer
provided much valuable insight that simply doesn't appear in books or
journal articles.  And sometimes "myths" appear in scientific journals.
One of the more dramatic ones was the idea that flies could travel 880 mph.
That notion lasted for more than a decade.  (The best part of that notion
was that the adult flies didn't feed.)  In fact, I used that example in
a review article I published a couple of years ago, as follows:
 
        Wenner, A.M.  1989.  Concept-centered vs organism-centered biology.
American Zoologist.  29:1177-1197.  Hundreds requested reprints of that
article.
 
        Anyhow, thanks again for your summary.
 
                                        Adrian M. Wenner
                                        Prof. of Nat. History, Emeritus
 
 Adrian M. Wenner                        Prof. of Natural History, Emeritus
 Dept. of Biol. Sciences                                [log in to unmask]
 Univ. of Calif., Santa Barbara                 Phone:   (805) 893-2838
 Santa Barbara, CA  93106                       FAX:     (805) 893-8062
 
>
> Send your friend to a public library.  A good book is
> "The Hive and the Honeybee" published by Dadant & Sons.
> You can get their address from the book and write for a
> catalog of their equipment.  They also publish the "American
> Bee Journal" magazine.  The county Agriculture Cooperative
> agent should know if there is a local beekeeping organization
> and of an agriculture college in the state which would offer short
> courses.  I know that there is a bee program near you at
> Doylstown college and they offer short courses.  The University
> of Guelph (sp) in Ontario Canada offers a set of videos and
> correspondance courses.  There is also the Eastern Apiculture
> Society (EAS) which is a regional organization for Northeastern
> United States which meets once a year in August.  I'm not sure
> of this year's meeting location but the Pensylvania State Beekeepers
> are represented.  So in summary:
>         read everything you can get your hands on...
>         join all the associations you have the time to attend in your area...
>         take all the short courses you can afford...
>         talk to all of the experienced people you can...
>         and then remember that the bees
>                 don't read the same books...
>                 don't attend the same meetings...
>                 don't take the same courses...
>                 don't acknowledge any experts..
>                         and that almost all of the bees are females
>                         and thus reserve the right to change their minds
>                                 so keep your eyes open
>                                 and make your own observations!
>                                 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++
> ++++++++++++
> +    Raymond J. Lackey                                     +
> +    Beekeeper 10 years with 25 colonies on Long Island    +
> +    INTERNET: [log in to unmask]                 +
> +    Mail: 1260 Walnut Avenue, Bohemia NY 11617            +
> +    Home Phone: 516-567-1936  FAX: 516-262-8053           +
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>