Did you know that Maryland is the first and only state to have dogs as part of its honeybee inspection program? Well I didn’t, until I got a look over Old John’s shoulder at the state’s agriculture department web page. But it figures. I’ve been keeping an eye out for ‘em ever since I sat on one. Still, the things you can learn that you didn’t even know you wanted to know!
Like, “Maryland has more horses per square mile than another state in the nation.” That’s what our agriculture department boasts, word for word, though it doesn’t specify which lone state has fewer horses. But I wonder, what’s the possible significance of being 49th among the states in horses per square mile? Suppose they meant to say more horses than “any other” state? Hard to be sure, since they don’t bother to say how many horses or how many square miles that would be.
Never mind, there’s much more to contemplate. Such as, “There are more than 60 species of mosquitoes in Maryland,” and “It takes a combine 9 seconds to harvest enough wheat to make 70 loaves of bread,” and “Farmers receive approximately 5 cents (or less) from each loaf of bread sold.” This is all troubling stuff, and I don’t doubt any of it. But how about this: “Pumpkins are 90 percent water.” And: “A pig can run a 7-minute mile.”
Ever see anybody wring out a pumpkin? And who ever saw a pig run run for a mile? You think, maybe, somewhere, there’s a pig racetrack? Or, just as likely, probably over in Annapolis, there’s a state-employed pig timer, with a stopwatch? What I’m thinking is, the lesson here has got to be, the more you know, the more you know you don’t. Like, how many mosquitoes per square mile does Maryland have, and aren’t we in this, at least, No. 1?
Elise K. says
Hi, John, two comments: Re the bee: I’ve been trying to get to this story for a while, because I think it’d be awesome for our area. Turns out that there’s a dog that’s been trained to sniff out American Foul Brood, which is thought to be the disease affecting colonies. The season for sniffing begins in cold weather when the bees are less active, so hopefully, we can join the dynamic duo (dog and trainer) on the Eastern Shore this winter. Second, of course they meant “any other” v. “another” state in the horse statistic. Did you pass along the typo?
Chris L. says
I’d been wondering where Tallulah’d been, since, as it’s clear here, she has more horse sense than most. Do you think she could check into the variety of species of sheep flies in Maryland for me? I’m curious as to why the ones that plague me when I play golf in Chestertown are more highly armored but slower and easier to swat than the ones that chase me whle mowing the lawn in Crumpton, which I find more fleet, yet smooshy. And both pale in comparison to those I had the misfortune of coming across one day on Taylor’s Island in both ferocity and appetite.
My guess is that if I were to contact the state department of agriculture for the answers, I’d have less luck than I would should I have a good conversation with the Spy’s ace investigator.