REPORT OF THE STATE INSPECTOR 

 OF APIARIES. 



M. E. DARBY, SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI. 



Apiares inspected during the season, 1907 215 



Apiaries found diseased with foulbrood 82 



Colonies inspected 3,028 



Colonies found diseased with foulbrood 297 



I was appointed State Inspector of Apiaries June 5th, 1907, 

 and when I started on my work, part of the season best suited for 

 the inspection and location of diseased apiaries had passed. 



A good deal of my work had to be educational, as most of the 

 bee keepers of our State are not aware that the disease of foul- 

 brood has spread through their apiaries. I had to make long trips 

 from one part of the State to the other to look after apiaries where 

 they were reported diseased, and the traveling expenses on this ac- 

 count were quite heavy. 



In some parts of the State nearly every apiary inspected was 

 diseased with foulbrood, and much work is necessary to check the 

 disease in these localities. 



It is of great importance that the bee keepers of the State 

 learn to recognize foulbrood when it appears in their apiaries, as 

 great losses can be prevented when foulbrood is detected as 'soon 

 as it makes its appearance in a locality. Since bees, honey and 

 queen bees are constantly shipped from one place to another the 

 disease is easily spread, unless great care is taken to prevent in- 

 fection. 



Honey which is brought from unknown sources ought not to 

 be fed to bees. When feeding is necessary it is safe to feed syrup 

 made by dissolving granulated sugar in water, using half sugar and 

 half water, thus the danger of feeding honey which may contain 

 the germs of foulbrood is avoided. 



When queens are bought from queen breeders, they can be in- 



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