PART VIII 



Extracts From the State Bee Keeper's Report 



By FRANK C. PELLETT, State Bee Inspector 



The year 1914 has not been a favorable one for honey protluc- 

 tion in Iowa. The drouth of 1913, followed by a similar one 

 this year was responsible for a failure of the white clover, which 

 is the principal source of nectar secretion. The dearth of honey 

 during the best part of the summer has made conditions favor- 

 able for the spread of bee diseases, and the bee keepers have not 

 only had to face a short honey crop but in many localities have 

 had to combat foul brood as well. Both American foul brood 

 and European foul brood have been reported from many local- 

 ities the past season. European foul brood has been especially 

 prevalent and has made its appearance in all parts of the state. 

 It is now present in several counties where it has never been 

 known previously. Indications are that within a short period it 

 will have spread into every county of Iowa and that the bee 

 keeper of the future must be prepared to deal intelligently with 

 disease or quit the business. In localities where disease is pres- 

 ent, the inspector frequently finds a lot of empty hives but no 

 bees, on the premises of the careless apiarist. Hundreds of 

 farmers are thus involuntarily quitting the bee keeping end of 

 their business. Bee diseases are not an unmixed evil for they 

 compel better attention. Many a careless bee keeper has found 

 it necessary to study his business more carefully or lose his 

 property, with the result that better attention has increased the 

 return from his apiary. Some of the most successful honey 

 producers of the writer's acquaintance say that they never made 

 any money from their bees until they were compelled to fight 

 foul brood. On the average farm the bees are the last thing 

 to receive any attention. Too many men are content to leave 

 the bees to shift for themselves as best they may and if there 

 is a surplus of honey in the fall they regard it as so much velvet. 

 Foul brood is rapidly removing such apiaries from disgracing 

 their owners. Unfortunately, however, while they are being 

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