February, '14] NEWELL: APL\RY INSPECTION LAW 93 



diseases of bees are concerned, true eradication is not necessarily an 

 impossibility and it is the one thing for which both the beekeepers and 

 inspectors are striving. 



The writer would not presume to discuss so weighty a subject as the 

 essentials of a good inspection law', were it not for the fact that he has 

 been directly concerned with the operation of various state laws rela- 

 tive to both nursery and apiary inspection. At this point it may not 

 be amiss to call attention to the fact that many of the principles govern- 

 ing efficient nursery inspection are equally applicable to apiary inspec- 

 tion. 



The Texas Legislature has recently passed an apiary inspection law 

 w^hich we believe to be one of the most efficient laws of the kind thus 

 far enacted. This act was not formulated in a hurry, as is often un- 

 fortunately the case, but was in course of preparation for four years, 

 during which time it was made to embody not only the features shown 

 by actual inspection work to be necessary, but also the ideas of the 

 best men in the Texas Beekeepers' Association. Several prominent 

 attorneys, themselves beekeepers on an extensive scale, also as- 

 sisted in drafting the bill. The result was a law which seems to cover 

 the ground thoroughly and to provide for all contingencies which may 

 reasonably be expected to occur. Perhaps one might say then, that the 

 first essential of an apiary inspection act, or bill, should be its careful 

 preparation before it is presented to the law-making body for the 

 latter's endorsement. 



As a second essential, we would say that the enforcement of the law_ 

 should be lodged in the hands of some body as far removed as possible 

 from the influence of politics. In the case of the Texas law active 

 enforcement is in the hands of the state entomologist and this official 

 is directly responsible to the director and governing board of the Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station. Local or county inspectors are appointed 

 by the state entomologist, subject to approval of the board. Thus the 

 appointment of the inspectors cannot be influenced in any way by 

 local influences outside the beekeeping industry. While the law does 

 not require such a step, our custom has been to appoint as county in- 

 spectors the men endorsed for those positions by the County. Beekeep- 

 ers' Associations, and we have found the plan to work well indeed. 

 Objection is found to placing the execution of such laws in the hands of 

 State Boards of Agriculture or Horticulture for the reason that such 

 boards are usually appointed and their personnel often changes with 

 each new turn of the political wheel. Even where the entomologist 

 or chief inspector operates under the supervision of such a board or 

 commission, he is bound to be influenced to a certain degree by the 

 probable political effect of his operations. 



