204 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 10 



THE RESULTS OF APIARY INSPECTION 



By E. F. Phillips 



The inspection of apiaries in the various states js unfortunately con- 

 ducted according to many different systems and in some cases with 

 httle apparent system. This work cannot be cast in a mold, because 

 of the wide divergence of conditions in the various bee-keeping 

 regions of the United States, but it would seem possible to stand- 

 ardize the work to some extent by discussions in this association and 

 elsewhere. To show the divergence more clearly, some of the dif- 

 ferences in plans may be mentioned. In some states it is the policy 

 to do intensive work by attempting to visit and advise all the bee- 

 keepers in a locality before the inspector leaves; in other cases inspec- 

 tion is made only on request and only a few beekeepers are visited on 

 each trip from the central office. In some cases emphasis is placed 

 on work with the individual beekeeper; in other states meetings and 

 demonstrations are held to reach a larger number of beekeepers. 

 In some states the supervising officer has a bird's-eye view of the 

 situation throughout the state, made possible by adequate records and 

 maps; in other instances the inspector has no such efficient records and 

 wanders more or less aimlessly about, helping wherever he can but 

 without a broad outlook. To obviate some of the grosser errors, the 

 Bureau of Entomology has advised supervision of the work by an 

 already existing office, not only to save administration expense, but 

 especially to make the work constructive, comprehensive and efficient. 

 The history of inspection proves conclusively the advantage of such 

 a system and shows the relative inefficiency of an independent in- 

 spector. 



The title of the present paper indicates a desire to know whether 

 the apiary inspection is profitable. At the request of beekeepers, the 

 various states are spending thousands of dollars annually in this work. 

 It has been in operation on an ever increasing scale since the first law 

 was passed in Wisconsin in 1897 and enough experience is available to 

 warrant the demand for a showing of results. 



If conclusions are based on observations of a general character, one 

 must believe that inspection is a decided benefit. Even in those 

 states where there is little or no system and where the most careless 

 work is done, we find individual beekeepers aided to better beekeeping 

 and enabled to combat disease with success. The making of one 

 good beekeeper in a county may result ultimately in greatly increased 

 wealth to the state, so that one cannot easily measure the economic 

 value of such work. In spite of valid criticisms, and there is abundant 



