74 MEETING OF INSPECTORS OF APIARIES. 
1884 30,000 pounds, and in 1886, with 240 colonies, it yielded 25,000 
pounds. This bee keeper also became a partner in a bank. Another 
apiary of 175 colonies in 1886 yielded 32,725 pounds of honey and in 
1891 the bees were all dead with foul brood. Another apiary of 200 
colonies in 1900 yielded 21,000 pounds of honey, but in 1904 all the 
bees were dead. Another apiary of 50 colonies in 1897 yielded 3,500 
pounds, but in 1900 all the bees were dead. Another apiary of 26 
colonies in 1899 yielded 2,500 pounds of honey and in 1901 all the bees 
were dead. Thus I could enumerate a pageful of similar sad results 
of foul brood. 
About this time the State Bee Keepers’ Association voted to delegate 
to the president of the association the securing of proper laws for the 
eradication of this disease. With little help from the bee keepers, he 
had to see his efforts turned down. Two years later I was delegated 
as before, but without the personal help of our members the bill was 
ridiculed and lost. While before the legislative committee I learned 
better what must be done, and two years later a committee of all the 
officers of the State Bee Keepers’ Association was delegated to act, 
with the promise that each State member would do his part. The 
committee got figures of facts about Wisconsin bee keeping and fur- 
nished each association member with copies of the same, with the 
request that each one see personally the member of the legislature 
from his district. Many members did as requested and our entire 
committee appeared before the first legislative committee and made 
good progress. When the last State committee on State appropria- 
tions was to consider our bill I was alone. Several other bills call- 
ing for aid were turned down before I had a hearing. I gave the 
committee these facts to consider: (1) There are 10,535 farms in 
Wisconsin, having 106,090 colonies of bees, which produce in one year 
2,677,100 pounds of honey. (2) There are more than twice as many 
pounds of honey produced each year in Wisconsin as there are head 
of cattle or sheep. (3) One year’s honey crop in Wisconsin would 
load 13 freight cars, or if placed all in full-weight pound section 
boxes, touching each other, a sweet honey walk 44 inches wide would 
reach 1814 miles—more than the distance across the State. (4) The 
valuation of Wisconsin bees and products amounts each year to more 
than the appropriation made by the State for several State institu- 
tions. (5) The State Horticultural Society receives over ten times 
more aid from the State than the bees do, yet over three times as 
many pounds of honey as bushels of apples are produced. (6) Over 
10,500 Wisconsin taxpayers and voters who send representatives to 
the legislature are bee keepers and ask to be reasonably protected by 
law to save the bees. 
After I was excused from the committee room the committee voted 
unanimously to recommend the bill for passage. It soon became a 
