ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATIOX. 139 



fact that it must be strong, vigorous Italian stock, although most 

 people tried that, used that stock in giving the treatment, but the 

 result was, criticisms poured in from all over the country. Apiary- 

 inspectors wrote in to Washington couldn't we do something to prevent 

 people from publishing that kind of stuff, and I felt a little that way 

 myself. The only trouble was that we didn't read the entire article. 

 We may have read the words, but we did not let them sink home, 

 because the method now used almost universally is the method modified 

 that Mr. Alexander then described. 



Now, Mr. Alexander is located in the buckwheat region of New 

 York, with a honey flow beginning about the first of August. The 

 result is that his colonies of bees — his cellar is not very good, or was 

 not, he is unfortunately dead now — and his bees came through the 

 winter very weak every spring, and he used a hive about three-quarters 

 as long as the Langstroth frame, just a little bit of a thing, that is the 

 reason he could keep 350 in one place, if any one should ask, but the 

 result was verj^ weak colonies in the Spring. With no honey flow at 

 that time, the fact that he got rid of it at all meant a very radical 

 treatment. 



Now, our very dear friend. Dr. C. C. Miller, fortunately got Euro- 

 pean foul brood. I think he would agree with me in the use of that 

 word "fortunately," for his experience has been very beneficial to the 

 bee-keepers of the United States. In attempting at the suggestion of 

 Editor Root, who is trying to defend himself for publishing this article, 

 in attempting to follow out the Alexander treatment, he followed 

 directions on several colonies, and then he made a mistake, and instead 

 of keeping his colony queeniess for twenty-seven days he kept it queen- 

 less for ten days. Then he introduced the queen, and to his conster- 

 nation later on he found he had made a mistake, and yet he looked 

 and saw that there was not any disease there, so since that time he 

 has been experimenting, and he has settled down to the belief that ten 

 days is enough. Well, the only difference between the recommenda- 

 tion that Dr. Miller has been giving and the recommendation I want 

 to urge this afternoon is that ten days is ten days too long, and if the 

 remedial measures which Dr. Miller has been practicing in his apiary 

 for years are followed out, it is a rare thing for European foul brood 

 even to appear. 



Now, I want to tell 3'ou something about Dr. Miller. For several 

 years before he discovered that he had European foul brood. Dr. 

 Miller was finding diseased larvae in his bees; he would find a cell or 

 two dead. Well, it did not seem to spread, there was not enough to 

 worry about; it soon disappeared, so he did not worry about it. But 

 one year, I have forgotten the year, conditions were favorable, that 

 is, they were unfavorable for bees and consequently favorable for 

 European foul brood, and he got a little smatteringof it at the yard, 

 so he sent a sample to Washington, and he started to work on his 

 remedial measures. The only change that he has adopted in his 

 apiary since is the introduction of pure Italians instead of the hybrids 

 which he had before. 



Now, the method which we are using — bee-keepers largely through- 

 out the country are using — is to introduce an Italian queen after a 



