ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KKEPERS' ASSOCIATIONS". 147 



And just to give a little idea of the seriousness of the disease, I 

 would like to read you just two pages of past history, and I will leave 

 you to judge for yourselves as to how much bearing it may have on 

 the subject. (Miss Fowls then read letter from J. L. Beyer in regard 

 to losses from the disease.) 



And a man from Niagara Falls, I have forgotten his name, but a 

 letter came from him stating that all of his bees, the whole apiary, 

 had been wiped out. 



A Member. — Mr. Bowen. 



Miss Fowls. — These are just a few instances to show how serious 

 the disease reallj' is. And during the last two years we have continually 

 had letters coming in at the office describing the symptoms and asking 

 what they can do. In fact, we have had so many such letters that we 

 have been compelled to get out a form letter in order to answer them 

 all, and in the form letter we attempt to tell not what we do know, but 

 to tell what we don't know. 



There is still a great deal that we can learn about foul brood, and 

 yet we know enough about foul brood now so that if an ajDiary is affected 

 with either type of the disease we can clean up that apiary and get 

 rid of it. In the case of the disappearing disease it is quite different, 

 we don't know its origin nor its cause nor its cure, and therefore we are 

 quite helpless before it, and jijst as long as we keep on this attitude of 

 indifference, just so long our honey crops are going to continue to be 

 cut down, and as soon as we wake up to the real menace and the real 

 danger of the disease and try to find out all we can about it, post our- 

 selves beforehand and then try to discover all we can concerning it, 

 then I have faith to beheve that we are going to get rid of the disease. 



T. W.. Riggs, of Nevada said something recently about foul brood 

 that would apply quite well here. He said just as soon as we become 

 really afraid of the disease it will be eliminated. (Applause.) 



The President. — Now if any one has any questions to ask Miss 

 Fowls, I am sure she will be glad to answer them. 



Mr. Krause. — I would just hke to ask her, in your cases did you 

 find out that perhaps two or three hundred miles from the yard where 

 you noticed it first that they had the same thing -almost at the same 

 time? j 



Miss Fowls. — At the same time we were having this trouble we 

 found they did not hdve it down at Medina at that time. 



Mr. Kr'ause. — In Ontario we just found it the other way, that no 

 matter who we would communicate with, at ten o'clock on a certain 

 day we would find the bees affected. Then it disappeared just the 

 same way when it was cured, at a certain time it disappears and we 

 did not see any. 



Miss Fowls. — Excuse me, I would just like to add one thing to 

 that. In one of the apiaries that had the disease quite badly the 

 owner had been getting in different choice queens from all over, just 

 to try them out and see what he considered the best, and every one 

 of those colonies had it, quite regardless of where the queens came 

 from. 



Mr. Wheeler. — Mr. Chairman, I have had quite a little exper- 

 ience along that line, and it is a question that I think we ought to look 



