158' 



FIFTEENTH ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE 



The result of the ballot for a dele- 

 gate to Springfield: 



Mr. Stanley, 5; Mr. Bull, 17. 



Mr. Bull was elected delegate. 



Meeting adjourned until 1:15 p. m. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



Meeting called to order at 1:15 p. m. 



President France — Let us take up 

 the question of Bee Diseases and, as 

 I said before dinner, I made a state- 

 ment in our Wisconsin Convention last 

 week I believe honestly that European 

 foul brood in the state of Wisconsin 

 had proved a blessing to the state, and 

 on the same basis I believe it is to 

 all the states. 



Because, wherever I have found 

 disease, and the bee-keeper has be- 

 come aware of the seriousness of the 

 diseased conditions that are surround- 

 ing him, he has set to work to clean 

 house, and when through with it I 

 have repeatedly, over and over again, 

 said "I am glad I have had foul brood 

 (European); I don't fear it any more" 

 — and he is going to be our coming 

 bee-keeper. 



I would prefer to take this subject 

 up this afternoon — American foul 

 brood — how to know how to treat it. 



I don't know any better wa5- than 

 to have your Inspector of this state 

 to take it up. How to know American 

 foul brood and treat it, Mr. Kildow. 



Mr. Kildow — I would rather see 

 somebody else take that up. While I 

 am the Inspector of the state, yet I 

 am not a talker in Conventions. 



I think the best way for a man to 

 know it is to get his fingers burned 

 with it and he will know it. You have 

 all heard of it; you may not have seen 

 it, but I don't know as I can describe 

 it better than you have seen it de- 

 scribed in bulletins and literature ori 

 the subject. 



I don't see how I can describe it 

 any better. 



If you ever see it in the real stuff, 

 you will know it. 



If you have not seen it, I would ad- 

 vise you to go to some place where 

 they have field meets, or where it is, 

 and see the real thing. 



The treatment has been given so 

 much it has gotten to be worn thread- 

 bare. 



I would rather answer questions 



than to try to tell you a lot of stuff 

 that many of you have heard time and 

 time again. 



President France — May I inquire 

 how many here have never seen a case 

 of American foul brood? 



(Three.) 



President France — Well, I am glad, 

 indeed, we have three who have gone 

 free so far, and I hope you always 

 will. It is something there is no joke 

 about. 



Just for half a moment, for the 

 benefit of three: 



W^hen the brood comb shows a dark- 

 ening in color with sunken cappings, 

 ragged hole in cappings — turn that 

 comb so that the light will shine into 

 it, so that you can see into the comb 

 on to the lower side wall, provided 

 this was retained in individual cell; 

 on the lower side wall, part way from 

 the front, dried down larvae — In some 

 cells you will see the earlier stages, 

 brown chocolate or coffee colored ma- 

 terial; if you will insert a match into 

 that dead larvae it will draw out ropy 

 matter. i 



Once in a while a larvae, in its last 

 stages of life, will throw out the tongue 

 with that force that it will strike the 

 upper side wall and remain so that 

 after the larvae has dried down there 

 is a tiny thread of that tongue still 

 adhering across. 



That is not general, but you may find 

 those in combs. Then, there is the 

 odor. I don't know how to describe it; 

 it smells just like American foul brood. 



Mr. Kannenberg — It smells like old 

 carpenter's glue. 



President France — ^With those condi- 

 tions, if you find it in your hive, then 

 the treatment is to be looked after; 

 but here is one point: Whether we 

 have had the experience or not, it is 

 folly for one man, having the disease, 

 to go ahead and clean up unless his 

 neighbors will do likewise, if they are 

 infected. 



About two weeks ago I sent out a 

 little more than 1,000 circular letters to 

 Wisconsin bee-keepers, getting sta- 

 tistics, and asking them would they 

 give me the names of bee-keepers 

 within eight miles of them, making a 

 little mark, if they suspicioned any 

 disease. 



I received several hundred new 

 names, some of which had that mark; 



