May, 1916. 



American l^ee Journal 



these, however, quite a number of bee- 

 keepers were furnished with queens. It 

 is interesting to note that all bee-l<eep- 

 ers getting such queens were unani- 

 mous in their praise. The fact that 

 there was no limit placed on the num- 

 ber of queens to each beekeeper pre- 

 vented a wider distribution. 



This year it is proposed to get more 

 nearly equipped, and to furnish not 

 less than 500 queens to the beekeepers 

 of the State^with a limit of six to each 

 individual. 



Wisconsin and Minnesota are the 

 first two States to undertake the rear- 

 ing of queens in this manner. The 

 benefits to be derived from selection 

 of stock and requeening from well and 

 carefully bred colonies is not to be 

 estimated lightly. 



Foulbrood Insurance in Switzerland. 



— We are in receipt of the annual re- 

 port of the Union of Swiss Beekeepers 

 for Foulbrood Insurance. As pre- 

 viously stated in these columns, the 

 membership of this association is 9224, 

 with a total number of colonies of 

 118,810. 



In 1915. 47 apiaries were found in- 

 fected, and the total number of colo- 

 nies with the disease was 113. Of these 

 38 were brushed to new combs while 

 the other 75 were totally destroyed and 

 the combs either burned or melted up 

 and the interior of the hives scorched. 



HOW THE INSURANCE WORKS. 



The report does not show whether 

 there was a different rate of payment 

 when a colony was shaken and when it 

 was destroyed. The total amount of 

 insurance paid, however, was about 

 $320, or an average of $2.50 for each 

 diseased colony. The premium paid 

 by members was one cent a colony or 

 a total for the year of $1189, leaving a 

 balance for the year of $791 after paying 

 all expenses. This added to their pre- 

 vious balance makes a total available 

 in the treasury of the association of 

 $2257. 



The aim of the association is to re- 

 duce the insurance rates each year and 

 still keep ahead of losses from foul- 

 brood. 



Under the leadership of Prof. Leun- 

 enberger, this association is getting 

 good results. There are still a number 



of beekeepers outside the association, 

 but its advantages are so evident that 

 the number of members is increasing 

 rapidly. The percentage of disease is 

 also becoming markedly smaller. 



The question now is to apply the 

 principle on which this association is 

 run to conditions in this country. Ref- 

 erence to the foulbrood reports of the 

 different States shows that the percent- 

 age of disease is much greater than in 

 that country. However, it would not 

 be necessary to pay quite such a high 

 damage for each colony, and we feel 

 sure that it would be possible to get a 

 large membership at a higher premium 

 rate, say 3 to 5 cents a colony. 



Naturally such an organization should 

 be carried out in cooperation with the 

 State inspectors. It ought not to be 

 extremely hard to get a nucleus of bee- 

 keepers to try such a plan. As percent- 

 ages, etc., were worked out the mem- 

 bership could be increased until it be- 

 came national in character. 



The Washington Meeting.— The 22d 



annual convention of the Washington 

 State Beekeepers' Association was held 

 at North Yakima, Wash., on Feb. 9 and 

 10. The weather conditions were un- 

 usually bad, and the attendance was not 

 as large as expected; but those who 

 braved the elements were well repaid, 

 for the program was an excellent one. 



There were papers and addresses by 

 some of the best known beekeepers of 

 the State on subjects of interest to bee- 

 keepers, one by Mr. Sauter, of College 

 Place, on queen-rearing being particu- 

 larly interesting. Mr. Sauter is the 

 only large commercial queen-breeder 

 in the State. 



There was a paper by Prof. Wilson, 

 Entomologist of the University of 

 Wisconsin, on " Better Queens, Better 

 Bees ; Better Bees, Less Disease." 



Prof. Thornber, of the Washington 

 State College, told of the college ex- 

 tension work. 



On the evening of the 9th, Prof. 

 Melander, Entomologist of the State 

 College, gave an illustrated lecture on 

 " Ants, Bees and Wasps," which was a 

 revelation to many of those present. 



Anson S. White, the only surviving 

 one of the charter members of the 

 association, read an interesting paper 

 on the original membership and the 



n^mt^^^ 



early days. 



The members were so well pleased in 

 buying containers in carload lots in 

 1915, that they decided to order the 

 same way this year, and may add some 

 other articles to the list. 



During the year four members have 

 passed away, viz. : L. R. Freeman, a 

 charter member and the first secretary 

 of the association, D. B. Greenwalt, at 

 one time president, J. D. Mcintosh and 

 Mrs. Pressy, all well and favorably 

 known. 



Ten new members were added dur- 

 ing the year. 



A committee was appointed to draft 

 a foulbrood law, and also one to ar- 

 range for purchase of containers for 

 the coming season's product. 



The officers elected for the ensuing 

 year were: President, J. B. Raraage, 

 of North Yakima; vice-presidents, C. 

 W. Higgins, of Wapato, E. Sauter, of 

 College Place, W. H. Tucker, of Pros- 

 ser, J. J.Peters, of Arlington; secre- 

 tary, H. T. Skinner, of North Yakima; 

 treasurer, Gus. Sipp, of Selah. 



H. T. Skinner, Sec. 



Western Washington Meeting.— The 



first meeting of the Western Washing- 

 ton beekeepers was held at Chehalis 

 Jan. 21 and 22. There were bee-men 

 from all parts of the State present. The 

 following program, which proved very 

 interesting, was rendered; 



Address of Welcome— Judge A. E. 

 Rice, of Chehalis. 



Up to-Date Apiary— W. L. Cox, of 

 Porter. 



.Value of Bees in Fruit Growing — W. 

 E. Rambo, Chehalis. 



Paper, Securing State Aid— C. P. 

 Dadant, Hamilton, 111. 



Producing Extracted Honey — N. P. 

 Nelson, Centralia. 



Short Cuts in American Foulbrood — 

 J. B. Espy, Chehalis. 



Experience with Apis Dorsata in 

 India, the Biggest Honeybee in the 

 World— W. E. Rambo, Chehalis. 



Bee Diseases, Particularly Xosema 

 Af'is — Prof. Trevor Kinkaid, Univer- 

 sity of Washington, Seattle. 



Interesting discussions followed each 

 speaker. 



An organization to be known as the 

 Western Washington Beekeepers' Asso- 

 ciation was launched. J. B. Espy, of 

 Chehalis, was elected president, and W. 

 L. Cox, of Porter, secretary-treasurer. 

 Messrs. Espy, Kinkaid and Cox were 

 chosen as a Legislative Committee; 

 the Legislative Committee is to meet 

 with the State Association and a joint 

 committee to draft necessary bee laws. 



There was also a strong resolution 

 by State Senator J. E. Leonard, adopt- 

 ed to be presented to the legislature. 



The Colorado grading rules were 

 adopted. The meeting was a very en- 

 thusiastic one, and we expect good re- 

 sults to follow. W. L. Cox, Sec. 



APIARY OF F. KITTINGER. OF FRANKSVILLE, WIS. 



The Farm Manual Series Through 



the courtesy of the Lippincott Com- 

 pany of Philadelphia, we are in receipt 

 of the last farm manual series. The 

 names of these are : " Productive Swine 

 Husbandry," "Productive Feeding of 

 Farm Animals," "Productive Farm 

 Crops,""Productive Horse Husbandry," 

 and " Common Diseases of Farm Ani- 



