1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



107 



MORE LAWS FOR BEE-KEEPERS. 



Shall the Mailing of Queens be Prohibit- 

 ed from California? 



BY W. A. PRYAL. 



Of laws 'lis said ihe country has enough; 



But let bee-keepers have some wise and tough. 



The machinery has been started in California 

 to give the apicultural industry some legislation 

 that will set the old don't-care-a-rap fellows to 

 thinking. The present foul-brood statute is to 

 be amended, provided the work Mr. Ralph Ben- 

 ton, of the State University, has been formulat- 

 ing succeeds in meeting the approval of theSolons 

 now assembled at Sacramento. Mr. Benton is 

 aiming to place the inspection of infested apiaries 

 more under the control of the authorities of the 

 State University, at the same time allowing the 

 appointment of county foul-brood inspectors to 

 remain in the hands of the supervisors of the sev- 

 eral counties as at present. It will be more bind- 

 ing on the supervisors to make appointments 

 when petitioned to do so. The University In- 

 spector of Foul Brood will have co-extensive au- 

 thority with the county officer, and he will have 

 power to appoint dep- 

 uties to assist in the work. 

 This will allow of scien- 

 tific investigation; at 

 present it is said some of 

 the inspectors are igno- 

 rant of what a genuine 

 case of foul brood is like, 

 as is so often the case 

 when politics has a hand 

 in the filling of scientific 

 positions. The amend- 

 ed law will weed out 

 poor or had inspectors. 



There is one thing 

 about the amended stat- 

 ute, as drafted by Mr. 

 Benton, I do not think 

 should be put in force for 

 some years to come, and 

 that is the provision mak- 

 ing it compulsory for ail 

 quetns and their attend- 

 ant bees passing inspec- 

 tion by the foul-brood 

 inspector; in fact, they 

 must be accompanied 

 with a certificate of in- 

 spection, as are consign- 

 ments of trees and plants, 

 before they can enter this 

 State; and if not so certi- 

 fied they must be placed 

 in a hive for sixty days, 

 and be subject at the ex- 

 piration of that period to 

 final inspection by the 

 officer. If no sign of foul 

 brood or other disease in- 

 imical to the best inter- 

 ests of California bee- 

 keepers has manifested it- 

 self, then the bees ^ and 

 queens will be admitted. 



My objection to this is that, owing to the fact 

 that as many Eastern States have no properly con- 

 stituted officer who could give a queen-breeder a 

 clean bill of health for his bees and queens, it 

 would be a hardship on a reputable breeder to 

 hold his bees up on that score. Then I believe 

 it would be an injury to a bee-keeper and the ex- 

 porter as well to have bees held up at the post- 

 office or express office until some far-away inspec- 

 tor could be brought upon the scene to poke the 

 poor bees in the ribs and look down their throats 

 to see what they had for breakfast, or to find how 

 theiralimentary system was. Mr. Benton agreed 

 with me that, while the provision would ultimate- 

 ly be beneficial to our bee-keepers, it was better 

 to wait a few years until a like law was enacted 

 in the Eastern States where bee-keepers raise 

 queens, before this provision should be in full 

 force and effect. So I believe he will have the 

 proposed law so changed. 



Then he makes provision for an annual meet- 

 ing of foul-brood inspectors. This is good; but 

 I am afraid the interest will die out in a few years. 

 By making such meeting a part of the annual 

 meeting of the State Bee-keepers' Association it 

 will provoke more interest and be far more bene- 

 ficial. In fact, I believe it will bring about a 



BOKHARA CLOVER GROWING TEN FEET HIGH. 



