598 



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are totally ignorant of its nature, and 

 are unaware of its presence with them, 

 the disease is much more prevalent 

 than appears to the public through the 

 periodicals or otherwise. 



I have had abundant opportunity of 

 late to verity the above fact. Up to 

 the beginning of this year, never hav- 

 ing seen any foul brood, or noticed 

 much in the periodicals in reference 

 thereto, save theoretical discussion of 

 a something which nobody individually 

 appeared to be troubled with — the 

 quite natural impression I had was that 

 a few cases of foul brood existed in 

 Canada, here and there, but not enough 

 to become exercised or alarmed about. 

 This impression was moved somewhat 

 at the last annual meeting of the On- 

 tario Bee-Keepers' Association held at 

 Belleville in January last, and has 

 been completely annihilated since then. 



At that meeting it became known 

 that foul brood prevailed extensively 

 in Western Ontario, and was rapidly 

 spreading. With this unpleasant fact 

 in view, the Association took prompt 

 action towards securing such legisla- 

 tion as would be indispensable in any 

 attempt at the complete suppression of 

 the disease in this Province. The fruit 

 of that initial step was that in the 

 space of three montlis we had secured 

 from the Provincial Legislature, an 

 " Act for the suppression of foul brood 

 among bees," which is probably the 

 most perfect, and, on the whole, the 

 best of its kind in the world to serve 

 the purpose intended. 



Under its provisions it became the 

 duty of the Ontario Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation, through its Board, to ap- 

 point a Foul Brood Inspector, and 

 Sub-Inspector, whose salaries are paid 

 by the Government. This was promptly 

 done, and the inspector has been al- 

 most constantlj' engaged ever since in 

 the discharge of the duties of his posi- 

 tion, which I am glad to say he is 

 doing most efficiently and successfully. 



As the inspector acts under my 

 direction, as President of the Society, 

 and as the Act requires all owners or 

 possessors of bees having foul brood 

 to give notice of the fact, subject, in 

 default, to the penalties which it pro- 

 vides, my opportunities for acquiring 

 information as to the extent, etc., of 

 foul brood in the Province have been 

 ample. Suffice it to say (and I think 

 it ought to be said) that the disease 

 is widespread, especially throughout 

 Western Ontario, and has made sad 

 havoc in some localities. 



The inspector has reported to me 

 that he finds apiaries, one after another, 

 " fairly rotten " with the disease. No 

 doubt the same condition of things ex- 

 ists in the United States, and as this 

 state of things was not known here 

 until unearthed bv the efl'ective ma- 



chinery of the law, it will probably not 

 be known there until brought to light 

 in a similar manner ; and as there is 

 considerable interchange of bees and 

 honey between the two countries, we 

 are concerned there the same as you 

 are concerned lierc. I therefore feel 

 free in suggesting to our brethren 

 across the lakes and the rivers, the 

 propriety — yea, urgent uecessitj- — of 

 getting to work in these premises, and 

 getting to work at once. 



The time for profitless theoretical 

 discussion about the essential nature of 

 the disease, and the modus opera?idi of 

 this plan of drug treatment and that, 

 is, or ought to be, past. Like many 

 diseases which afflict the genus homo, 

 tills bee-disease may be cured by a 

 simple, natural process, without any 

 drug-medication of any kind. 



While our law authorizes the de- 

 struction by cremation of every colony 

 virulently diseased, our inspector, Mr. 

 Wm. McEvo}% although he has had 

 hundreds of cases to deal with, mild 

 and malignant, since he commenced, 

 has not as yet been under the necessity 

 of destroying a single colony. With 

 the willing and intelligent co-opera- 

 tion of the owners he can cure all 

 cases. This fact speaks for itself, and 

 ought to command the attention of all 

 who unfortunately are personally con- 

 cerned in foul brood. 



By this mail, I send to the office of 

 the American Bee Jocknal, a copy 

 of our foul brood pamphlet, recently 

 issued as an official " Bulletin" by the 

 Ontario Department of Agriculture. 

 This pamphlet contains our inspector's 

 method of treatment and cure as prac- 

 ticed by him. It also contains Mr. D. 

 A. Jones' " starvation plan," which is 

 the same in principle, only diftering in 

 detail. That the woi'st cases of foul 

 brood maybe cured by either of these 

 methods is now proved beyond a doubt. 

 Hence the folly of persisting in treat- 

 ing and experimenting with this drug 

 or that, bees dying and disease spread- 

 ing meanwhile. 



I wish to draw the particular atten- 

 tion of the American Bee Journal to 

 this " Bulletin." It not only contains 

 the two successful plans of treatment 

 as practiced by Messrs. Jones and 

 McEvoy, but a copy of the Act under 

 which we are working so effectively 

 towards the suppression of that foul 

 disease wljich is the withering vampire 

 of bee-keeping. 



This Bulletin, printed in English and 

 German, is now in the hands of some 

 seven to eight thousand Ontario bee- 

 keepers. I would suggest to American 

 bee-periodicals,to give their readers the 

 benefit of its contents. 



Allen Pringle, 

 Pres. Onl. Bee-Keepers'' Association. 



Selby, Ont,, Aug. 14, 1890. 



HORTICULTURE . 



The Relation of Bees to Horti- 

 culture Considered. 



Read at Nebraska Horticultural Society 



BY rev. EMERSON T. ABBOTT. 



I congratulate the Nebraska State 

 Horticultural Society and the State 

 Bee-Keepers' Association on the har- 

 mony found among them, and the fra- 

 ternal feeling which they manifest 

 toward each other. 



You both have cause to be proud of 

 the progress you have made, and of 

 tlie push and intelligence manifested 

 by your individual members. When I 

 heard the able essay which Prof. 

 Bessey read before the joint meeting 

 last 5'ear, and saw how much interest 

 he took in the work of the Horticul- 

 tural Society and the Bee-Keepers' 

 meeting, I felt that both societies had 

 a friend that they could not value too 

 highly. But I digress. 



I was speaking of the harmony and 

 good-will which prevails between these 

 two societies. This stands for more 

 than one realizes at first thought. No 

 gi'eater misfortune could come to a 

 country than for its inhabitants to 

 divide themselves up into societies, 

 guilds, or castes, all of which are ar- 

 rayed against each other,and endeavor- 

 ing to build themselves up bj' denounc- 

 ing and tearing others down. 



Given this condition of things, and 

 society instead of being one united 

 whole, working for the common weal 

 in a general way, at once becomes a 

 lot of petty factions who have no in 

 terest in the welfare of any one, or 

 anything, that does not belong to them 

 exclusively. 



It is plain to be seen that this state 

 of things would soon pervert and over- 

 throw the institutions of a free govern- 

 ment, and lead to anarchy in its worst 

 form. Instead of happiness and con- 

 tentment, we would have on every 

 hand strife, contention, and disconteut. 

 coupled with the meanest kind of 

 selfishness. 



This evil tendency, I am sorr}- to 

 say, has and is in some quarters j-et 

 manifesting itself among the fruit- 

 growers and bee-keepers of the coun- 

 try. Faint mutterings of a conflict of 

 interest have been heard all over the 

 land, and here and there these almost 

 silent complaints of conflict have waxed 

 louder and louder until they broke out 

 in open denunciation, and a bitter 

 warfare has been the result. 



On the other hand there have been 

 communities and societies like your 

 own, who have been willing to bear 

 and forbear, and to labor patieuth" 

 and harmoniously to get at the facts 

 in the case. These manifestations of 



