1 90.? 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



129 



WISCONSIN BEE=KEEPINQ. 



From the annual report of State In- 

 spector of Apiaries- 



Platteville, Wis., ^March 31, igo.^- 

 To His Excellency. Robert M- LaFol- 



lette. 



Governor of the State of Wisconsin. 



I have the honor of presenting to 

 you. as provided bj^ law, my sixth an- 

 nual report, as State Inspector of Api- 

 aries. 



UNITED STATES BEE-KEEPING. 



The bee-keeping of the U. S- is of 

 great importance as is proven by the 

 last U. S. Census Report, vol. 5, part 

 I- 



Seven hundred and seven thousand, 

 two hundred and sixty-one bee-keeping 

 farms, containing 4,109.620 colonies or 

 swarms of bees. They produced 61,- 

 196,160 pounds of honey and 1.765,3x5 

 pounds of wax. A'aluation of bees, 

 $10,186,513, of honey and wax, $6,664,- 

 904. 



WISCONSIN BEE-KEEPING. 



Although some states have more 

 bees and produce more honey, none 

 produce a better quality of honey, nor 

 will records show a greater profit per 

 colony than those kept in the Badger 

 State" 



Ten thousand, five hundred and thir- 

 ty-three bee-keeping farms, containing 

 106.090 colonies of bees. 



They produced 2,677,100 pounds of 

 honey and 44.870 of wax. 



Valuation of bees, $377,105, of honey 

 honey and 44,870 of wax. 



One-sixteenth the total number of 

 farms in Wisconsin have bees, and pro- 

 duced 16 pounds of honey for each 

 bushel of apples raised in the state, 

 three pounds of honey for each bushel 

 of strawberries and 31 pounds of honey 

 for each bushel of clover seed. 



A colony of bees for each nine head 

 of sheep, or milch cows in Wisconsin. 



Many carloads of honey are used by 

 Wisconsin bakers, also largely used in 

 manufactures, such as candy, etc., even 

 to the making of honey vinegar for 

 large pickle factories, also in making 

 wines. 



The season of 1502 in Wisconsin was 

 too cool and rainy for a good honey 

 harvest, but was more favorable for 

 the spread of various diseases among 

 bees. I inspected 145 apiaries, and 

 found 35 per cent, had foul brood, and 

 as many more with other troubles, 



such as pickled brood, chilled brood, 

 starved brood. In the above apiaries 

 of 8,108 colonies of bees, I found 681 

 infected with foul brood, a contagious 

 and fatal disease among bees. I also 

 found 570 infected with pickled brood, 

 many colonies weak and starving. 



RESULTS OF INSPECTION AND TREATMENT. 



July I, in the evening, I inspected 

 an apiary and found every hive infected 

 with foul brood. I gave careful in- 

 structions how to treat the bees, which 

 the owner did next evening. I rein- 

 spected the apiary 24 days later and 

 found every hive healthy, with full 

 drawn combs of brood, hives full of 

 honey and 48 little section boxes per 

 colony of choice basswood honey to 

 spare. 



June 4, I inspected an apiary that 

 last year had 20a colonies of bees and 

 harvested 12,000 pounds of choice comb 

 honey. To better increase his bees the 

 owner bought some brood combs. Not 

 knowing they were diseased, he used 

 them freely, and also was careless 

 about old combs, foul brood had re- 

 duced the apiary to six diseased col- 

 onies. In the apiary I found uncover- 

 ed barrels and boxes containing dis- 

 eased combs, and robber bees from 

 several apiaries carrying home the dis- 

 ejased honey. Within two miles I 

 found an apiary with half the colonies 

 dead and the rest diseased. After 

 treating them, I followed another line 

 for four miles and found another api- 

 ary, with only two live colonies out of 

 90. 



One bee-keeper bought several 

 combs of sealed honey from an apiary 

 where bees had died. Not thinking of 

 any danger, the combs were used, and 

 in time foul brood apeared. I was 

 called at first appearance and the dis- 

 ease stopped at once. 



May 12 to 16, I inspected several 

 apiaries that a year ago were diseas- 

 ed, and treated, and now each was in 

 perfect health and bees working nicely. 



I also inspected two apiaries where 

 the owners were not very careful in 

 treating their bees, and I found some 

 disease there. I at once treated the 

 bees. I find it hard to get careful 

 bee-keepers to treat bees. A little care- 

 lessness will cause great mischief. 

 BULLETIN No. 2. 



There being need of better methods 

 of handling bees, and to leave full 



