204 MONTANA EXPERIMENT STATION 



from that city. There is now strong indication that it occurs in 

 the Gallatin Valley as at least one apiary is seriously affected with 

 what appears to be this disease. 



The number of bees kept in Montana has been rapidly increasing 

 in recent years. The State entomologist and successful beekeepers 

 have pointed out that bees do well in this State, even in some of 

 the higher valleys, and the news has spread until many have made 

 a beginning and some have gone into the business on an extensive 

 scale. The largest apiaries are in the Yellowstone Valley. One 

 company in this valley has 1,500 stands of bees and last season 

 harvested 90,000 pounds of strained honey and 15,000 pounds of 

 comb honey. 



So far as natural conditions are concerned there is no reason 

 why Montana may not soon be producmg enormous amounts of 

 as good honey as is to be found anywhere and helping to supply 

 the markets of the country instead of herself furnishing a market 

 for other states. 



The presence and rapid spread of the American foul brood 

 disease threatens soon to destroy this bright prospect. The disease 

 exists unrecognized in many apiaries and few who know they have 

 it know how to get rid of it. From infected apiaries the disease 

 :s being spread accidentally to other bees, and some persons, we 

 fear, are willfully or ignorantly selling infected bees. 



LEGISLATION NEEDED 



The Ninth Annual Report of the State Entomologist contained 

 the following paragraph which will express exactly what the sit- 

 uation needs. I can do no better than repeat it: 



"It is very clear that American foul brood will not be suitably 

 controlled without laws which define and make mandatory correct 

 methods of prevention and eradication. At least sixteen of the 

 states have such laws at the present time and these provide for 

 from one to fifteen inspectors in each state. 



"The best laws of this kind provide not only for inspection, 

 quarantine, and eradication, but also for instruction. This is in 

 response to a very natural demand, for the majority of beekeepers 

 are sadly in need of information in regard to apicultural methods 

 and practices. 



"It will be some years before apiary inspection work in Mon- 

 tana will require the full time of one man and yet the amount that 



