MAY 1, 1914 



333 



provinces are deeply interested in the plant- 

 ing of new fruit areas, and " top working " 

 the worn-out orchards to make them pro- 

 ductive ; for time has proven that bumper 

 crops are exceptional. How much less, then, 

 should we fear ill effects from a bumper 

 crop of honey which time has proven may 

 be expected at very widely separated pe- 

 riods, and especially as extracted honey is 

 not perishable, but is as good several years 

 hence as at present, if properly handled! 



Governments establish departments of 

 agriculture, including the various branches 

 of rural husbandry, for the purpose of 

 bettering the conditions of the rural popu- 

 lation in every way, and of increasing the 

 wealth of the State or nation. Governments 

 realize that the i^rosperity of the people, 

 especially those engaged in rural husban- 

 dry, is the prosperity of the Government. 

 As an aid to this end, agricultui-al colleges 

 are established and maintained. It can 

 hardly be possible that apiculture should be 

 an exception, and fail to respond advan- 

 tageously to governmental encouragement. 



Conservation of natural resources — of 

 water for irrigation and power; of forests 

 and re-forestration, or reclamation, etc., has 

 engaged the attention of many eminent sci- 

 entists of late years. In fact, no line of 

 research could be of gi-eater benefit in main- 

 taining and increasing the wealth of a state 

 or nation than to conserve and increase the 

 materials naturally within its boundaries 

 that add to the welfare and happiness of its 

 people. Honey is a natural resource. If 

 not gathered by bees it is loSt. To conserve 

 it, bees and beekeepers are indispensable. 

 Perhaps much more than is gathered goes 

 to waste. Is it not true that the state would 

 add to its wealth in proportion to the addi- 

 lional amount of lionev saved from waste? 



And whatever inures to the benefit of the 

 state benefits the people in the same ratio. 



Let us, then, continue to offer encourage- 

 ment and instruction to any and all who 

 believe they can aid in the conservation of 

 tlie ungathered nectar, to the end that the 

 myriads of flowers of the fields may not 

 bloom and secrete their sweetness in vain. 



Kenmore, N. Y. 



[We believe Mr. Hershiser is correct in 

 what he says, all through. Education along 

 apicultural lines will do more good to elim- 

 inate foul brood than any thing else. The 

 beekeeper who makes the real trouble and 

 annoyance is not the one who has had api- 

 cultural training at some school, but, rather, 

 the man wiio has not read up, does not take 

 any bee-paper, and never goes to conven- 

 tions. The more we can have of apicultural 

 schools, and foul-brood inspectors who can 

 give apicultural instruction along general 

 lines, the better. There is plenty of unoccu- 

 pied bee territory in the country for all, and 

 the apicultural student has it pounded into 

 liim, as we happen to know, that he can not 

 make any money keeping bees if he locates 

 his yard within half a mile of another bee- 

 owner. No, he is not the man to crowd 

 territory or to overstock it. The few who 

 stick to the business will go into territory 

 where they can have all the nectar for the 

 simple reason there is no one else to get it. 



Those who are casting reflections on the 

 possible value of our apicultural schools 

 will do well to read Mr. Hershiser's article 

 carefully. Frankly, is there any argaiment 

 against apicultural schools but a narrow 

 short-sighted selfishness that would elimi- 

 nate all competition? Is it not true that 

 they will stimulate a demand for honey? 

 —Ed.] 



MORE DRASTIC MEASURES NEEDED FOR CURING FOUL BROOD 



BY W. N. RANDOLPH 



The only way to stamp foul brood out of 

 our country effectually is to use more radical 

 measures. Nearly all the schemes I have 

 read about look to saving every thing — bees. 

 hives, frames, and, worst of all, honey. I 

 think that a man should not be permitted 

 to sell honey from a diseased hive, nor even 

 from a diseased yard; much less do I be- 

 lieve that he should be allowed to rear 

 queens in a yard infected with foul brood 

 and send them out all over the country. 

 Boiling the honey to mix in the Good candy 

 sent with the queens does no good, because 

 to those of us who liave read the text-books 

 on the law of evidence it is a badge of 



fraud. It makes the honest and careful 

 queen-breeder say in effect, " I may have 

 foul brood in my yard," and the careless or 

 dishonest one who knows, or ought to know, 

 " Oh, well ! I will warm up my honey a 

 little, and let it go at that. Who is to know 

 the difference? " 



If every beekeeper in the country would 

 resolve to use more drastic measures at 

 once, it would help to solve the problem of 

 foul brood. He should, on the first discov- 

 ery of the disease (and all ought to be on 

 guard now) destroy the bees after night- 

 fall; and unless he has a steam-boiler and 

 large tank he should destroy, by burning, 



