202 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



and water. Bees are eager to rob and pillage honey from 

 any source. Thus, if a colony becomes so reduced by the 

 progress of disease that it no longer defends itself against 

 the attacks of " robbers," or if the infected colony dies, 

 then each colony in a radius of miles becomes subject to 

 infection. From all points of the compass robber bees set 

 upon the germ-laden honey and carry it back to their respec- 

 tive hives. It having been demonstrated that a relatively 

 small amount of infected material may transmit the disease, 

 infection throughout a whole countryside may obviously 

 result from a single colony igniorantly or carelessly handled. 

 The recognized infectiousness of brood diseases is also em- 

 phatically illustrated by the policy of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture. If disease is discovered in 

 a town, not only the town but the county is considered 

 infected area. Although a much greater array of evidence 

 of infectiousness might be given, yet it is apparent that 

 where these diseases exist nnsuppressed, they are compar- 

 ably as dangerous to beekeeping interests as smallpox is to 

 the human community. 



The Suppression of Diseases is fimdamentally impor- 

 tant. — All beekeeping, — raising bees for market, queen 

 rearing, honey production, — and with it the best interests 

 of the horticulturist, is dependent npon the reduction of 

 these diseases. There is ground for belief that before many 

 years interstate trade in bees, queens and possibly products 

 will be restricted by law from a State where diseases are 

 nnsuppressed to a State where they are under control or 

 do not occur. This would seriously affect ]\rassachusetts 

 bee men, particularly those who raise queens or bees for 

 the trade, unless the general occurrence of infection is re- 

 duced. The seemingly sjiontaneous and general demand, 

 by those who use bees, for what might be termed " certified 

 stock," explained elsewhere, has its relation here. If bees 

 pronounced by expert authority '' free fi-om disease " are 

 unobtainable in Massachusetts, it must be expected that 

 trade which would otherwise come to the State, from with- 

 out and from within, will go elsewhere. 



The interests of the United States Department of Agri- 



