210 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. l)(x'. 



now recorded does not fully represent the total number. 

 About one-seventeenth (140) of the apiaries were visited. 

 Many of these required revisiting, so that the total number 

 of calls is miich greater than 140. About 900 colonies 

 were examined, a considerable number of which were re- 

 examined, bringing the total number of manipulations to 

 between 1,500 and 2,000. As a whole, over 25 per cent of 

 the colonies examined were diseased, yet this does not indi- 

 cate the probable ratio of infection. In some localities it 

 was not possible to make a thorough and systematic search 

 for disease this season, the eifort being rather to determine 

 its presence, preparatory to further work. kSome towns show 

 more than 90 per cent of infection. 



Cleaning up the Apiaries. — A person continually losing 

 colonies is likely to leave empty hives and refuse about the 

 yard. In several instances the writer encountered bee- 

 keepers who could not tell in how many of the 15 or 20 

 hives standing around the bees were alive. After turning 

 o^'er a dozen or more box hives it was surprising to find 

 more than one or two with life. Almost invariably the 

 apiary has succumbed to foul brood. Incidentally this 

 illustrates the need of spreading information, but more es- 

 pecially in regard to the way in which infection is fre- 

 quently gained. As the colonies die bees from elsewhere 

 rob many remaining stores of honey. Boards of health 

 forbid the exposure of materials from the sick room ; a 

 comparable measure is equally important in combatting in- 

 fectious diseases of bees. Fortunately, several hundred 

 empty hives were removed from the apiaries this season. 



The Map. — The accompanying map and tables (see page 

 213) show in detail the results of the investigation of 1910. 

 Areas in cross hatch indicate where disease probably occurs ; 

 solid color marks infection proved by cultural examination 

 or inspection. Although the probable infection areas are 

 somewhat similar to those in the previous report, they are 

 the result of information for the present year. 



The Apparent SIpread of the Disease. — While diseases 

 were formerly known to occur in 8 towns, there is an in- 

 crease to 32, or 400 per cent. While this might be inter- 



