THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEAV 



297 



living in the northern states to 

 have a third letter and inquiry and 

 consequent report on crop condi- 

 tions taken not later than Septem- 

 ber 1st, in addition to tlie two al- 

 ready proposed by tlie bureau of 

 crop statistics, in order to get an 

 estimate of the fall crop. 



Signed, FRANK C. PELLETT, 



Cliairman. 



The report was accepted. 



The Committee on Constitution 

 reported as follows: 



We, your Committee on Constitu- 



tion, report that the proposed 

 amendments published in the Re- 

 view were found to be so hastily 

 drawn that we could do notliing 

 pra<!ti(able with them, and inasmu(;h 

 as the proposed Constitution was 

 handled in Committee of the whole 

 we ask to be discharged with this 

 brief report. 



Signed, WESLEY FOSTER, 



Chairman. 



The report was accepted and 

 Committee discharged. 



Adjournment of 1914 Convention. 



Bee Inspection in New Jersey 



(Jiven By E. G. OARR, at Natioiiiil Bee-Keepers' Association (Conven- 

 tion, St. Jjoiiis, Mo., Feb. 1914 



It would hardly be advisable to 

 say that New Jersey was more in 

 need of bee inspection than any 

 other state and it is doubtful if it 

 would be true, especially when the 

 conditions are compared with those 

 in any other state where bees have 

 been kept for a long time, but it is 

 true that the need was very great. 



We are led to believe that total 

 extinction of the honey bees in such 

 parts of the state where there was 

 no progressive bee-keeper fighting 

 the disease, was only the matter 

 of a few years, in fact it had al- 

 ready come to pass in the least 

 progressive sections. 



Bees on farms where they are 

 the most needed from an economic 

 standpoint have fared the worst and 

 the last census shows a decrease 

 in ten years of 3,500 colonies which 

 is undoubtedly due largely to dis- 

 ease. This means a property loss of 

 at least $7,000 counting the bees 

 and combs alone, aside from an an- 

 nual loss of $11,000 the amount of 

 honey and wax they would have pro- 

 duced even at the very low estim- 

 ate of 14 pounds of honey and two- 

 thirds of a pound of wax each. This 

 is not taking into account any re- 

 duction in fruit crops which may 

 have been caused by lack of bees 

 to properly fertilize the blossoms. 



But is was not from the farm 

 that the cry for bee inspection 

 came but from the apiarists who 

 had somewhat of cash invested in 

 the business and were getting 

 paying crops but who were caused 



much trouble and expense because 

 of the indifferent neiglibors who al- 

 lowed their bees to rot away in 

 the fence corners and thus were a 

 constant source of irritation against 

 which the bee-keeper had no pro- 

 tection. 



Since the year of 19 02 and pos- 

 sibly prior to that date the bee- 

 keepers of New Jersey realized the 

 need of some legal protection against 

 the spread of foulbrood and in that 

 year the New Jersey Bee-Keepers' 

 Association was formed and a bill 

 drafted to be passed upon by the 

 law-makers but so far as can be 

 learned it died without a struggle. 

 Since this time the sentiment in 

 favor of protective legislation grew 

 yearly and from time to time the 

 subject was brought before our re- 

 presentatives at Trenton with neg- 

 ative results until 1910 when the 

 bill got as far as the Governor who 

 "flagged" it giving as his reasons 

 he did not consider keeping diseased 

 bees great enough offence to be 

 punishable as a misdemeanor also 

 tliere was no provision made for ap- 

 peal from the inspectors' decisions. 

 Early in 1911 the legislative com- 

 mittee appointed by the Associa- 

 tion assisted by Dr. Phillips and 

 the late Dr. John B. Smith, State 

 Entomologist, framed a bill which 

 after much work by those in charge, 

 was passed and received the ap- 

 proval of the Governor on March 

 28th. 



Briefly the provisions of this bill 

 are as follows: 



