28 



SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



report from the President on foul 

 brood? 



President Smith: I would like to 

 have some of our visitors make some 

 report on this subject. 



I found in Mr. Hinderer's case that 

 he had a neighbor who would not 

 clean up. That neighbor had 160 hives 

 which are now reduced to 16. At that 

 rate, if the neighbor did not buy new 

 colonies to add to his stock, he would 

 soon be out of Mr. Hinderer's way. 



I have traveled the length and 

 breadth of the state from Morrison to 

 the Indiana line. Morrison is in White- 

 side county, and there are more bees 

 in Whiteside county than in any other 

 county in the state. We have there 

 one' of the largest apiaries in the State. 

 They ship large quantities of honey. 

 They sent for me to cure foul brood 

 and I stayed there two days. He 

 transferred nearly all of his bees, and 

 that fall he told me he had a carload 

 of honey which he shipped to Boston. 

 The next year he was clear of foul 

 brood. 



But there are localities along the 

 Illinois river where it is hard to keep 

 it down. It would be worse if the 

 bee-keepers who are intelligent and 

 awake to the danger were not contin- 

 ually working to keep it down. 



Mr. Baxter: I would like to ask our 

 foul brood inspector what is the present 

 condition as compared with former 

 years ? 



President Smith: They had it in 

 two-thirds of the counties of the state 

 three years ago, and now there is only 

 a trace of it found occasionally. 



Kluck: Have you been at Rockford? 



President Smith. Yes, I was there. 



Kildow: I have had some trouble. 

 Mr. Smith has been there a time or 

 two. But it is a hard matter to keep 

 your own bees clean and healthy when 

 you have neighbors who do not care 

 whether theirs live or die. I have such 

 a neighbor and he won't sell out. I 

 am interested to have a law passed 

 that will compel these fellows to do 

 something. If we could just have -a 

 foul brood law, with this other ap- 

 propriation, it looks to me like It 

 would do some good. 



Mr. Kluck: We must have a law that 

 will give our foul brood inspector 

 police powers. The appropriation is 

 all right, but he must have more pow- 

 er, so thaft when he goes to a place 

 and finds foul brood he can compel 

 the owner to have it done away with. 



We find that the inspector in Wiscon- 

 sin has been successful. 



President Smith: The* meanest 

 things were said to me in fthe north- 

 west. They objected to having their 

 pnoiperty interfered with, if the property 

 is dying, but you can save part of it 

 by cleaning up, it seems as though 

 reasonable men would want it done. 



Mr. Kluck: If I have a horse that 

 has glanders, or cattle with some dis- 

 ease that the law has said should not 

 be tolerated, these animals are killed, 

 why should not bees be destroyed for 

 the same reason? 



President Smith: In the places 

 where I have been allowed to take 

 the work in hand, when I get through 

 with it the parties themselves can do 

 the work as well as I can. 



Mr. Hinderer: When Mr. Smith 

 came over there two years' ago I did 

 not know anything about foul brood. 

 I told my neighbors, Boyd and Smith, 

 about it. They said, "Mr. Hinderer^ 

 just wants to raise an excitement." 

 They showed me what looked like 

 the nicest pieces of comb and said they 

 wished I would look at that. But they 

 had the worst cases of foul brood I 

 ever saw. 



He then related' how their number 

 of hives had been reduced, but still 

 one of them bought more bees and 

 brought them onto his place, thus mak- 

 ing the conditions very discouraging 

 for me and compelling me to take the 

 trouble of cleaning up my own stands 

 every year. 



Mr. Hyde: I think in a case of this 

 kind, where a man won't clean up, he 

 must be treated as though he was a 

 grade lower. In such circumstances 

 moving the hives might be a help. 

 Have moved them away and then 

 moved back sometimes when clover 

 was in bloom. Possibly there is dan- 

 ger from old hives, but I think the 

 moth would clean them out. 

 • Mr. Stone: Do you think moth* 

 will clean up these hives? 



Mr. Hyde: I think so. 



Mr. Kildow: I think there is dan- 

 ger as long as there is a bit of comb 

 left. As long as there is a bit of 

 comb left the cells are infected. 



Mr. Becker told of his experience as 

 assistant to the foul brood inspector 

 In visiting the apiaries of Mr. Miller 

 and Mr. Plannigan near Belleville and 

 the result of his efforts was that some 

 improvements had been made in those 

 localities. 



