

ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



125 



now if that had not occurred, if we 

 had had a law at that time, I would 

 not have had the foul brood. I don't 

 see how any of those who claim to 

 be bee-keepers can say, "We don't 

 want a foul brood law." 



Wr. Whitmore: I am not a member of 

 this Convention, but here is a good 

 place, I think, to give a little word. 

 By profession I am a veterinarian. We 

 have the same laws existing for gland- . 

 ers and all of those contagious dis- 

 eases, and when we come to a man 

 who has got the trouble, he is the 

 man to fight the trouble, instead of ; 

 trying to lend a hand in getting rid of 

 those contagious diseases. When we 

 have got any contagious disease hard 

 to handle, it is our duty to put our 

 shoulder to the w^heel and get it out 

 of the road. Although we may sacri- 

 fice a little, it is better to do that 

 than to have the neighbors all around 

 us sacrifice a great deal more. I think 

 you are on the right track, and all 

 ought to lend a helping hand. 



Mr. Dadant: Would it be within 

 the limits of the discussion to state 

 whether foul brood is curable or not? 

 It has been stated that it is not cura- 

 ble, that it is bound to reappear. 



President York: That is not quite 

 on the resolution, but there is no ob- 

 jection, I think. 



Mr. Dadant: I never saw foul 

 brood until I went to California some 

 years ago. They have foul, brood in- 

 spectors in almost every country. I 

 inquired, and they all had had it. One 

 man went to a colony and found one 

 cell. It was in cold weather, and he 

 said he would treat it in the spring. 

 I went from one bee-keeper to another 

 in California. I went sixty or eighty 

 miles. They took me in carriages 

 from one to another. I struck one 

 bee-keeper who, the neighbors told me, 

 had had it. We went to his place. 

 He said he had foul brood, and it 

 would always happen. I said that 

 people had cured it. He said, "I have 

 tried to cure it, and I never have suc- 

 ceeded." "Have you got it here now?" 

 He said, "Yes," and he showed me. 

 There was a pile of combs against the 

 wall, some that were chalk marked, 

 and he held them up and showed me 

 the cells with the brood in them. 

 There was a man who couldn't cure 

 it, had it in his honey house, and 

 marked it "foul," I don't believe that 

 kind of a man can cure foul brood. 



Mr. Baxter: I am red hot on this 

 question, and I don't know as I ought 

 to say much, as my French blood 

 mig;hit run away with me. I believe 

 that it is the height of folly in this 

 enlightened age to oppose a law like 

 • this. It would be very well in the 

 dark ages or in a wild state. But 

 now, when we have laws for regu- 

 lating all kinds of diseases, I should 

 think we ought tQ do the same with 

 the bee-industry. It doesn't much 

 matter whether it can be cured or 

 not. It can be stamped out. If it 

 can be cured, so much the better. 

 You cannot cure glanders and such 

 diseases, but they can be stamped 

 out, and we want to do that. I know, 

 as the gentleman stated over tihere, 

 that the ones who have the disease 

 are usually the first ones to prevent 

 the eradication of the disease; the 

 first ones to fight the inspector or the 

 means for eradicating it. It also ap- 

 plies to the human family. Take 

 scarlet fever or small pox — we are al- 

 ways willing to ihave our neighbor 

 quarantined. If it comes to us, wa 

 kick like everything. It is ihuman na- 

 ture. That is why we should have a 

 law, so as to compel, where it is nec- 

 essary, the necessary means to get 

 rid of the disease. I know that means 

 have been taken to obstruct the 

 cleaning out of foul brood in this 

 State, and it is for that reason we 

 need a law, to compel those to 

 acquiesce and get rid of the disease; 

 and I believe in recommending a law 

 something similar to the Wisconsin 

 law. We only ask for something tlhat 

 is fair and just to everybody; and in 

 this age the ma;sses have got to be 

 protected, and it is unreasonable that 

 one or two, or a few, should obstruct 

 and oppose anything like this law, 

 and lead the great majority of the 

 people to their ruin. Such" a law is " 

 necessary; will do every person good. 

 Nobody can have any /harm by it, and 

 I am in favor of seeing it through, 

 and I know, from what Mr. McEvoy 

 and other inspectors Ihave told me, 

 that it can be got rid of, and it can be 

 cured if taken in time, and that is 

 what we want to do. There is noth- 

 ing unreasonable in this resolution. 

 No advantage will be taken of any- 

 body. We only ask what is right and 

 just. 



Dr. Miller: I don't see that it 

 would onake a bit of difference to me 

 whether we have a foul ibrood law or 

 not. Tfaere is no foul brood around 



