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38 



NINTH ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE 



the diseased bees escaping and carry- 

 ing the honey with them, and about 

 the surest way to do with the frames 

 is to 'burn them up, but I don't think 

 that need to be done every time. It 

 is going to take some work to boil 

 them and fit them up, and I believe I 

 would just as soon buy new frames as 

 to clean up the old ones. 



But, now^ gentlemen, maybe I am 

 taking up too .much of your time. I 

 have not come four or five hundred 

 miles for the fun of it. I feel inter- 

 ested in your welfare, because yours 

 is ours. If you have foul brood here, 

 we are sure to have it, and if we have 

 it, you are sure to get it, because 

 queens are shipped and honey is cetr- 

 ried from point to point, and you will 

 have it carried In this way. 



I would suggest that you have a 

 Legislative Committee here of not less 

 than ten — from ten to fifteen men — to 

 spend as much time as they can at the 

 Capital during the session of the Leg- 

 islature. Let every one consider him- 

 self a committee of one to write to his 

 Representatives and Senators, and see 

 them, also — have a personal interview 

 with them, and point out to them the 

 loss that is bound to occur if some- 

 thing is not done, and an individual or 

 two like the strong opposer in the 

 northern part of Illinois may come 

 down off his perch. I understand he 

 is willing to do something, but that he 

 is afraid some crank will get to be 

 inspector, and go round and burn up 

 all the hives, in order to favor Mr. 

 Dadant and bee-keepers' supply men! 

 I don't believe that; I hardly think 

 that Mr, Dadant Tvould do that! 



Another thing we have got to do: 

 We must require the law to compel a 

 bee inspector to disinfect his clothing; 

 wash his hands, also, before he goes 

 from one apiary to another, after he 

 has 'been where there is foul brood. I 

 almost invariably use a weak solution 

 of carbolic acid. I some times come 

 into the house and my women folks 

 will start up a blaze in the gasoline 

 stove, and stick my hive-tool in there. 

 It is so hot that I can't pick it up; I 

 take it out with tongs, and lay it away 

 until it gets cool. 



It is not safe at all to take a tool 

 you use, from one hive to another, and 

 use it. 



I treated a bad case one day, and 

 when I got home I took off my bee- 



hat and immersed the hat, veil and 

 everything in boiling water. I took 

 all of my clothing off, and I often 

 shampoo my head. 



Oftentimes when I am working 

 where I have foul brood, and get a 

 scent of it, it will be several days be- 

 fore I can eat a square meal; that is, 

 where it is very bad. You have to 

 have a pretty good stomach when you 

 run across a bad case dike that. 



I don't want to take up too much 

 of your time, but there are a few^ more 

 things I would like to call your at- 

 tention to. 



I notice that I was placed promi- 

 nently on your program here, and it 

 makes me feel a little bashful to 

 come to the State of Illinois, where 

 there are so many bee-keepefs, and 

 undertake to teach them' how to man- 

 age their apiaries when they get foul 

 brood, and to get foul tirood legisla- 

 tion. 



I am only offering you a suggestion; 

 you may have suggestions away 

 ahead, above and beyond me. I hope 

 you have, because we have trouble 

 enough in our State to get through the 

 laws we want. Two dollars a day 

 don't pay a man to be bee-inspector, 

 yet our inspector does it. We can't 

 afford to pay more, and he said, for 

 the sake of getting rid of the condi- 

 tions that exist relative to foul brood, 

 •he will go at $2.00 a day. We want to 

 increase it to $3.00, and then to have 

 the law give the bee inspector juris- 

 diction over every county that didn't 

 have 25 bee-keepers, and, if possible, 

 get the number cut down; have it 

 reduced to five — upon the application 

 of five bee-keepers the county com- 

 missioner shall appoint a competent 

 person. They didn't want to appoint 

 a commissioner or inspector in our 

 county; they said: "You are going to 

 pile up more expense on us; the bees 

 don't amount to much." I said: "They 

 amount to something; you like honey, 

 don't you? And you need sw^eetening 

 as bad as any of us, and we would 

 like to have you appoint an inspector," 

 and they did so, and appointed the 

 man I recommended. I said that, if he 

 is not competent, I will help him out 

 when he gets into trouble. 



I don't know what shape you have 

 got your Bill in; what you propose to 

 do; whether it is a general law, ask- 

 ing for one, two, or three thousand 



