STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION. T05 



come something must be done. Now set a time when you 

 can work with me and I'll come. " 



He set a day; met me at the station with his carriage, 

 took me home with him, and took care of me. He pro- 

 vided a large kettle or "cooker," and, the next morning, I 

 put on my overalls, and we went at it. The bees had died 

 in about three dozen hives. The combs had stood there and 

 been eaten by the bee-moth larvae, and mice had made their 

 nests in the hives, and, taken all in all, it was a nasty mess. 



The frames were put into the big kettle and boiled; the 

 refuse in the hives burned under the kettle; the hives painted 

 on the inside with kerosene oil and burned out. The three 

 diseased colonies were brimstoned, and the combs burned. 

 We worked hard all day, and my friend was really pleased 

 with the results. He had at last become convinced that 

 there was such a disease as foul brood, and that the only 

 course to get rid of it was the one we were following. He 

 said : 



"I must say, 'Well done, good and faithful servant!' I 

 am glad you came, and made me clean things up. Perhaps I 

 can build up again now and make something." He drove 

 me to the station, and parted with every expression of 

 friendship. I think such a course more desirable than "en- 

 forcing the law." 



At another time I was called into a neighborhood by a 

 young man who was trying to get rid of foul brood, but 

 could not, because there was so much of it scattered around 

 him. I found some three or four small apiaries that were 

 about "played out" with foul brood, and ordered the owners 

 to destroy them. It seems that my predecessor had been in 

 that neighborhood the year before, so the people had heard 

 of foul brood. When I came back in two weeks, not a 

 colony had been destroyed. At llie first place where I called 

 the man had gone to the lumber woods to work; the woman 

 was away visiting at a neighbor's, but a boy of 15 was at 

 home, and coolly informed me that "folks of that neighbor- 

 hood had been 'talking it over,' and had decided that they 

 were not going to have their bees destroyed." I wasted no time 

 on him, but hunted up his mother. She said her. husband 

 had not had time ; he would be home in two weeks and 

 would surely attend to it. I reminded her that he had 

 made me a similar promise two weeks ago, but had not ful-. 

 filled it. I could not keep coming every two weeks. I must 

 see the bees destroyed before going home. She questioned 

 my authority in the matter — said any one might come along 

 and claim to be a bee-inspector. I showed her that no one 

 could gain anything by so doing, and also showed her my 

 commission of appointment, with the big seal of the 

 government, and the signatures of the officers who 

 appointed me. This seemed to satisfy her on that 

 score, but she was very sarcastic. "They would be 

 having chicken inspectors yet!" But she would not consent 

 to the destruction of the bees. I told her that while I had 

 the authority to destroy the bees, and that she laid herself 



