STATUS OF APICULTURE IN UNITED STATES. 



75 



of the industry in the State. The value of the honey and wax 

 produced in New York in 1899 — the year State inspection was 

 instituted — is given as $352,795 in the census for 1900. Tins is 

 obviously too low. 



Several States have passed laws for the control of these diseases 

 and, in the majority of cases, the results are as good as can be ex- 

 pected. The laws are not always all that could be desired. Table 

 IX shows the States having inspection and the force at work. 



Table IX. — Status of bee-disease inspection in the United States. 



State. 



Method of inspec- 

 tion. 



Number 



of in- 

 spectors. 



Principal disease. 



Authority. 







15 

 12 



2 



1 



(?) 

 1 



2(?) 



1 

 2 



American foul brood 



.... do 







do 



Do. 





Divisions of State. 

 State 



do 



Do. 





American foul brood and 

 European foul brood. 



American foul brood 



American foul brood and 

 European foul brood. 



American foul brood 



....do 



State bee keepers' as- 

 sociation. (No police 

 power.) 









State 



Do. 





...do 



Do. 





. ..do 



Do. 





County 



....do 



Do. 



Nevada 



do 





(?) 



New Mexico 



do 



1 

 4 

 2 



American foul brood 



European foul brood and 

 American foul brood, 

 .do 



Law against keeping 



diseased colonies. 

 State law. 



Do. 



New York 



Ohio. 



Divisions of State. 





. do . . . 





(?) 



Texas .. 



Divisions of State. 



4 

 4 

 1 

 1 



American foul brood 



..do 





Utah 



Do. 



Washington 



do 



....do 



Do. 



Wisconsin 



State 



....do 



Do. 











Other States are at work on tins same question and it may be 

 expected that within a few years the diseases will be controlled as 

 much as is possible by inspection. 



Badly proportioned distribution of apiaries. — A present source of 

 loss to the industry as a whole is the fact that the available area for 

 nectar gathering is not properly covered with apiaries ; in some cases 

 it is overstocked, but far more generally there is room for several 

 times as many colonies. In pointing out the loss on tins account it 

 need scarcely be expected that a method for remedying the present 

 conditions will immediately follow. 



As apiculture advances, more and more of the available bee terri- 

 tory will be covered and, naturally, overstocking will be brought 

 on in many cases. By natural growth of bee keeping the present 

 lost nectar will probably be brought to the hives. Viewing the ques- 

 tion, however, from the standpoint of the industry as a whole, it is 

 desirable that tins nectar be collected by bees under the manage- 

 ment of intensive bee keepers — by men who can got (he maximum 

 crop from the bees. This can be brought about only by education 



