230 DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES 
With the appearance of bee disease it was very natural for 
the bee-keepers to look for assistance from the State. Alone the 
bee-keeper is helpless against intection from uncared for aplar- 
ies. He may be ever so careful and efficient, but without pro- 
tection from: unnecessary contagion he must carry on the fight 
against disease for a long period of time, move his apiary, or go 
out of business. Since bee-keeping is being developed as a 
specialty on which many have come to depend for a livelihood, 
it is imperative that legal protection be extended. 
The sole thought in the beginning was to provide for the 
examination of all bees and to compel proper treatment or de- 
struction of those found to be diseased. The inspector was given 
no choice but to examine all the bees in the localities to which 
he was called. At the same time funds sufficient to examine but 
a suiall part of the bees in any State were provided. 
Of late the tendency has been to depend more and more upon 
proper instruction. Until much larger appropriations are avail- 
able it will not be possible to reach a large percentage of the 
bees in any State. If the bee-keeper is an intelligent man, an 
hour or two of the inspector’s time is all that he will require. 
If upon examination one or more colonies are found to be dis- 
eased, the inspector will be able to point out the characteristics 
of the particular disorder and to give proper instructions for its 
treatment. The bee-keeper will then he able to recognize the 
trouble when he finds it in other colonies and to deal with it 
promptly. It would hardly seem to be the province of the State 
to examine every colony and give the necessary treatment. If 
such a plan is followed a week will often be necessary to deal 
with a single large apiary. 
Where the owner is careless or indifferent it will become 
necessary for the inspector to be very thorough in his examina- 
tion and to insist on proper attention to diseased colonies. Police 
power is necessary because of the fact that many persons who 
keep bees are so ignorant of their care in either health or disease 
that they cannot be convinced of the necessity or value of proper 
