230 TwENTY-FmsT Biennial Ebpoet 



poses is made a specialty in numerous apiaries of the 

 State, and the strains produced here are very highly 

 esteemed by bee-keepers everywhere. The queens are 

 sent through the maUs in tiny cages to all parts of the 

 world. 



It would be difficult to estimate the investment in 

 honey bees and equipment within the State, as some 

 bees are housed in crudely formed hives or in plain 

 boxes, while most professional bee men have invested in 

 modem patent hives, honey houses, labor-saving ma- 

 chinery and other equipment. These men have an in- 

 vestment of about ten dollars per colony, while with 

 others it varies from two to ten dollars per colony. It 

 would be safe to place the value of honey bees and equip- 

 ment within the State at several million dollars. TMs 

 investment and the industry itself has been seriously 

 menaced by the presence of a contagious germ disease of 

 the young bees in the larval stage called "foul brood." 

 It does not affect the quality or usefulness of the honey, 

 but soon depletes the swarm by killing the young brood 

 being reared to take the place of the worker bees as 

 they die. In some localities this disease has effectively 

 been checked, and in some places almost eradicated by 

 the work of the county bee inspectors. Suitable precau- 

 tions upon the part of bee keepers, and proper inspec- 

 tion and treatment will effectively put an end to this 

 trouble. The value of the industry, and the delicious 

 and wholesome qualities of honey as a food product, 

 would justify every reasonable effort to provide suit- 

 able protection in the way of inspection and treatment 

 of bee diseases. 



THE DAIRY COW. 



By J. J. Hooper, Head Department of Animal Hus- 

 bandry (Horses, Dairy Cattle, Poultry), Kentucky 

 Agricultural Experiment Station, Lexington, Ken- 

 tucky. 



Everyone should accord the dairy cow premier place 

 among farm animals, as she is the most efficient and 

 profitable animal that a farmer can select. When fed a 



