12 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 



of the disease, which has caused and is still causing losses of 

 ■ thousands of dollars annually. The point which deserves spe- 

 cial emphasis in an appreciation of the man is the fact that 

 the disease was virtually absent from his apiary the following 

 year, and from that time on he was not seriously troubled by it, 

 for in one season he had s.olved the problem of European foul- 

 brood control. To the work he took an accurate knowledge of 

 the efforts and mistakes of others, an appreciation of the 

 nature of the disease and, above all, a keen scientific mind. His 

 work on this disease is his greatest monument. 



To have led beekeepers in investigations of better methods 

 was an accomplishment, but perhaps as great a service lay in 

 his efforts to prevent mistakes. The comb-honey era was replete 

 with bad methods, proposed in the effort to solve the serious 

 problems of the time, and no beekeeper outdid Doctor Miller in 

 pointing out the errors arising from incorrect or too scant ob- 

 ser\ations and from faulty conclusions. He was at all times 

 tolerant, yet he could in his finished style lay bare in a few 

 words the foibles of the upstart or the vicious advice of the 

 unscrupulous. He was tender with those who erred thru lack 

 of information, and it sometimes takes a close observer to detect 

 his glee in the slaughter of the ungodly. 



We can continue to point out the good things that Doctor 

 Miller did, an,d beekeepers will continue so to do for many 

 years, so long as beekeeping is carried on. These things serve 

 to make clear the admiration and respect in which he is held 

 by his fellow beekeepers. Such statements fail, and fail utterly, 

 to make clear the affection and love in which he was held by 

 beekeepers everywhere thruout the coimtry. I have had the op- 

 portunity to speak before groups of beekeepers in most parts 

 of the country, and it has rarely been possible or desirable to 

 close a talk on bees without telling of something that Doctor 

 Miller did for the industry. Reference to his work and to him 

 invariably brings forth a warm smile of appreciation. A few 

 years ago I took some photographs of him in the apiary and 

 these have been used all over the country as lantern slides' 

 never have they been shown that they did not call forth ap- 

 plause. How may we account for this high esteem in which he 

 is held by all his fellow workers? 



