FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 11 



honey." His later books contain almost the same phrasing, ex- 

 cept that he omits mention of the winter problem, indicating 

 clearly that during the comb-honey period swarm control stood 

 out above all other problems in importance. In the brilliant 

 work on this subject he had no superior and to his work we go 

 for the methods which finally won out. However, comb-honey 

 - production, and the small colonies incident to the beekeepiag 

 methods of that period, brought on the wiatering problem 

 acutely, and in this work also he excelled. A careful study of 

 his writings reveals a Imowledge of the needs of the bees dicing 

 the winter, and his results were better than those of most other 

 beekeepers of the time. 



Altho comb honey is passing, iintil recently Doctor Miller 

 continued to produce it, and as late as 1913 (at the age of 83) 

 he broke all records of per colony production of sections. But 

 even at his advanced age he did not stick tenaciously to his old 

 methods, for during the past few years, altho reducing the size 

 of his apiary, he took up the production of extracted honey. 

 We can not paint an adequate picture of the character of the 

 man, but we get an illuminating sidelight in the fact that he 

 took up this new line, not to make his work easier, not because 

 others were producing extracted honey, but because he might 

 thereby help to make honey a more freely used food on the 

 table of the average family. ^ 



The more recent changes in beekeeping methods in no way 

 reduced the importance of Doctor Miller's work and influence. 

 One of the most important, if not the most important, con- 

 tributions of his life came late in his experience. In 1909 (one 

 is tempted to say fortunately — for beekeepers) European foul 

 brood broke out virulently in his apiary. Up to that time various 

 methods had been advocated for its control, but there was no 

 agreement on the subject and virtually no progress was being 

 made. Doctor Miller's location is not one in which this disease 

 would continuously do serious damage, but thru a total failure 

 in the white-clover honey crop that year his apiary became 

 heavily infected, giving him abundant experimental material. 

 The work which he did that summer and the careful record 

 which he month by month laid before the beekeepers thru the 

 journals form the basis for the first real progress in the control 



