INSPECTORS 
529 
ever, said that if he were to divide his 
colonies before the clover flow as recom¬ 
mended at the close of Alexander’s sixth 
paragraph it would be only at a loss of the 
honey crop. It can generally be set down 
as an axiom in beekeeping that it is not 
practicable, ordinarily, to secure increase 
and a full honey crop at the same time; 
and therefore Mr. Alexander’s statement 
that he can secure by this plant “two good 
strong colonies in the place of one, ready 
to commence work on the clover harvest,” 
seems impossible of accomplishment if it 
is taken with the other statement in the 
next sentence that he secured nearly twice 
as much of clover as he would have secured 
without dividing. 
The trouble seems to hinge on the point 
of having two good colonies in place of 
one at the opening of the clover harvest by 
June 15. If the reader will turn to the 
article, fifth paragraph, he will see that 
Mr. Alexander recommends that the direc¬ 
tions be followed exactly—that bees must 
be kept snug and warm, and that they 
must be fed a little thin syrup nearly every 
day. The two colonies must be given every 
help possible. 
Note that he did not say that he secured 
by this method “nearly twice the amount 
of surplus” from clover as might be in¬ 
ferred from* the last sentence of the pre¬ 
ceding paragraph. To one who knows his 
locality it is clearly evident that he meant 
of all honey—buckwheat, goldenrod, and 
aster as w r ell as clover. He could have 
meant nothing else. 
It will be noticed that Mr. Alexander 
began his work of increase about April 15 
with queens not over ten months old. He 
does not claim that both colonies will be 
equal in strength, nor that one colony will 
gather as much as the other. 
Many beekeepers will have to substitute 
the world “alfalfa” for “clover,” or “buck¬ 
wheat” for “clover.” 
This method of making increase, if the 
testimony of some of the best beekeepers 
in the country is to be believed, gives the 
largest returns, because all the brood is 
saved. The expert beekeeper will be able 
to make his own modifications; but the 
beginner will do well to follow Mr. Alex¬ 
ander, not forgetting the importance of 
young queens, daily feeding, and keeping 
bees in a warm hive, preferably double- 
walled, or single-walled hives in packing- 
cases. 
INSPECTORS. -— Under the head of 
“Laws Relating to Foul Brood” will be 
found references to bee inspectors, whose 
duties are to discover and eradicate bee 
diseases. Under this head an attempt will 
be made to give the qualifications of a bee 
inspector. First of all, he should be an 
experienced beekeeper; second, he should 
have a theoretical and practical knowledge 
of all bee diseases, particularly those re¬ 
lating to brood; third, he should be intel¬ 
ligent, broad-minded, and tactful. 
Taking up the first requirement, a bee 
inspector will be very seriously handi¬ 
capped if he does not have both a theoreti¬ 
cal and a practical knowledge of bees. One 
of the most important factors in the elim¬ 
ination of disease is the instruction given 
the beekeeper in the first place on how to 
keep bees, on the principle that preven¬ 
tion is better than cure. The inspector 
should explain the normal conditions in a 
hive so that the owner of the bees will be 
able to recognize at once those that are 
irregular and abnormal. A large number 
of those who keep bees have but little 
knowledge of the business. In many cases 
swarms alighted on the premises and were 
hived. In other cases the bees were bought 
at auction because they were cheap; in 
still others, some of the family may have 
gotten the bee fever, and, after building up 
the apiary to four or five colonies, left 
home. The rest of the family have but 
little or no interest in the bees, but are 
glad to get the honey if there is any. These 
little yards of bees, no matter how ac¬ 
quired, are left to shift for themselves, 
and the result is they afford favorable 
places for the attack of bee disease. Their 
owners are not apt to read bee books, but 
will receive personally any amount of in¬ 
struction on how to take care of them. A 
good bee inspector, one who thoroly un¬ 
derstands his job, can be the indirect means 
of putting in nice condition all these little 
yards that would otherwise be neglected. 
The owners will be getting a revenue; and 
if bee disease does make a start they will 
be able to arrest it in time. 
The second requirement implies a theo- 
