Dan, You have MISINTERPRETED what I wrote, so I will attempt to explain. Of vital importance is the FACT that their is NO known cure for AFB! Because most Americans DON'T READ DIRECTIONS or smallprint, but pay great attention to homeo- pathic use of "medicines", year after year, both in 1946 or 1999, multitudes of beginning beekeepers BELIEVED that TM cured AFB, used it time and time again and hence prolonged the existence of AFB in their apiary as well as spreading the disease to neighboring clean apiaries when the clean bees tried to rob out a dying or dead diseased colony. TM only keeps the diseased bees alive as long as they are treated year after year, but it does not eradicate the disease, but rather just "HIDES" it. It should be OBVIOUS to most people that there was great beekeeper resistance to hive burning when inspection laws came about in 1922. Many beekeepers hid their hives from inspectors and THAT was the very reason that the inspectors had the legal authority to get the local county sheriff to arrest a beekeeper who tried to prevent an inspector from inspecting hives and burning if necessary. The lowering of the percentage of diseased colonies from 1922 to 1946 was primarily due to the burning of diseased colonies removed sources of infection from clean apiaries and removal of unskilled beekeepers who no longer "taught" newbies how to keep bees. The use of TM or sulfa (I have NEVER USED EITHER OF THEM) did absolutely NOTHING to lower the percentage of diseased colonies in the U.S., because these drugs do NOT KILL the spores of AFB. It was the inspection laws and the removal of diseased woodenware (and bees and honey) by burning that lowered the infection rate of AFB. At meetings of state and government officials that I have attended during reason years indicate that the % of colonies infected with AFB is INCREASING in every state where infection has been discontinued or minimized. I am reminded of having pimples and/or sores on my face. I was not interested in hiding them with cosmetics, but rather removing them. The use of TM falls in the same category, it just "masks" or hides the presence of a fatal infectious disease of bees; and bees and beekeepers would be far better off if the use was banned by law. This is my position, and I don't care to discuss it further. Nothing is accomplished in arguing religion or politics, and now the use of TM. George Imirie