EXPERIMENT STATION REPORTS 127 



SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT OF THE APIARIST FOR THE SUM- 

 MER OF 1897. 



The bees belonging to the Station were received at the College, May 

 19, 1897, After due examination, they were united into twelve colonies. 

 Many of the queens were old and were replaced by tested Italians. Sev- 

 eral methods of introducing queens were tried, but the one giving the 

 most satisfaction, all things considered, was by the use of a frame four 

 inches square by one-half inch high, covered with wire cloth upon one 

 side. After putting the queen on the comb where the young bees were 

 hatching, the frame was put over her and fastened down by a wire which 

 was put over the top, pushed through the comb on both sides of the cage 

 and fastened on the opposite side of the comb. The queen is left under 

 this cage for about thirty-six hours and then tentatively released. If 

 the bees indicate their refusal to receive her by "balling her," she is 

 returned to the cage for another day. 



Among the improvements may be mentioned the replacing, as far as 

 necessary, of old hives of early model by new ones with improved Hoff- 

 man frames. In the bee yard each hive stands on a mound of sand three 

 inches high with a minature dooryard of clean sand in front. A service- 

 able honey house has been found by remodeling a small barn. 



Most of the experiments planned in this division of the Station work 

 will require more than one season for their completion. Among the mat- 

 ters studied, I may mention the following: 



Bee Paralysis. — This disease has spread but little in this State, but 

 owing to its increase in the south it was thought advisable to investigate 

 the liability of contagion. Two queens were purchased of T. S. Ford of 

 Mississippi. They were taken from colonies badly infected with the 

 disease, and on arrival at the College were introduced to healthy stock. 

 These hives were removed from the bee yard a distance of a half a mile. 

 The queens were introduced in June; on October 29, the first traces of 

 what might have been a mild form of the disease appeared. Four or five 

 bees were found at the entrance having the shiney, bloated appearance 

 said to characterize those that die of the paralysis. The other colony has 

 never shown the slightest trace of the disease, and remained strong and 

 apparently healthy. This trial was insufficient to demonstrate a liability 

 of contagion among Michigan bees from queens introduced from the 

 south. 



Foundation Tests. — Three colonies, designated as Nos. 1, 2, and 3, were 

 used in this experiment. Owing to the absence of strong colonies during 

 the honey flow, the experiment was made by feeding back, towards the 

 latter part of August. 



The super placed on No. 1 was filled with alternate sections of drawn 

 and thin foundation. This colony was fed all they would take until the 

 super was filled. The super on No. 2 was filled on one side with drawn 

 and the other with thin foundation. This colony was fed three pounds 

 per day. The super on No. 3 was filled with a row of sections fitted with 

 drawn and a row of sections fitted with thin foundation, alternately 



