90 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



REPORT OF THE APIARIST. 



Prof. ('. I>. Sni'itl,: 



SiH — iMirinj; the ycai' nnicli at lent ion has been given to the treatment 

 of foul brood in infected apiaries in ditlerent parts of the State. A.fter 

 experinientinj; on different methods of treating the diseased colonies, 

 including sulphur and acids, none were found to be effective except the 

 starvation treatment. If this is carefully- carried out the results will be 

 satisfactory in every case. I have visited many apiaries in eastern 

 and central ]\[ichigan and have, in many cases, assisted the owners in 

 .treating their diseased colonies. I have observed while on these trips 

 that foul brood is fast ruining some of our best apiaries in the most 

 favorable localities for honey production in the State. The only way 

 to control the disease is to educate the apiarists to readily recognize 

 and knowingly treat the disease. (This can only be done by means of a 

 State inspector, which, at present, the State laws do not provide for.) 

 Other diseases of brood have been noticed in various parts of the State, 

 whicli should be investigated. This will be a part of the work for the 

 coming vear. 



The continued experiment on lengthening the tongues of the bees 

 so that it will be possible for them to reach the nectar in such flowers 

 as June clover, has been carried on with little success, the average 

 length of the tongues of those colonies under experiment being no longer 

 than a year ago, the principal difficulty seeming to be the failure of the 

 desirable mating of the queens. When this difficulty can be overcome, 

 it may be possible to breed up a strain of bees superior to anything now 

 known. 



On August 1 the bees were moved three miles north of the College 

 to the center of the Chandler marsh. The golden rod, boneset and 

 asters were plentiful, and it was expected that the bees would store 

 much more nectar than if tliev w^ere obliged to flv this distance to the 

 flora. On account of the continued drouth there was little nectar to be 

 secured. The results were as was expected. Those left in the home 

 yard lost much more in weight than those taken to the marsh. Th^s is 

 the second experiment that has been worked out along this line with 

 similar results (Mich. Board Report, 1898^ p. 141). The proof seems to 

 be conclusive that bees can store more honey when taken to the flora 

 than T^hen compelled to fly a distance to secure the nectar. 



An experiment was made to test the value of double starters, a nar- 

 row one in the bottom and a wide one in the top of the section. The 

 single starters were full shuts. In every case the best looking combs 

 were built on the double starters. At the close of the honey flow, the 

 sections having double starters, even though not full, the combs v>'ere 

 securely attached to all four sides of the section, while those sections 

 having full shuts the comb was suspended from the top, making it im- 

 possible to shift them, while the double starter sections would shift 

 with perfect safety. 



There is in the apiary about an equal number of eight and ten frame 



