308 iSTATE BUAKD OF AGIUCILTUKE 



MC EVOY TKEATMKNT. 



"Jn iho lioiipy season, when tlie bees are pfatlieiin;^: freely, remove the combs in the 

 evening.', and sliake the bees into their own hives: ;,Mve tlieni frames with comb founda- 

 tion starters and let tliem build coiul) for four days. Tlic Ijces will juake the starters 

 into comb during the four days and store the diseased honey in them, which they took 

 with them from the old comb. Then in the evening of tlie fourth day take out the 

 new combs and give them comb foundations to work out, and then the cure will be 

 complete. By this method of treatmejit all the diseased honey is removed from the 

 bees before the full sheets of foundation are worked out. All the old foul brood 

 combs must be burned or made into wax after they are removed from the hives, and 

 all the new combs made out of the starters during the four days must be burned or 

 made into wax. on account of the diseased honey that would be stored in them. All the 

 curing or treating of di.seased colonies should be done in the evening, so as not to 

 have an}' robbing done or cause any of the Ijces from tiie diseased colonies to mix 

 and go with bees of sound colonies. By doing all the work in the evening it gives 

 the bees a chance to settle down nicely before morning and then there is no con- 

 fusion or trouble. This same method of curing colonies of foul brood can be carried 

 on at any time from !May to October, when the bees are not getting any honey by 

 feeding plontj' of sugar syrup in the evenings to take the place of honey How. it 

 will start the bees robbing and spread the disease to work with foul brood colonies in 

 warm days when the bees are not gathering honey, and for that reason all work 

 must be done in the evenings, when no bees are tlying. When the diseased colonies 

 are weak in bees, put the bees of two, three or four colonies together, so as to get 

 a good sized swarm to start the cure with, as it does not pay to spend time fussing 

 with little weak colonies. 



"When the bees are not gathering honey, any apiary can be cured of foul brood 

 by removing the diseased combs in the evening, and giving the bees frames with 

 comb foundation starters on. Then also in the evening feed the bees plenty of sugar 

 syrup, and they will draw out the foundation and store the diseased honey which 

 they took with them from the old combs; in the fourth evening remove the new 

 combs made out of the starters and give the bees full sheets of comb foundation 

 and feed plenty of sugar syrup each evening until every colony is in first-class order. 

 Make the syrup out of granulated sugar and put one pound of water to every two 

 poimds of sugar and then bring it to a boil. As previously stated, all the old combs 

 must be burned or made into wax when removed from the hive, and so must all the 

 new combs made during the four days. No colony is cured of foul brood by the use 

 of any drug. All the old combs must be removed from every diseased colony and 

 the hive got away from the bees before the brood I'earing is commenced in the new 

 clean combs." 



X. E. i'rance, inspector of apiaries of Wisconsin, says, "All the difference from the 

 McEvoy treatment that I practice, I dig a deep pit on level ground near diseased 

 apiary, and after getting a fire in the pit, such diseased combs, frames, etc., as are to 

 be burned, are burned in this pit in the evening and the fresh earth from the pit 

 returned to cover all from sight. If diseased combs with honey in are burned on surface 

 of soil there is great danger the melted honey will run on the soil and in the morning 

 the robber bees will be busy taking liome the diseased lionej'. 



"Also I cage the queen while bees are on the six or eight strips of comb foundation, 

 to prevent any swarming or deserting." 



The equipment necessary for the ]McEvoy treatment is a large canvas or sheet, a 

 broad pail partlj^ filled with the corrosive sublimate solution, a sponge or rag, a 

 bee brush similar to a Cogshall, a screw driver, or some other tool for prying the 

 frame loose, and a set of frames containing only starters of foundation. The only 

 time of day suited to the treatment is toward evening, when the bees have ceased 

 flying to and from the fields. A bright moonlight night answers the purpose if many 

 colonies are to be treated, though the bees are perhaps more easily handled just at 

 dusk than in the moonlight. At this time we have little to fear from robbers or from 

 infected bees flying to healthy colonies. 



The method of procedure is about as follows: 



Spread the canvas over the old stand, place the hive on the canvas. Gently .shake 

 the bees off the old combs into the hive, and brush all the bees of the old combs into 

 the hive body. Remove the hive from the canvas, which should be gathered up by the 

 corners in order to allow the bees to be shaken from it into the hive : then add the 



