534 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



eral hive bodies may be piled together on a hive bottom and some gaso- 

 line or kerosene poured on the sides and on some straw or excelsior at 

 the bottom. This is then ignited and after burning for a few seconds 

 a close-fitting hive cover is placed on top of the pile to extinguish the 

 flames. The inside of the hive bodies should be charred to a light 

 brown. The careful cleaning and disinfection of frames always costs 

 considerably more in labor than new frames would cost, but these also 

 may be carefully cleaned and used again. Frames may be cleaned by 

 boiling in water for about half an hour, but this frequently causes them 

 to warp badly. The disinfection of hives and frames with chemicals is 

 not recommended,, as the ordinary strengths used are valueless for the pur- 

 pose." 



"Disposal of the honey. — If there is a considerable quantity of honey 

 in the contaminated combs it may be extracted. This honey is not safe 

 to feed to bees without boiling, but it is absolutely safe for human con- 

 sumption. If there is a comparatively small quantity it may be con- 

 sumed in the beekeeper's family, care being taken that none of it is 

 placed so that the bees can ever get it." 



"To put such honey on the market is contrary to laAV in some states. 

 There is always danger that an emptied receptacle will be thrown out 

 where bees can have access to it, thus causing a new outbreak of dis- 

 ease. It can be safely used for feeding to bees, provided it is diluted with 

 at least an equal volume of water to prevent burning, and boiled in a 

 closed vessel for not less than one-half hour counting from the time that 

 the diluted honey first boils vigorously. The honey will not be sterilized 

 if it is heated in a vessel set inside of another containing boiliog water. 

 Boiled honey can not be sold as honey. It is good only as food for bees, 

 and even then should never be used for winter stores, as it will probably 

 cause dysentery." 



"The second shake. — Some beekeepers prefer to shake the bees first onto 

 frames containing strips of foundation as above described, and in four 

 days to shake the colony a second time onto full sheets of foundation, 

 destroying all comb built after the first treatment. This, insures better 

 combs than the use of strips of foundation, but is a severe drain on the 

 strength of the colony. Since it is desirable to have combs built on full 

 sheets, the best policy is to replace any irregular combs with full sheets 

 of foundation or good combs later in the season." 



"The cost of shaking. — If the treatment just described is given at the 

 beginning of a good honey flow, it is practically equivalent to artificial 

 swarming and results in an actual increase in the surplus honey, es- 

 pecially in the case of comb-honey production. The wax rendered from 

 the combs will sell for enough to pay for the foundation used if full 

 sheets of foundation are employed. Since a colony so treated actually 

 appears to work with greater vigor than a colony not so manipulated, 

 the cost of treatment is small. If treatment must be given at some other 

 time, so that the colony must be fed, the cost is materially increased. 

 In feeding, it is best to use sugar sirup, or honey that is known to have 

 come from healthy colonies." 



TREATMENT WITH BEE ESCAPE. 



"As a substitute for the shaking treatment just described, the bees may 



