May 12, 1870 ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURES AND COTTAGE GAUDENER. 



remarks contributed by him on this subject. 1, Early swarming is 

 hereditary, and for this simple reason, that an early swarm is much 

 more forward in its first season, and therefore, under like conditions in 

 other respects, sooner ready to swarm next year. 2, Fully built combs 

 also lead to early swarming. 3 and 4 Are the well known requisites of 

 strong stocks, and a plentiful supply of honey. 5, Protection against the 

 prevailing winds, especially if from the north or east. t», A position 

 open to the southerly sun. 7, Hives of a material easily warmed 

 through by the sun, hence straw is better than wood for this purpose. 

 8, Plenty of water. Lastly, whosoever has no swarms by midsummer- 

 day should at once make them artificially. 



The next question discnssed was — 



How may a Strange Qoeen be most Easily and Safely United 

 TO a Stock '! — Major Von Hmschka recommended sprinkling the 

 bees (by means of the little glass instrument for blowing perfume spray, 

 to be obtained at most chemists') with a mixture of sugared water and 

 essence of peppermint, to half a glass of thin sugar water a small 

 thimbleful of peppermint. The spray shonld be blown in at every 

 opening and over all the combs, so that if possible every bee may he 

 touched by it ; the queen is then sprinkled as well, and allowed to run 

 loose upon the nearest comb. This process had succeeded with him 

 between seventy and eighty times without one failure. In the case of 

 ordinary hives "the bees should be driven into an empty hive, the old 

 queen caught, and tho combs and bees thoroughly sprinkled as well as 

 the new queen, which may be allowed to enter the hive with its former 

 possessors. Mr. Futterer had tried chloroform which had been re- 

 commended for this purpose, and thereby lost several valuable queens. 



Mr. Leschetitzky having tried it more than fifty times recommended 

 putting the new queen in a cage on a brood comh as soon as the old 

 one is caneht, and then letting her loose the same evening, or if the 

 operation he performed in the evening twenty-four hours later. The 

 bees by this process do not miss the old queen, build no royal cells, 

 and the laving of eggs is only interrupted for one day. 



Mr. Kneipp found the following process successful in uniting stocks 

 and a new queen at the same time : — Drive or sweep the bees without 

 their queens into a large glazed pot, add the new queen, cover the whole 

 with a cloth and shake them well two or three times, and then 

 immediately put them into their hive. As Mr. Kneipp said, the 

 bees are only too thankful to be allowed to live themselves, and are far 

 too frightened to think of quarrelling. 



Several other speakers related their experience, mostly of the usual 

 method of nuitiug queens, and at last Mr. Von Klipstein said, that he 

 considered the best plan to be to remove the old queen in the morning, 

 and in the evening to put the new one smeared with a little honey 

 from the same hive upon a brood comb. This plan had long been 

 successfully tried with queens of all ages, and even with virgin queens. 



At this stage of the proceedings there was a pause, after which the 

 address to the King of Bavaria in favour of Mr. Schmid was agreed to. 

 When the ordinary business recommenced — 



Mr. Lanibrecht attempted to read a number of his communications 

 to the German " Bee Journal," on the subject of foul brood, but the 

 apiarians present having read them themselves refused to listen, unless 

 Mr. Lanibrecht would make known his professed cure for foul brood, 

 which, however, he declined to do. 



Mr. Steinbach then commenced an address on the question. 



Which Portion of a Foux-bkoody Stock is the Primary 

 Vehicle of the Transmission of the Disease ? — To answer this 

 question the speaker first recapitulated various theories upon the sub- 

 ject of foul brood : — 



1. Tho theory of Dr. Prenss, that foul brood is owing to a fungus 

 (Micrococcus). 



2. That of Dr. Assmnss, who attributes foul brood to a parasitical 

 insect (Phoraincrassata). 



3. That of Mr. Lambrecht, who maintains that the cause is to be 

 found in sour or fermenting honey and pollen. 



4. Tho hypothesis of Dr. Leuckart, that the eggs are already 

 affected in the body of the queen. 



He then proceeded to state as results of his own observation : — 



I. That the bees of a foul-broody stock when moved without either 

 honey or wax, into another bivo always remain healthy. 



II. The same result follows if two foul-broody stocks are united 

 under the same conditions as to absence of comb, &c. 



III. Sound colonies transferred into boxes which had contained foul 

 brood, but were subsequently washed over with spirits of wine which 

 was set fire to, remain as healthy as in a new hive. The same process 

 also purifies comh frames. 



IT. In a compound hive hi which a foul-broody colony was suffered 

 to remain for two years, the remaining colonies were unaffected. 



V. Colonies in boxes above foul-broody stocks also remained healthy. 



VI. Colonies on either side of a foul-broody stock remained unhurt, 

 while others at a distance became diseased. 



VII. In an apiary where there was one foul-broody stock, the others 

 were healthy all the first season, and only showed signs of foul brood 

 the next year. 



VIIL Stocks which had been untouched for years, and whose honey 

 was sour, so that on opening the hive a smell like beer could be per- 

 ceived, were perfectly healthy, though also containing pollen several 

 years old. 



IX. Guide combs cut from fool-broody stocks haTe been used by 



swarms without any evil result. Bnt they had lain by half a year be- 

 fore being so used. 

 From these data Mr. Steinbach concluded : — 



I. That foul brood is not transplanted by miasma, otherwise adjoin- 

 ing stocks must be affected. 



II. Nor is it contagion, otherwise the bees moved from a foul- 

 broody to a clean box would take the disease with them. 



III. Nor does it arise from any internal affection of individual bees, 

 or of the queen and her eggs, or else it would also be transplanted. 



IV. Nor from the box, for the bees placed in it after burning out 

 remain healthy. 



V. Nor from the comh, which has-been given as guide comb with no 

 ill result. 



VI. Nor from sour or fermenting honey or pollen, for colonies have 

 these without becoming foul-broody. The Lambrecht process has not 

 yet been tried on naturally foul-broody stocks, and so nothing is proved 

 by it as yet. 



VII. Nor is it caused by fungi, for their millions of spores could 

 never fail to affect neighbouring hives. One peculiarity was that Mr. 

 Steinbach had never had a case of foul brood except in boxes with 

 moveable combs, yet the Bpores, if fungi were the cause, could enter 

 straw hives as well as wooden boxes. 



The speaker then urged that cholera, which Dr. Prenss had com- 

 pared with foul brood, spreads against the wind, and that therefore its 

 producing cause must be forwarded by means of the earth and not of 

 the air, and the spores of fungi can hardly in either case be supposed 

 to move against the wind ; he would therefore cons der the fungi dis- 

 covered by Dr. Preuss rather a result than the cause of the disease. 

 The speaker concluded by appealing to men of science still to persevere 

 in their researches, and amongst other experiments to endeavour to 

 ascertain whether foul brood could be propagated by inoculation. 



After the conclusion of these remarks Mr. Steinbach produced two 

 phials of honey, one from a healthy, the other from a foul-broody hive, 

 which were both carefully investigated under the microscope by Pro- 

 fessor Rosenhauer of Erlangeu, and also at his request by Professor 

 Kraus of the same University. Neither of these gentlemen, however, 

 could detect the smallest difference between the two specimens, or any 

 signs of fungi or spores in either. 



In the course of the discussion which followed upon the speech of 

 Mr. Steinbach, Mr. Dzierzon called attention to the important dis- 

 tinction between the two kinds of foul brood— the one which is easily 

 cared, the other where it would be dangerous to use the hive again 

 under two years. Where this kind of foul brood exists, the only 

 thing to do 'is to destroy the stock, though the queen may be made use 

 of for an artificial swarm or otherwise. Nor did he think that Mr. 

 Lambrecht had produced virulent foul brood, or deem his experiments 

 and reasoning conclusive. Another speaker, Mr. Wiegand, had been 

 advised by Mr. Steinbach last year at Darmstadt not to waste boxes 

 in which foul brood had existed, and the consequence of following this 

 advice was, that he lost a swarm which he hived in Buch a box after 

 it had been thoroughly " disinfected " and for two years exposed un- 

 used to the air. The two kinds of ] foul brood should be distinguished 

 inname — the "plague" cannot be cured, nor its infection removed with 

 certainty. 



Mr. Hnber had tried all the methods recommended for curing foul 

 brood — changing hives, making the bees fast, jfcc, but found his only 

 safety lay in brimstone for the bees, and chloride of lime for the hives. 

 He believed that straw and wood made but little difference. When ha 

 had sixty straw hives and a few boxes his straw hives were decimated ; 

 now he has 140 boxes, and no symptoms of foul brood. 



As some persons had supposed that the Italian bee had something 

 to do with foul brood, Major Von Hruschka remarked, that living in 

 their country he had never seen or heard of it*, whereas in Germany 

 and France it was a matter of common complaint. He would suggest 

 the consideration of one fact, that it appeared that where hives were 

 not constantly disturbed at all seasons there was no fonl brood. 



THE OPENING BEE SEASON IN SCOTLAND. 



The past winter baa been one of a most prejudicial cbaracter 

 for bees. Protracted, severe, and with few intervals of sun- 

 shine and mildness, our apiaries in Scotland, so far as I can 

 gatber, have suffered considerably. The mortality is great in 

 many, the thinly populated hives especially, even such as had 

 ample stores having mostly succumbed. I believe were our 

 hives, during such severe winters, better protected from cold 

 and from the vicissitudes of the weather, fewer fatalities would 

 oocur. The spring, too, has been far from favourable. Cold, 

 dry, and ungenial, vegetation is far back, and our little favour- 

 ite's hitherto have laboured under great disadvantages. Within 

 these few days of balmy mildness, however, renewed vigour 

 and activity are observable, and the air is again resonant with 

 the merry hum of gladness, as on unwearied wing the bees hurry 

 to and fro courting each opening flower, revelling in its prof- 

 fered sweets, and homewards hastening laden either with pellets 



• Professor Mona has, however, spread this diease more than once.— 

 Translator. 



