lo Dec, 1910.] A/isu.'lVs to Correspondents. 811 



The shaking of tlie bees from the combs should not be done at the 

 time when bees will rob and thus spread disease ; otherw ise, shaking down 

 should be done under co\er. It can be safely done in the evening after 

 bees have ceased to fly. If there is no honey flow at the time, sugar 

 syrup should be fed to the bees shaken down. This is made by dissolv- 

 ing the best quality sugar in an equal weight of boiling water ; late in the 

 sea.son two parts of sugar to one of water should be used. 



Great care should l)e taken to keep all infected material away from 

 the other bees till after hi\-e. stand, and frames have been thoroughly 

 cleaned in boiling water containing washing soda. 



The combs may be boiled and the wax pressed out, the refuse being 

 burned. The solar wax extractor should not be used for melting the 

 combs, the heat being insufficient to kill the spores of foul brood. 



When examining combs for disease, a match or straw, not the fingers, 

 should be used, and these prickers should not be thrown down but burned ; 

 a fresh one should be used for each hive. 



To pre\'ent the bees swarming out after l)eing shak(,'n down on starters, 

 as thev are often inclined to do, the queen should be confined in a cage 

 to which the bees have free access. A cage such as that described in 

 September issue of the Journal rr^ay be used. 



The use of drugs in the treatment of foul brood is not ad\isable, be- 

 cause disinfectants strong enough to kill the germs would destroy the bees. 

 The shaking-down treatment is the recognised method adopted in all coun- 

 tries. 



In a few instances the disease may reappear, owing to the bees after 

 the shaking-down process continuing to carry home honey from infected 

 sources, such as a diseased bee's nest in a tree or a neglected hive in the 

 neighbourhood. 



It is of the greatest importance that the bee-keeper should ha\-e the aid 

 of the law to compel the owners of diseased hives to either treat them or 

 to destroy them. 



ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



The Staff of the Department has been organized to a large extent for the purpose of giving information 

 to farmers. Question" in every branch of agriculture are gladly answered. Write a short letter, giving as 

 full particulars as possible, of your local conditions, and state precisely what it is that .1 ou want to know. 

 AU inquiries forwarded to the Editor must be accompanied by the name and address of the writer. This is 

 very necessary, as sometimes insutlicient information is furnished by tlie ini|uirer. 



BLINDNESS. — 0.(1. writes : — " I have a two-)-ear-oUl fillv th.it became bhnd 

 about twu months ayo. Three weeks ago I examined her and found a big swelling 

 under the chest. Now it has moved up the chest in the shape of a Y. At first 

 the lump was big and soft, now it is hard and smaller. The centre of the eye 

 is of a bluish colour, and there is a black spot on the edge of the sight of the 

 right eye. The fdlv is in good condition."' 



Ans7ejer. — Many cases of blindness are reported from districts were plants 

 of the same order as Tobacco grow, and also where the plant known as " Paddy- 

 Melon " or " Tipperary (iooseberry " is found. Have you any such plants in 

 your district? If so, sujiply information as to feed, &c., of filly. Also state 

 whether the blindness came on suddenly and whether any others have been similarly 

 alfected. Sufficient particulars are not given on which to say whether the chest 

 swelling and blindness are related in anv way, but it is not likely. Name and ad- 

 dress of O.G. should have been supplied. 



Bone-chewing Habit. — A.W.S. inquires as to cause of cows becoming addicted 

 to chewing bones. 



Answer. — The bone-chewing habit in cows is caused by a deficiency of earth 

 salts in the jiasturage. A lick composed of equal parts of bonemeal (sterilized) 

 and sheep salt, placed in boxes accessible to the cattle, will overcome the habit. 



