REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 585 



treatment frequently reveals the presence of diseivse where it was not before possi- 

 ble to detect it. The quantity prescribed, applied by means of a large atomizer, is 

 sutScient to ti-eat oiie hundred and litty colonies. Continue the treatment by thor- 

 oughly and copiously si^raying the diseased colonies at intervals of three da,ys, simply 

 Retting the frames apart so as to direct tlie spray entirely over the combs and bees. 

 In order to keep the bees from bringing in fresli pollen, burn old dry bones to an ash 

 and pulverize in a mortar and sift tlirough a line wire-cloth sieve, and make a mixt- 

 ure of rye Hour and bone flour, using three parts of lye flour to one of bone flour, 

 addmg enough of the sirup or medicated honey to make a thick paste. Spread this 

 paste over part of one side of a disinfected comb, pressing it into the cells with a stiff 

 brush or a thin honey-knife, and hang tbis in the hive next to the brood. Continue 

 tills treatment until a cure is effected. Keep sweetened brine at all times accessible 

 to the bees, and continue the use of the rye and bone flom- paste while the colonies 

 are recuperating. 



As a preventive apply the remedy in the form of a spray over the toj^s of the 

 frames once every week until the di«ease has disappeared from the apiary. 



On June 20 the apiarist above referred to reported as follows: 



" Number of colonies in the apiary June 1, 210. Number of colonies apparently 

 diseased, 25. Treatment applied as dkected to the whole apiary. Number of colonies 

 actually diseased, 63. The disease x)resent in all stages of prog-ress; in some cases just 

 appearing, in some well developed; in others the contents of the hives were a black 

 mass, the brood combs nearly rotten, not an egg to be seen, and every cell of brood 

 dead, and the stench from the hives nauseating. Kave given the diseased colonies 

 thi-ee applications, the fh'st time extracting the honey. Effect of treatment instan- 

 taneous even upon apparently hopeless cases. Every colony save 5 is enthely free 

 from any trace of disease, and these 5 are responding to treatment rapidly. I ex- 

 amined a colony to-day which tvro weeks ago had combs of brood almost rotten. No 

 trace of the disease remains. I had 4,000 frames of extra comb. After hiving a few 

 swarms, on some of tliem I found the disease present in every case. I then melted 

 every one of these exti-a combs into wax, cleared and scalded and disinfected every 

 hive, and hived the swarms on frames filled with comb-foundations. One of my 

 neighbors, having an apiary of 60 colonies, had 88 cases of foul-brood, and before I 

 was aware of it he had burned up a number of them. The rejnamder we treated as 

 directed. His yard is noAv entnely free from disease. The cost of the remedy was 

 just 10 cents. This prescriirtion, if thoroughly applied according to your directions, 

 will speedily and effectually cure the most hopeless and forlorn case of foul-brood." 



It was afterwards found that the melting of the combs and scalding of the hives 

 was not necessary. 



After requesting this same apiarist to make some further tests, the nature of which 

 wiU api^ear froui what follows, August 1 he made the following report: 



" In 5 of my l)est colonies, which had shown no symptoms of disease, I placed 

 frames of brood from diseased colonies, treating them as I did the diseased colonies, 

 and all evidences of disease speedily disappeared. To 1 colony from which the 

 hces had swarmed out, leaving less than half a pint of bees between the black rot- 

 ten combs and not an egg in the hive and every ceU of uncapped brood dead and 

 not more than one bee hatching to every square inch of brood, after thoroughly ap- 

 plying the remedy I introduced a queen just crawling from the cell. To-day I* take 

 pleasure in exhibiting this colony as one of the finest I own, lacking only a suffi- 

 cient store of honey, and this without the addition to the original odorous hive and 

 rotten combs of a single bee, cell, or brood, or anything whatever to assist, except 

 the young queen. 



" I extracted the honey from diseased colonies and treated the combs of such with 

 the remedy as dnected, and then exchanged hives and combs, giving the infested 

 Jiives and combs to the healthy bees without cleansing or disinfecting a hive, and 

 the diseased bees were given the hive and combs lately occupied by the healthy col- 

 onics. The contagion did not spread, and after two or three applications of the 

 remedy all traces of it disappeared. I fed back the honey extracted from the dis- 

 eased colonies for the bees to use in breeding, adding 2i ounces of the remedy to 

 each quart; and I also fed the mixture of bone-ash, rye flour, and honey as a sub- 

 stitute for pollen by pressing the paste mto the cells on one side of a comb, and tliis 

 I placed next to the brood in each hive. I would not advise any one to feed this 

 bone-flour and rye-flour paste unless they wish to raise a great many boes. I also 

 fed the salt, alkali, and acid mixture outside in the apiary, so that all the colonies 

 could help themselves. No; I do not fear that any of the mixture vrill be stored 

 for winter or get into the surplus apartment, as the bees eeem determhied to use 

 all they can get ox it in brood-rearing. All my hives are running over with bees 

 ready for the fall honey harvest. 



"As requested, I placed frames of sealed honey from diseased colonies hi healthy 



