20 EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL REPOKT OF THE 



appearance, but are more or less surface soiled, and will also be spotted or have streaked 

 appearance by the dark brown sticky excrements from the adult bees. 



TREATMENT. 



"A bee-keeper who does not discover foul brood, before his nostrils remind him 

 that there is something wrong with his bees, is not the proper person to treat the case. ' ' 

 Dr. Howard, in his valuable book on foul brood, states: "I regard the use of all drugs 

 in the treatment of foul brood as a useless waste of time and material, wholly ineffectual, 

 inviting ruin and total loss of bees. Any method which has not for its object the entire 

 removal of all infectious material beyond the reach of both bees and brood, will prove 

 detrimental and destructive, and surely encourage the recurrence of the disease." In 

 Wisconsin, I have tried many methods of treatment, and cured some cases with each 

 method; but the one that never fails, if carefully followed, and that commends itself, is 

 the McEvory treatment. Canada's foul brood inspector has cured foul brood by the 

 wholesale — thousands of cases. 



McEVOY TREATMENT. 



" In the honey season, when the bees are gathering honey freely, remove the combs 

 in the evening and shake the bees into their own hives; give them frames with comb- 

 foundation starters, and let them build comb for four days. The bees will make 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 the fourth day, take 

 out the new combs and give them comb-foundation (full sheets) to work out, and then 

 the cure will be complete. By this method of treatment all the diseased honey is re- 

 moved from the bees before the full sheets of foundation are worked out. All the old 

 foul brood combs must be burned or carefully 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 diseased colonies should be done in the evening, 

 so as not to have any robbing done or cause any of the bees from the diseased colonies 

 to mix and go with the bees of healthy 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 

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

 on at any time from ]\Iay to October, when the bees are not getting any honey, by feed- 

 ing plenty of sugar syrup in the evenings to take the place of the honey flow. 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 flying. 



"When the diseased colonies are weak in bees, put the bees, two, three, or four 

 colonies together, so as to get a good sized colony 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 ev^ening 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; on 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, putting one 

 pound of water to every pound of sugar, and bring it to a boil. As previously stated, all 

 the old comb must be burned, or made into wax, and so must all new combs made during 

 the four days. No colony is cured of foul brood by the use of any drug. 



"A. I. Root, of Medina, Ohio, says: 'The starvation plan, in connection with 

 burning the combs and frames and building the hives, has worked the best in treating 

 foul brood. It never appeared after each treatment, though it did in some cases where 

 the hives were honey-stained and not boiled, thus confirming the theory or fact of spores. ' " 



AU the difference from the McEvory treatment that I practice is this: I dig a 

 deep pit on level ground near the 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 even- 

 ing, and then the fresh earth from the pit returned to cover all from sight. Often I use 

 some kerosene oil, a little at a time being poured on old brood combs, or those having 

 much honey in, as they are hard to burn. If diseased combs with honey in are burned 

 on the surface of the soil, there is great danger; the honey, when heated a little, will 



