20 



SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



hard to burn. If diseased combs with 

 honey in are burned on the surface of 

 the soil, there is great danger; the hofifey, 

 when heated a little, will run like water on 

 the soil, and in the morning the robber 

 bees will be busy taking home the diseased 

 honey that was not heated enough to kill 

 germs of foul brood. 



I also cage the queen while the bees are 

 on the five or six strips of foundation. It 

 helps to keep the colony from deserting the 

 hive and going to other colonies. 



R. L. Taylor, Michigan University Ex- 

 perimental Apiary, reports: "The plan 

 that the colony be shaken out into another 

 hive after being allowed to build comb 

 for four days, I have proven, in 100 cases, 

 to be unnecessary." 



In Wisconsin I, too, have cured several 

 cases by the one transferring, when honey 

 was not coming in very freely, but it is 

 better, and a great saving of time to both 

 bees and owner, to exchange in three or 

 four days, those foundation starters, for 

 full sheets of foundation. Diseased brood- 

 combs and those with honey in, if melted 

 in a sun or solar extractor, the wax; honey 

 or residue is not hot enough to kill germs 

 of foul brood. This I hav^e proven by 

 several experiments. It must be boiled 

 and well stirred while boiling, to be safe. 



I do not believe in, or practice, burning 

 any property, such as hives, bees, beeswax 

 or honey, that can be safely treated and 

 saved. Many times it is poor economy to 

 save all, and so many bee-keepers are not 

 BO situated as to keep all diseased materials 

 from robber bees while taking care of it; 

 the best and only safe way is to burn the 

 diseased combs and frames. 



UTAH. 



Utah has county inspectors, and from 

 one who has remarkable success I copy the 

 report of his method of treatment: 



"Wherever found it should be dealt with 

 earnestly and with dispatch. If the colony 

 is weak, I recommend something to kill 

 the bees, and, in order to do this without 

 letting a bee escape, take a tablespoonful 

 of sulphur and place it in the hive entrance 

 of the hives; if there is any breeze, turn 

 the hive so it will blow in the entrance. 

 Then fire the sulphur and it will soon kill 

 the bees. This should be done early in 

 the niorning, before any of the bees are 

 flying, as one bee escaping from the hive 

 might carry the disease to any colony with 

 which it may take up its abode. If the 

 colony is a strong one, I would keep the 

 entrance partly closed, so as to prevent 

 any other bees from getting in. Then as 

 soon as fruit blossoms come out so the bees 

 can obtain honey, I treat them. I procure 



an empty box of any kind, so it is clean, 

 then find the queen, put her in a screen 

 wire cage, which is easily made. Take 

 a small piece of screen roll it up and tie a 

 string around either end; cork up one end, 

 then place the queen and a few workers, 

 for company, in the cage, and place in 

 the other end cork. Put same in this 

 box, and shake all the bees out of their 

 hive into this box. This must be done in 

 the evening, when no bees are fljing. 

 Keep the queen in this box for 24 to 48 

 hours, allowing the bees to fly in and out 

 as they please. Next take a clean hi^e, 

 with good, healthy combs or foundation, 

 and shake bees into it, letting the queen 

 go, and they will be free from disease. 

 The old combs are melted into wax, 

 bringing same to a good boil. Often wash- 

 ing with boiling water any hives or im- 

 plements that might contain disease. 

 Whenever strictly followed, this has 

 afi'ected a cure." — C. Wilcox, Emery Co., 

 Utah. 



PICKLED BROOD. 



Some seasons pickled brood is quite bad 

 among bees, and in a few cases I have 

 known it to reduce large colonies, even 

 large apiaries, to doubtful hopes, but those 

 same colonies, after I gave them treatment, 

 were in a month free from disease. Some- 

 times it takes as careful handling as if 

 fool brood. I do not believe it is con- 

 tagious, for all I have seen 60 colonies in 

 one apiary badly reduced by it. As an 

 experiment, one of my out-apiaries had 50 

 colonies at one time with pickled brood. 

 I treated them, and all were soon free from 

 dead brood. At the same time I took ten 

 of the worst brood-combs, where at least 

 two-thirds of the brood were dead, and 

 placed these combs in other strong, healthy 

 colonies. They at once cleaned out the 

 dead brood, and reared as nice brood as 

 one could ask for. 



SYMPTOMS. 



The larval bees (in last of May and 

 through June) show light brown spots; a 

 little later the cappings have small holes 

 in — the cappings are not shrunken or dark 

 colored, as in foul brood. The dead bee 

 will be first swollen, «ath a black head 

 dried to a hard bunch, and often turned up 

 — Chinaman-shoe-like. The skin of the 

 dead bee is quite tough, and, if punctured, 

 the thin, watery fluid of the body will 

 flow as freely as water, often a little 

 yellow or brownish colored from the dis- 

 solved pollen from the abdomen of the 

 bee. It has very little or no smell; does 



• -.r^'&M 



