THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



77 



that it is only a qnostion of time whon 

 tlio production of section honey will 

 almost have disappeared. 



Kloresville. Tex., Doc. !), 1002. 



URING FOUL BROOD IN 

 EARLY SPRING. 



BY M. A. GILL. 



1 have just I'ead with much inter- 

 est the splendid and timely article on 

 "Getting Rid of Foul Brood," by R. L. 

 Taylor. I fully endorse what he says, 

 in the main, but very much doubt the 

 expediency of the specialist adopting 

 his prescribed syrup cure. 



While following his plan in the mat- 

 ter of diagnosis and cure, in many 

 cases, I have a few kinks that I put 

 into practice that I don't remember 

 of ever having seen in print; but, of 

 course, the plan is taken from the 

 starvation-cure. 



It is a fact, patent to all, that ever.v 

 bee-keeper Avho keeps bees in large 

 niimbers, whether he lives in the 

 South or West, and winters in the open 

 air, or whether he lives North or 

 East, and practices cellar wintering, 

 has from three to ten per cent of dead 

 colonies in the spring. There are, 

 many times, hives that are tilled with 

 nice, straight combs and considerable 

 honey. AVhen a colony dies, the own- 

 er is left as the "administrator of the 

 estate." and here is the way I use 

 tliem if I know them to be unaf- 

 fected. 



Early in the spring, before the col- 

 ony has expended much energy in 

 raising lirood, to die, I drive the l)ees 

 from the foul-brood colonies into an 

 <Mnpty hive or snjter. and set them 

 awa.v in some convenient place for 

 28 to 3<) hours. Then, after warming 

 up one of my hives of combs and 



honey I sprinkl(> the bees, Avhich, by 

 (his time, nmy lie a little sluggish, 

 and, a tier llie.y have fed each other 

 and bcconic lively. I run them into 

 the hive above niciitioned. 



or course, there is nothing new nor 

 reniMrkabl(> about (his cure, only that 

 you have cured your diseased colony; 

 and have done it a( a time when they 

 can build up rapidly, as all their brood 

 will hatch, instead of perhaps only 40 

 per cent. Yon have also used your 

 empty combs to the best advantage, 

 and shut off the chances of a diseased 

 colony being robbed out, during the 

 dearth of spring, by perhaps two or 

 more of yoiu* healthy ones. 



Here in Colorado we cannot prac- 

 tice the shaking ofl' plan much before 

 June I5th, and if a colony has the 

 disease to the extent that, say 50 per 

 cent of the brood fails to hatch, that 

 colony has not progressed much by 

 June ITtth. Just imagine the differ- 

 ence if it has been put on healthy 

 combs, and furnished plenty of food, 

 by the 1st of April. It comes up to the 

 hone.v flow along M'ith the rest of the 

 apiary, ready to go into the sections 

 instead of being set back on starters 

 in the lower hive, with perhaps only 

 bees enough so that their v^'hole sea- 

 son's work is simply a struggle for 

 existence. This plan can be practiced 

 only to the extent of the empty hives 

 and combs available, and I would ad- 

 vise its use to that extent only. 



Again, every bee-keeper who is buy- 

 ing bees, gets more or less crooked 

 combs and box hives in this section 

 of the country. I have known of 

 many bee-keepers who had as many 

 hives of nice, straight combs piled up 

 in the hone.v house as they had unde- 

 sirable ones in the apiary; and they 

 would sa.y that when the honey flow 

 comes we will take them out of there. 

 My plan is this: Just at the time wiien 

 the colony starts up, so it has sealed 



