208 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



Readers of the Review are not apt to be 

 treating any colonies that are very badly 

 diseased, by the plan outlined by Mr. 

 Bartlett, but suppose that article should 

 be copied in some of the farm journals, 

 just imagine the nice samples of honey 

 and etcetra, that might be offered to the 

 unsuspecting public, by some careless 

 bee man, that might be led to try the 

 plan that looks so economic. 



There, now, I feel better, so will hie 

 away to bed, expecting to drive out to 

 an out yard in the morning with a load 

 of sugar to be transferred into about 100 

 hives before I return again. 



Mt. Joy, Ont. June 7. 1910. 



[Of course, I did not hesitate a moment 

 about making room for the foregoing 

 in the Review, but I thought that Mr. 

 Bartlett might like to make some explan- 

 ation or defense, so I sent it to him with 

 request to make any reply that he 

 deemed necessary. The following came 

 to hand: 



East Jordan, Mich., June 15, 1910. 

 Friend Hutchinson: — 



When I decided to tell how I 

 treated foul brood some years ago, I 

 concluded that a bee convention would 

 be the place to introduce the subject, as 

 I wanted it brought before the best bee 

 keepers and discussed. 



I wrote an article and sent it to the 

 Secretary of the Michigan State Bee 

 Keeper's Convention, at Lansing, to be 

 read, it being impossible for me to 

 attend. 



The Secretary wrote me that it caused 

 a discussion which was very favorable. 



This article was then sent to the editor 

 of the Review, he having asked for it, 

 and was told to use it if he thought best. 

 After asking several questions about the 

 plan, the editor simply published the 

 mere plan outlined, without any com- 

 ments. (Pages 178-179 June issue.) 



In the above reply, by friend Byer, 

 the "nastiness" or filth seems to be the 

 main objection. I will say that in this 

 particular case there was no filthiness; 

 as I would not for a minute harbor the 



thought of trying to cure, by any method, 

 a colony rotten with disease. In fact, I 

 was not aware that any up-to-date 

 apiarist would. I always thought that 

 the inspectors of apiaries always burned 

 colonies badly diseased; so I will say, 

 right here, that the colonies that I treated 

 were not badly diseased, as 1 first burned 

 all that were such, as found the fall 

 previous to the treatment; but, so far as 

 the treatment is concerned, I believe that 

 a colony quite badly diseased (don't at- 

 tempt, by any method, to cure a colony 

 in a rotten, filthy condition) would come 

 out K. 



As relating to the filthinsss of the 

 method, compared with the shaking plan, 

 why I believe it is as clean, if not cleaner. 

 If you extract the honey from the shaken 

 combs, are not the conditions Mr. Byer 

 mentions the same as they would be in 

 the combs treated as I treated them, 

 with the exception that there is less honey 

 in them. The ropy state of the larvae 

 is present just the same; and when it 

 comes to extracting combs foul with 

 disease, so that the rotten, decaying 

 larvae fly from the extractor, that is 

 the h'mit. 



Mr. Byer could not possibly be more 

 opposed to filth than is the writer, and, 

 if there was the least bit of filth connected 

 with the plan as I used it, it would never 

 have been used. 



In regard to people working this plan 

 and flooding the market with diseased 

 honey, there is no danger. Better give 

 them a little once than give it to them 

 every year through neglect of trying a 

 cure because of a satisfactory method. 



I refused this paper to one of our Farm 

 Journals because I did not want it 

 brought to the notice of the inexperienced 

 until it was discussed by the more ex- 

 perienced. It seems to me that in this 

 day of foul brood that no bee keeper 

 would ever think of feeding back honey 

 for stimulating or for wintering purposes. 

 Then where is the awful alarm? Always 

 feed sugar syrup, then you are safe — it 

 is better for wintering and cheaper. 



