A MONTHLY JOURNAL 



Devoted to the Interests of Honey Producers 

 $LOn a Icar 



W. Z. HUTCHINSON, Editor and Publisher. 



VOL. XXIII. 



FLINT. MICHIGAN, NOVEMBER 1, 1910. 



NO. 11 



Black Brood In San Joaquin Valley, California. 

 Its Symptioms and Treatment. 



RALPH BENTON. 



IN order to 

 i lully appreci- 

 ate the Cali- 

 fornia black 

 brood situation 

 in the San Joa- 

 quin valley, a 

 review of the 

 seasonal varia- 

 tion i n honey 

 flow with its at- 

 tendant adapta- 

 tions of procedure in apiary management 

 will be necessary. Wintering in this 

 locality is reduced to a minimum; the 

 months of December and January being 

 characterized by inactivity on the part of 

 the bees, accompanied by a winter dearth 

 of honey sources. In February and on 

 through March and into April the orange 

 bloom yields, in some locations, quanti- 

 ties of honey. During the latter part of 

 this period other fruits bloom, and the 

 foothills are clothed with an abundance 

 of wild flowers. As might be expected, 

 the bees build up rapidly, in some places 

 store a surplus from the oranges, and 



swarm quite universally during April. 

 There are two temptations that confront 

 the apiarist at this time. Firstly, to move 

 to the oranges, a paying practice un- 

 doubtedly for the individual, but one, in 

 view of the presence and distribution of 

 disease, fraught with danger to the bee 

 keeping community. And secondly, to 

 make extensive increase for the summer 

 honey flow. This plan of procedure is, 

 in view of black brood, extremely risky, 

 and, furthermore, unless followed up 

 during May and June with regular 

 systematic feeding, quite untenable. 



This starving period during May and 

 June, coming as it does after the exces- 

 sively stimulating early flow of honey, is 

 doubly critical; and, as we shall see 

 presently, is a host to be reckoned wiih 

 in coping with black brood. The best 

 plan to follow when the bees build up in 

 the spring seems to be not to make in- 

 crease, but to give the stronger colonies a 

 limited amount of additional space and 

 take steps to hold them over and prevent 

 swarming. Some comb foundation may 

 be given them, but there should not be 



