December, 191 1. 



American Hae Jonrnal j 



cells (Metschnikoff's Phagocytes) eat 

 them, and when the tissue cells become 

 resistant to the bacteria poison they 

 quickly dispose of the bacteria. We 

 find, therefore, that the attendants on 

 the sick in smallpox, consumption, and 

 fever hospitals are more secure from 

 the diseases than if less exposed to 

 them. The exposure strengthens the 

 resistance, and preserves the immunity 

 to the disease. 



The animal cells know on the first 

 touch of the bacteria whether they are 

 dangerous or not, as one bee knows on 

 the first touch of another whether it is 

 from a queenless colony or not. The 

 dangerous bacteria are of small size, 

 and may be known to some e.xtent in 

 that way. If we inoculate a person 

 with smallpox virus, and at the same 

 time vaccinate with vaccine virus, the 

 vaccine virus will commence growing 

 4 or o days sooner than the smallpox 

 virus, and will protect wholly or par- 

 tially from the smallpox virus. This 

 is the same kind of protection by which 

 we proposed to save the boy, and the 

 same that Pasteur used in hydrophobia. 

 It is simply inducing a mild form of 

 the disease during the incubation 

 period to protect against the fatal form 

 at the end of it. The animal cells offer 

 less resistance to the growth of the 

 bacteria producing the milder poison. 



I have stated as briefly as possible 

 the action of bacteria in causing and 

 protecting against diseases, to show 

 that we can not make use of the bac- 

 teria or their poison in curing or pre- 

 venting foul brood. That all parasitic 

 bacteria, however, are continually in- 

 creasing the resistance of animals to 

 bacterial diseases, is evident^the ac- 

 quired resistance is transmitted, and 

 becomes hereditary. Also to show 

 that germicide remedies in the treat- 

 ment of foul brood can not be relied 

 upon. There is no royal road to health. 

 We must, therefore, in dealing with 

 foul brood endeavor to make the sur- 

 rounding conditions as unfavorable to 

 the growth of bacteria as possible ; and 

 if this principle is kept in view the de- 

 tails in carrying it out will be easily 

 understood as we proceed with the 

 subject. 



The conditions must be exceedingly 

 favorable to the growth of bacteria to 

 enable them to destroy a colony of 

 bees. The bees can protect their col- 

 ony against bacteria to a greater ex- 

 tent than is generally supposed. No 

 one has found foul brood in bees 

 located in chimneys or garrets, or, in 

 fact, in any home not purposely made 

 for them. If we continue to favor the 

 growth of bacteria in the hive so as to 

 give the bacteria an advantage over the 

 bees in the "struggle of life," and per- 

 sist in cultivating the bacteria, and not 

 the bees, we will, most assuredly, never 

 succeed with disinfectants and germi- 

 cides in getting rid of the disease 

 caused by the favored bacteria. — /ris/i 

 Bee Journal. 



Does Spraying Cotton Kill Bees 7 — 



Some anxiety having been felt about 

 this, Gleanings in Bee Culture has ob- 

 tained from Government officials the 

 opinion that for more than one reason 

 bee-keepers need have no fear of dan- 

 ger from that source. 



Dr.Miller*s <^ Answers^ 



Send Questions either to the office of the American Bee Journal or direct to 



Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo. III. 



He does not answer bee-keeping questions by mail. 



Sugar Candy for Winter Stores 



The bees here did not store any honey last 

 summer on account of dry weather. Could 

 they be fed by putting loaf sugar over the 

 frames ? How much would it take to winter 

 a colony ? lowA. 



.Answer.— Such sugar is too dry for the 

 bees to consume. If you make it into candy 

 it will do. A cake of candy maybe laid on 

 the top-bars, or the candy may be put into 

 the brood-frames and hung in the hive. Give 

 enough candy so that the honey already in 

 the hive and the candy taken together will 

 weigh about 30 pounds for each colony out- 

 doors, and 20 to 25 each for the cellar colo- 

 nies. 



Difference In Italian Bees 



1. I would be glad to know what the differ- 

 ence is between the 3-banded and the golden 

 Italian bees, and how they are obtained. 



2 Also, are the 3 banded bees longer 

 toneued than the golden ? I had goldens 

 that worked on red clover, but I see they 

 are always classed differently. MlssouRL 



Answers.— I. The workers of bees im- 

 ported from Italy have 3 yellow bands. 

 Those that are called golden are obtained 

 by breeding continuously from the yellow 

 races, constantly selecting those showing 

 most color. They are an American product. 



2. There is probably no difference as to 

 length of tongue between the two classes. 

 When bees work on red clover it may be be- 

 cause of longer tongues, and it may be be- 

 cause of shorter corollas in the blossoms. I 

 liave seen black bees working on red clover. 



Starling in Ihe Bee-Business 



1. Tell me how I can get 100 colonies of 

 bees at a moderate figure. Could you sup- 

 ply them ? Could I buy them here and there 

 in Illinois ? 



2. Is honey of a good grade always sure to 

 bring a good price in Chicago? What could 

 I get for it ? 



3. What profit will each colony pay, sup- 

 pose everything is favorable? 



4. Please make sugestions as to saving in 

 hives, etc. I shall have only a small sum of 

 money to put into the business. 



New Jersey. 

 Answers.— I. I don't at present know 

 where you could do best at purchasing that 

 number of colonies. It is possiblethat some 

 one person may have them for sale, and it is 

 possible that you would have to get them, as 

 you say. here and there. But look out that 

 you don't buy foul brood with your bees. I 

 have no bees to sell. An advertisement in 

 the .-American Bee Journal will cost very lit- 

 tle, and will be the surest and qhickest way 

 to get replies from those who have bees for 

 sale. 



2. No; honey of a good grade is not always 

 sure to bring what bee-keepers consider a 

 good price, either in Chicago or any other 

 large market. At present there is probably 

 less honey on the market in Chicago than at 

 any time before in 25 years, consequently the 

 price is unusually high, the top price for sec- 

 tion honey being 18 cents, and for extracted 

 'J. In abundant years it may be down to 13 

 or u for comb, and b or 7 for extracted. Out 

 of these prices will be taken a commission 

 of 10 percent. You would get what would be 

 left after taking out commission, f reieht and 

 cartage. 



3. Tliat's a very hard question to answer. 

 An average yield of comb honey may be all 

 the way from to 150 pounds. I mean the 

 average of all the colonies in the apiary. 

 'I'aking one year with another, some esti- 

 mate an average yield at 7S pounds per col- 

 ony. Probably 40 pounds will come nearer 

 the mark, ana even that may be too high. 

 I'lxtracted honey will do about 50 percent 

 better. 



4. There is probably no way you can get 

 hives and other supplies cheaper than to 



buy them ready to nail from manufacturers 

 or bee-supply dealers. Very few bee-keep- 

 ers nowadays think it economy to make 

 their own hives. With special machinery 

 the factories can do the work better and 

 cheaper. In the bee-papers you will find 

 the names of manufacturers and dealers, 

 who will be glad to send catalogs on applica- 

 tion. 



Supersedure Cells — Only Clover tor Bees — Lost 

 Many Queens 



1. Is there any way to tell a supersedure 

 queen-cell from a swarming cell, during the 

 swarming season ? 



2. Would it be a payingproposition to keep 

 bees where there is nothing but white 

 clover— nothing after the clover is through 

 blooming? 



3. This season I lost lots of queens. They 

 would supersede the old queen, make cells, 

 and hatch young queens. In from 3 to 7 and 

 10 days these young queens would disappear. 

 According to the "A B C" book. I gave it a 

 frame of eggs and brood. The bees would 

 at once rear another queen, and she would 

 disappear in the same way as the first one. 

 I would continue. Some of my colonies 

 reared as many as 4 queens before one was 

 mated and laid. 



I have seen no bee-martins as mentioned 

 in Gleanings in Bee Culture and the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal. I am still guessing. 



4. Canyon tell me if the State of Oregon 

 has a bee-inspector ? If so. can you tell me 

 his name? My bees are all right so far as I 

 know, but I am only a beginner, and I am 

 not supposed to know very much. 



Oregon. 



Answers— 1. There is no difference be- 

 tween a supersedure-cell and a swarming- 

 cell. either in appearance or any other way. 

 It may happen that the bees start to super- 

 sede a queen without swarming, and then 

 conditions for swarming turn so favorable 

 that they swarm. Again, bees may prepare 

 to swarm, when conditions for swarming 

 turn so unfavorable that theygive upswarm- 

 ing. In that case they may simply destroy 

 the cells and allow the old queen to con- 

 tinue, or they may supersede th« old queen. 



If. during swarming time, you find queen- 

 cells, you may be almost sure it means 

 swarming. If cells are found somewhat out 

 of the time when most colonies are swarm- 

 ing, you can only make a guess in the case. 

 If the number of cells is small— not more 

 than 3 or 4— and especially if the queen is 

 old. it is likely to mean superseding. For 

 swarming, a larger number of cells will 

 generally be found. 



2. Yes. if the clover is sufficiently abun- 

 dant. But it happens too often that clover 

 blooms without yielding nectar. 



3. Some years in some places the loss of 

 virgins on their wedding-night is very great, 

 without its being clear just why. Even if you 

 knew just why, it is not likely you could do 

 anything to prevent it. 



Bees Dying Off in November 



I have just discovered what is to me a 

 very strange thing, and what is worrying me 

 not a little, for I do not understand what 

 can be wrong. 



One of my colonies of bees which I put 

 away for winter about three weeks ago, 

 seems to be dying off very fast, and in the 

 last week there has been at least a pint of 

 dead bees pushed out of the hive, which I 

 can not account for. when this does not 

 occur at any of the other hives, and which I 

 '-an in no manner account for 



heavy colony when 1 fixed it up tor winter, 

 having about 60 pounds of honey, with a 

 good, laying queen, and a hive full of bees. 



