158 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Mar. 1 



truth; indeed, I regard the methods that re- 

 quire the handling of frames in the treat- 

 ment of contagious brood diseases as un- 

 scientilic, bunghng, and not at all in keeping 

 with modern methods of apiculture. The 

 infection is carried in the honey; and if a 

 diseased colony is disturbed, as in shaking, 

 brushing, or handling frames the bees will 

 till their sacs with diseased honey which is 

 carried into the new hive, often necessitating 

 a second treatment, and always necessitating 

 the uuilding of new combs without any help 

 from foundation, which seals the fate of that 

 colony so far as the hopes of a crop of sur- 

 plus honey are concerned. 



I regard the Baldridge method* as the most 

 scientific, economical, and practical scheme 

 that has ever been made public for the suc- 

 cessful treatment of foul brood. By this 

 method the bees have the diseased hive in a 

 normal condition, with empty sacs, in se-'rch 

 of nectar, and return to the clean hive with 

 their sacs filled with nectar fresh from the 

 flowers with all their healing influences; and 

 if a stray bee happens to get into the wrong 

 hive she carries no infection. 



This method not only precludes the neces- 

 sity of handling frames to any extent, but it 

 also precludes the necessity of compelling 

 the bees to build new combs right from the 

 stump, as it is safe to use full sheets of foun- 

 dation or clean healthy combs, which insure 

 a crop of honey if we tier up the hives to be 

 treated so as to get a strong force of bees in 

 the clean hive This is the method prac- 

 ticed with sectional hives. I ask you, Mr. 

 Editor, which is the more scientific as well 

 as economical method. No, economy of la- 

 bor is not to be found in the handling of 

 frames under any circumstances. 



I call your attention to this matter partly 

 because I feel sure you did not take the time 

 to give the matter due consideration, and 

 partly because your error might influence 

 some bee-keeper who contemplates adopt- 

 ing this excellent hive to reject the most 

 scientific method of treating foul brood, as 

 well as the one hive above all others in 

 which economical maiupulation is carried to 

 perfection. 



Birmingham, Ohio. 



[The editor considers himself by no means 

 infallible; and when a correspondent thinks 

 that any of our editorial utterances are mis- 

 leading we hope he will be free to come 

 back and say so; and he can have all the 

 space he wishes for his reply. When an 

 able correspondent like Mr. Hand says he 

 seldom finds any thing to criticise in our ed- 

 torials we feel complimented indeed. Per- 

 haps not all our readers will agree with him. 



Referring to the editorial in our issue for 

 June 1, page 389 last year, perhaps the read- 

 er will understand Mr. Hand's point of view 

 better if we introduce right here the sen- 

 tence or sentences to which exception is 

 taken. Here they are: 



If, on the other hand, one has had considerable ex- 

 perience in keeping bees, and wishes to manage a se- 



*See Gleanings for Aug. 15, page 488. 



ries of outyards for the production of either comb or 

 extracted honey, with a minimum of labor, he possibly 

 would do well to adopt the divisible-brood-chamber 

 hive. It is true it would cost some more for the same 

 comb surface, yet in the hands of the skilled bee-keep- 

 er it will produce some excellent results. But if foul 

 or black brood, or any other brood disease, bappens 

 to be in the locality we would never think of adopting 

 such a hive; for if one is likely to get one of these dis- 

 eases in his apiary, the divisible-brood chamber prop- 

 osition would be a fright, for it is not one that will per- 

 mit of the handling of all its frames with economy of 

 labor. 



We will explain by saying that we had in 

 mind not so much the trouble of treating a 

 colony that had foul brood as being able to 

 locate the disease in the first place in any 

 particular hive at its very incipiency. We 

 do not know how this can be accomplished 

 if foul brond is known to be in a yard (that 

 is, has broken out in some hives) without go- 

 ing over every inch of comb surface in every 

 hive at least once in ten days. Years ago, 

 when we had foul brood in our home yard, 

 we found it necessary to keep one man em- 

 ployed uu'ier a wire cloth cage examining 

 brood. Whenever he found any bad cells 

 he removed the comb, for our plan was to 

 catch the disease at its very start, to prevent 

 contamination of other hives near by. We 

 do not know of any way by which the actual 

 presence of foul brood in a divisible brood- 

 chamber hive can be definitely determined 

 except by examining every comb. Ordina- 

 rily speaking there will be twice as many 

 combs in such a hive to look over and handle 

 as there wuuld be in a hive of ordinary stan- 

 dard dimensions of full-depth frames. 



As to the Baldridge method of treatment, 

 this has the merit of saving all the brood 

 that is rood, and leaving the work of melt- 

 ing up the combs at some convenient time, 

 when the apiarist can take care of them to 

 the best advantage. It would not, in our 

 judgment, however, be a wise procedure for 

 a beginner or an unskilled person. For that 

 reason we believe that the ordinary McEvoy 

 treatment is better, because the source of 

 the infection is immediately removed. When 

 there is fresh honey in the combs they 

 should not be shaken but brushed. At this 

 point our cor respondent would proba'ily take 

 issue with us by saying that brushing and 

 shaking increase the probability of infection; 

 and that it would be better to follow the Bal- 

 dridge treatment that does not involve any 

 brushing or shaking. Right here there is a 

 chance for an honest difference of opinion. 

 —Ed.] 



A HISTORY OF THE BASSWOODS. 



American, European, and Other Species. 



BY J. E CRANE. 



On p 442, July, last year, is a letter from 

 W. J. Green calling attention to the differ- 

 ence in time of bloom in the European and 

 American basswoods, followed by A. I. 

 Root's reply. Having waited for nearly six 

 months for some one to reply, and not see- 

 ing any thing on the subject, I "take my 

 pen in hand " to see if I can throw any light 



