1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



565 



The combs which were shipped in open hive- 

 bodies in the first place, and which gave rise to 

 foul brood in an apiary that was perfectly 

 healthy previously, should at least have been 

 examined before being shipped. I will assume 

 that thfi party who sent them was ignorant 

 of the presence of foul brood in them; but, 

 ignorant or not, it seems to me he should be 

 prosecuted to the full extent of the law, to 

 teach him a lesson; at all events, I think it 

 would be wise for any one who buys combs to 

 examine them carefully before using them. If 

 they come from an apiary whose owner is 

 slipshod in his methods I would not take them 

 at any price, especially if foul brood had been 

 in the vicinity, or was likely to be. It seems 

 that the party who shipped the combs to our 

 bee-keeping friend in the first place was warn- 

 ed to be very careful. In view of that warning, 

 the fullest penalty of the law is none too good 

 for him. 



The bee-keeper having just acquired the 

 disease in his out-apiary asks what we think of 

 his methods of procedure— cutting out diseased 

 spots in the combs; of entii'ely destroying such 

 as were badly affected; and finally of isolating 

 all cases so treated, in a location by themselves. 

 The plan is all right; but to be on the safe side 

 I would see that all such honey, and, in fact, 

 any of the honey coming from that yard, even 

 though the colonies from which it was taken 

 appear to be perfectly healthy, be boiled, or at 

 least be kept at a temperature of ISO degrees 

 for two or three hours. We always want, for 

 safety's sake, to assume that the honey that 

 has been extracted from colonies in the vicinity 

 of foul brood may contain the germs of the 

 disease. If it is put on sale at the market there 

 is quite a liability that bees in the vicinity 

 will get a few sips at it, and then away goes 

 the contagion in a new locality. 



With regard to cutting out diseased spots 

 from the combs containing here and there a 

 little infection, this may be all right as a tem- 

 porary expedient; but I have rather the Im- 

 pression, from reports received, that the disease 

 is quite liable to reappear in such colonies. I 

 see no reason why it should not. To make a 

 sure thing of it, I think putting the bees into 

 clean hives, or one that has been thoroughly 

 boiled, on frames of foundation, and compelling 

 them to draw some of the foundation out be- 

 fore feeding, is the only real safe way. If 

 there are only two or three colonies in the yard 

 so affected, they should be all so treated; but 

 when the disease gets such a fearful headway, 

 and honey is coming in, perhaps the temporary 

 expedient of cutting out the diseased spots 

 would do during the honey-flow; and after that 

 time I would certainly extract all the honey 

 after the brood-rearing had ceased, or largely 

 so; give them frames of foundation, and feed 

 the honey back; or, better yet, after it has been 

 boiled; or, better yet, clean syrup. I am not 



satisfied that medicating it with any sort of 

 drug is an advantage or may be. 



THE FIVE-BANDED BEES. 



DEDICATED TO DK. MILLER 



By J. H. MarMcy. 



{Air :—Bra nigan's Pup.) 



Old Mr. Doolittle had some fine bees, 



A cross from the very best strains; 

 For seventeen years lie had bred them with care. 



And spared neither money nor pains. 

 Tliey had the least bit of a stump for a sting. 



And yet had a very long tongue; 

 Large bodies, strong legs, and very large wings. 



They went to the field very young. 

 Choiiis after eacli verse: 



Buzz-a-buzz-buzz what wonderful bees! 



For beauty they surely would please. 

 There never was known such workers before. 



As Doolittle's flve-banded bees. 



They worked'on red clover with perfect success; 



Were busy from morning till night; 

 They made lots of surplus when other bees 

 starved ; 

 Their debut was hailed with delight. 

 Their queens were prollflc— remarkably so — 



Laid eggs with wonderful haste; 

 For beauty no other queens could excel— 

 Wore five bands of gold round their waist. 

 Chonis: 



They found their way to the Home of the Bees, 



To show that they were just the thing; 

 When Ernest got after them with a sharp stick — 



He said, " The five-banders will sting'." 

 He said that, as workers, they didn't excel; 



Their " gold plate" was not worth a pin, 

 They winter-killed worse than the "leather- 

 backed" strains; 

 Now, wasn't that truly a sin. 

 Chorus: 



Bee-keepers turned over to Ernest one day, 

 And each of some point would complain; 

 And thus did the people with wonderful thud 



Sit down on the flve-banded strain. 

 Some said they were lazy; some said they were 

 cross. 

 And some e'en their beauty decried. 

 They died otf in winter, they dwindled in spring. 

 And thus the poor five-banders died! 

 Chorus : — 

 Carbondale, Kan. 



[I am sorry I can't rhyme in my answer to you; 

 but my "sharp stick," I think, never got after 

 Doolittle's five-banders. His strains (and I 

 saw them in his own yard) were not cross. 

 They appeared to be good breeders; and that 

 they were good workers I had no reason to 

 doubt. I did not criticise Doolittle's strain or 

 that of any one else who bred them carefully 

 from purely Italian stock; but the tendency of 

 some who turn their sole attention to color. A 

 strictly five-banded colony is rare, and hard to 

 get, even if we eliminate all other desirable 

 qualities out of account; and in order to fill 

 orders according to color and marking, every 

 thing else was apt to be lost sight of. The 

 mere fact that reports from all quarters showed 

 that the craze for color was giving us bees cross 

 and short-lived (that is, poor winterers), shows 

 that there was good ground for my protest. I 

 do not object to color if we do not sacrifice 

 other qualities that go to make up the bread- 

 and-butter side of bee-keeping.— Ed.J 



