1896 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



683 



SPILLED HOT WAX; A KIXK WORTH KNOWING. 



Did you ever spill hot melted wax on the 

 floor — your wife's nice kitchen floor — and then, 

 astounded, query how you did it, and then won- 

 der what was the best thing to do? Perhaps 

 you have let it cool, and then scraped it up 

 with a knife or scraper. You no doubt discov- 

 ered that it was almost impossible to get it all 

 up in this way, and that even then it had cling- 

 ing to it more or less dirt and woody fiber. 



A few months ago we were rendering in our 

 large wax-tank, preparatory to caking, some- 

 where about 1000 pounds. It suddenly sprung 

 a leak, and the wax spurted in all directions, 

 all over the floor. There was a hurly-burly, of 

 course; but Mr. Weed, the man who has made 

 such great strides in making foundation, and 

 who certainly is an expert in working wax, as 

 soon as he saw the mishap ran for a pail of cnUl 

 water, and threw it on the floor over the wax. 

 Several more were thrown on, and, presto! the 

 wax, being lighter, floated on the water; in a 

 couple minutes more it cooled in large thin cakes, 

 perfectly clean and nice. These thin slabs 

 were picked up and put among the good supply 

 of wax. In the mean time the leak had been 

 stopped. 



The next time you spill hot melted wax on 

 the floor, try dashing a pail of cold water on top 

 of it. 



had in seven years. Only two respondents 

 answer for Nebraska, and they both report 

 good seasons. One answers from North Dako- 

 ta, calling it fair. In our last number, New- 

 York was reported as having had an indifferent 

 season; for this issue it is reported from good 

 to fair. What was true of New York was also 

 true of Ohio. Pennsylvania, according to our 

 last issue, had a poor season. A larger number 

 answer for that State now, and all report, with 

 one exception, poor and very poor. Tennessee 

 is the same as the last issue reported; so also 

 are Vermont and Virginia. Utah is represent- 

 ed by two respondents, who call the season 

 very good. Wisconsin, not reported at all in 

 our last issue, is reported from fair to good. 



THE HONEY SEASON FOR THE UNITED STATES; 

 REVISED REPORT. 



In our last issue, it will be remembered, I could 

 give only a partial report, and from this report 

 it appeared the season was not as good as was 

 at first expected. Now that all the reports are 

 in, it appears that the season was a little better 

 than the partial report of our last issue made 

 it— particularly for some States. It appears 

 that the discouraging reports ,came first, and 

 the more favorable ones later. 



Taking the States in order, it would seem 

 from the latest advices that the season has 

 generally been good for Florida; same for 

 Georgia. In our last issue Illinois seemed to be 

 generally a failure, with the exception of Dr. 

 Miller's locality. Later advices confirm it. As 

 in our last issue, so in this, Indiana reports a 

 general failure. Iowa comes out in marked 

 contrast. With one exception, all the respond- 

 ents for that State report the season "good;"' 

 " very good;" " best known in years," etc. Only 

 one respondent answers for Kentucky, and 

 he calls the season there poor. The States in 

 their alphabetical order between Iowa and 

 Michigan are the same as reported in our pre- 

 vious issue. Michigan, generally reported as 

 having a poor season, in our last issue, is now 

 reported as having anywhere from good to a 

 fair season. 



The year has generally been good in Missouri ; 

 indeed, one man says it is the best they have 



DEAD BROOD, PICKLED BROOD, OR WHITE 



FUNGUS. 



A CERTAIN malady among bees has been notic- 

 ed by bee-keepers all over the country for the 

 past three or four years. It was no doubt 

 prevalent, more or less, before that lime, but 

 was probably confounded with and called foul 

 brood, which it greatly resembles. In our issue 

 for Aug. 15, page (i09, I spoke of its coming 

 more and more into prominence, and gave some 

 of the symptoms, and also expressed a hope that 

 some scientist with a good microscope would 

 give his attpntion to it. In the mean time it 

 seems that Dr. Wm. R. Howard, of Fort Worth, 

 Texas, the author of a most excellent work on 

 foul brood— the very best treatise, in my esti- 

 mation, that was ever published— has been 

 studying this peculiar disease, and now has 

 come out with an article with illustrations in 

 the American Bee Journal for Sept. 10. The 

 symptoms of the disease as he describes it ac- 

 cord very well with what I have noticed in our 

 own yard, and with dozens and dozens of 

 samples that have been sent us by mail from 

 all over the country, by bee-keepers, asking 

 whether it was foul brood. 



After a most thorough microscopic examina- 

 tion. Dr. Howard concludes that the cause of 

 the disease is " a species of aspergillus, a white 

 fungus or mold." As pollen is a favorable 

 medium in connection with the liquid food he 

 names \t Aspcrgltlus pollini: and then he goes 

 on to describe why and in what way its growth 

 aft'ects the larva. This is what he says: 



When pollen is added to the liquid food, which oc- 

 curs late in larval life, there being- a sweet seml- 

 litjuid mixture, tlie proper medium is present for 

 the growth of the fung-us, whicli at once starts a 

 ferment in the alimentary canal of liie larva, 

 breaking througli and permeating the entire li<iuids 

 of the body, giving an acid reaction (chemical anal- 

 ysis proves the presence of afetic acid, or vinegar). 

 This growth takes phice generally within three 

 days, the brood dies slowly, keeping up for some 

 time a wriggling motion. 



When no more food (sweets) is taken, the medium 

 , is soon e.xhausted and the fungus ceases to grow; 

 the acid condition of the brood prevents tlie growth 

 of putrefactive germs from the air, so that decom- 

 position does not take place, hence no foul odor; 

 the brood is pickkd in its own liquids. 



