178 



THF BEE-KEEPERS' REViJUW. 



luck that I had with one. The diseaee 

 spread from a single hive, and infected 

 everyone that I had, and I have never got 

 rid of it since. My theory is that robber 

 bees carry the germ. You know that some 

 bees are born thieves, and do nothing but 

 go from hive to hive trying to slip in. They 

 frequently get caught by the guards, and in 

 the great majority of cases, if they fail to 

 wriggle loose, the guards literally pick 

 them, gnawing the down off, until finally 

 the little scamp slips out of their clutches, 

 and in a minute is back again or off to try 

 the next hive. In this way robbers get that 

 slick, shiny appearance. The same cause, 

 by the way, produces the same appearance 

 in diseased bees, resulting from the guards 

 arresting sick individuals and picking them. 

 But while the robber always looks plump, if 

 the shiny bee looks emaciated it is the sign 

 of the presence of bee paralysis. Many 

 hives never show any further symptom than 

 this, as for some reason or other the malady 

 never progresses beyond that point in some 

 colonies. Well, these robber bees visit in- 

 fected hives, of course, and come in close 

 contact with sick bees, and perhaps get a 

 sip of the germ infected honey and carry it 

 home, to establish a new center of infection. 

 I would respectfully warn your experimenter 

 to carry on his experiments at a safe dis- 

 tance from bees that he wants to preserve. 

 I believe that, notwithstanding some writers 

 make light of the dangers of infection in 

 the northern localities of our country, the 

 disease will spread even there, and that it 

 will kill out or cripple colonies there in 

 many instances. I have learned lately that 

 at least one of the most prominent queen 

 breeders of the country has been nursing 

 some cases of bee paralysis that proved fatal 

 on his hands, and at the same time selling 

 queens, and in this way scattering the dis- 

 ease all over the country. He says that he 

 don't believe that it is infectious, and closes 

 his eyes to the experience of others, and 

 simply refuses to believe what others say. 

 Few people have time to study this matter 

 or to watch their bees closely. If the truth 

 were known 1 would venture to guess that 

 this very queen breeder has sent scores, per- 

 haps hundreds, of diseased queens all over 

 the country, and in that way tainted the 

 apiaries of the unwary and established new 

 centers of infection, from which the disease 

 will spread indefinitely. The truth is, a law 

 ought to be passed to prevent such reckless 



and obstinate disregard of the interests of 

 others. If the publishers of bee journals 

 would take the matter in hand and publish 

 a list of queen breeders who pledge them- 

 selves to exterminate hives that were in- 

 fected, they would do something towards a 

 mitigation of the evil. I have, as you know, 

 been trying to warn the public against this 

 danger, because I have had a pretty dearly 

 bought experience. Bat it is a single-handed 

 fight, and I have about concluded to give it 

 up in the future, as I get latterly no help, 

 and it is a thankless undertaking. The man 

 who sold me the diseased colony vows that 

 he has never had any diseased bees. If you 

 watch the bee journals, not a year passes 

 without a letter being published from some 

 inquirer who describes the symptoms of an 

 outbreak of the bee paralysis in his apiary, 

 and asks what is the matter. The truth is 

 that he has bought a queen lately from some 

 queen breeder who is nursing some colonies 

 of infected bees, and perhaps ruined his 

 neighbor's apiary. I sincerely hope that 

 your friend who has taken this matter in 

 hand will be successful in investigating the 

 disease, and if he can't find a remedy will 

 demonstrate its infectious character. I will 

 do all I can to help him. Please hand him 

 the letter. 

 SoKANTON, Miss. June 9, 1897. 



The Flavor and Aroma of Honey— When Are 

 They the Strongest ? 



m'knight. 



T HAVE been a 

 1 reader of the 

 Review since the 

 initial number was 

 sent out. Of the 

 many good arti- 

 cles it contains 

 none are more en- 

 joyed by me than 

 those of your re- 

 viewer Hasty. 

 Hitherto I have 

 not been quite sat- 

 isfied witli him in that he almost ignored 

 Canada as a part of the bee-keeping world. 

 He has, however, in some degree made 

 amends for former neglect by the attention 

 he has bc-towed on the proceedings of our 

 last convention held at Toronto. Speaking 

 of myself, he says on that occasion I " de- 



