June, 1916. 



201 



American ^gc Journal] 



<v? 



katchewan and Alaska, and southward 

 to Georgia and Alabama. (Yny/onni 

 virgitiica is one of the most widely 

 scattered of American wild flowers and 

 may be expected in woodlands almost 

 anywhere except the extreme southern 

 States. The bees have sought it very 

 eagerly on the few days when they 

 could By during its early period of 

 bloom. It was just at its best when 

 fruit bloom opened and there was bet- 

 ter pasturage ^to be had. All the bees 

 which the writer observed at work on 

 this plant seemed to be gathering pol- 

 len only. 



VIRGINIA WATERLEAF. 



The Virginia waterleaf, Hydrophyl- 

 Itim virginicmn, does not bloom until 

 after the fruit blossoms are gone and 

 so has less competition for attention 

 than some other plants that come into 

 bloom during the same period. It 

 blooms abundantly and grows luxuri- 

 antly in moist woods. The bees have 

 been so eager for the blossoms of this 

 plant in the writer's wild garden and in 

 the surrounding woods for several 

 years past, that he has come to regard 

 it as quite a valuable honey-plant, 

 although nowhere so listed as far as 

 can be learned. Figure 81 shows the 

 blossom and leaf of this plant while 

 Fig. 82 shows masses of the plants in 

 bloom. Apiaries in the vicinity of 

 woodlands should find this plant of 

 considerable value, judging from the 

 writer's limited observation. 



Atlantic, Iowa. 

 Copyright: ioi6. by Frank C. Pellett. 



European Foulbrood 



LETTER BV W. S. PANGBURN TO DR. MILLER. 



DEAR DR. MILLER:— The method 

 you used in treating European 

 •foulbrood in those two colonies 

 in your article on " Foulbrood at Dr. 

 Miller's," in American Bee Journal 

 (raising the brood-nest and putting the 



FIG. a,..— BEE GATHERING POLLEN FROM SPRI.NG BEAUTIES 



queen below on clean combs), was a 

 failure with me with but few exceptions. 

 Did you ever try that again ? If so, 

 what success ? I had no confidence in 

 it from the very nature of the treat- 

 ment, and it is the first thing I 

 ever questioned from you. I have 

 had the best success in caging the 

 queen for 10 days and then give a 

 clean set of combs and raise the old 

 brood-nest and use it for extracting. 

 Of course, every one would not have 

 the combs, but I think it safer to take 

 away the old brood-nest whenever pos- 

 sible. U seems there is no European 

 foulbrood after these combs are filled 

 with honey and extracted, at least I 



FIG. 7P.-THE BLOODROOT BLOOMS EARLY WHEN BOTH NECTAR AND 



POLLEN ARE SCARCE 



Fig. ai.— Blossom of Virginia Waterleaf 



have found it so. I have also found 

 diseased combs can be put on top of 

 clean colonies provided there is no 

 larv?e in them to feed a queen-excluder 

 and a clean body betiveen the brood-nest 

 and diseased body, get them cleaned up, 

 filled with honey, and not transmit the 

 disease below. 



I have yet to find one single instance 

 where I thought the queen was to 

 blame for the disease, and I have done 

 all I could to bring this about. Until I 

 am shown differently I will retain the 

 idea that in the vast majority of cases 

 the nurse bees are to blame for the 

 spread of the disease. I have some 

 proof for this last statement that I will 

 not explain here. I may be wrong, 

 however; I hai'e been before. 



European foulbrood cost me some- 

 thing last summer because my bees 

 were getting the disease from other 



