1901 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



55 



the time I have had charge of the bee depart- 

 ment, I have found this statement literally true. 



During all the ) ears since he first began 

 keeping bees, ]\Ir. Popplelon has been a close 

 student, and exceedingly careful in drawing 

 conclusions^ — so much so that the Root Co. has 

 at various times had him conduct experiments 

 in advance of the season at the North, because 

 we knew we could rely on whatever he s^aid. 



Mr. Poppletou last season was r.iihcr moie 

 fortunate than most bee-beepers, for he had a 

 large crop of honey. Whether this was due 

 to his locality or to his careful management, I 

 can not say ; but I am inclined to believe that 

 the latter has very much to do with it. 



THE STATE CONVENTION OF NEW YORK — 

 SPRAYING DURING BLOOMING-TIME. 



I HAVE just come from a very important 

 meeting of the New York State Association of 

 Bee keepers' Societies. I will not attempt at 

 this time to give a report, but merely state 

 that two professors from the Geneva Experi- 

 ment Station were present, and gave us some 

 most valuable proof to the effect that spray- 

 ing during blooming-time is not only detri- 

 mental to the development of pollen, but does 

 most decidedly cut down the output of fruit. 

 But more of this anon. 



BLACK BROOD, AND HOW TO CURE. 



I had quite a talk with the New York foul- 

 brood inspectors, and from them I received 

 further assurance that black brood was being 

 rapidly brought under control, although they 

 admitted there were some sections where the 

 disease had done some destructive work the 

 past season, and that it would probably break 

 out again the coming season. But the most 

 interesting fact to me was that the McEvoy 

 treatment, such as has been prescribed ior/oul 

 brood would, when carefully administered, 

 also cure black brood. Mr. Stewart believed 

 that the reason the treatment had proved a 

 failure was because the bee-keepers in some 

 cases had not bten careful enough to disinfect 

 their persons and clothing, and had been a 

 little careless in letting bees get at diseased 

 combs or infected honey. He did not believe 

 the disease was any more difficult to cure than 

 foul brood. The first sympt< ms of black 

 brood, he explained, were usually a yellow 

 spot about the center of the coil of the larva. 

 In some cases the whole grub would have a 

 yellowish cast. The larva would appe r to 

 act as if something was the matter with it — 

 wiggle and squiim around. The spo' would 

 grow larger until the whole larva was yellow. 

 It would then die and turn brown. The dead 

 matter would not p pe. It might string out a 

 quarter of an inch or so, but never ]i,^e io' 1 

 biood. Black brood has a sour, yeas y smell. 

 Another importan'. characteristic wt-s iHat the 

 larvae of black brood usually died before be- 

 ing capptfd, while in foul brood the reverse 

 was tiue. 



As to pickled brood, it looked very much 

 like black brood, but the dead matter was 

 more watery. At tim s ih re woi^l I be a 

 fungus or mold on it which is never found on 

 black brood. 



THE ONTARIO BEE KEEPERS' CONVENTION 

 AT NIAGARA FALLS. 



As I have already stated, this was not large- 

 ly attended, but the discussions and general 

 interest were of the very best. I arrived one 

 day late, just in time to hear the report of 

 Wm McEvoy, Inspector of Api iries. From 

 that report I have made a digest as follows : 



During 1900 he visited bee yards in 13 coun- 

 ties. He inspected 100 apiaries, and found 

 foul brood in 33 of them, and dead brood of 

 other kinds in many others which had been 

 mistaken for foul brood. The first thing he 

 did when he entered a locality was to pick out 

 the best bee keeper in it and get him to take 

 him from place to place so that he could see 

 how he managed the business, and, if requir- 

 ed, would make a valuable witness. He did 

 this for the last ten years, and kept up a cor- 

 respondence with the most of them, and by 

 this means he always knew pretty well how 

 all were getting on at the curing. At this 

 work he burned a good deal of midnight oil, 

 and sometimes he wrote all night and part of 

 the n ext morning Sometimes death and sick- 

 ness in families delayed the curing ; and in all 

 places where he found this to be the case he 

 went and did the curing himself. 



Since he was first appointed inspector, Mr. 

 McEvoy has had thousands of diseased colo- 

 nies cured of foul brood, and very many apia- 

 ries that were once in a bad state with foul 

 brood have not only been cured but have giv- 

 en some of the largest average yields of honey 

 of any ever taken in the Province of Ontario. 

 One of the treated apiaries gave an average of 

 200 pounds of clover and basswood honey per 

 colony, and 50 per cent increase in bees, and 

 had plenty of clover and basswood honey left 

 in the hives to winter the bees. This yield 

 was taken in a locdlity where no buckwheat 

 was grown. 



Every bee-keeper visited during the past 

 season treated him in the most courteous and 

 generous way. 



I regret that I am unable to give even a pass- 

 ing mention of the other valuable papers that 

 were read. But there was one paper or ad- 

 dress from Dr. Fletcher, of the Experiment 

 Farm, Ottawa, that was listened to with the 

 closest attention, more especially as it related 

 to a vital subject ; namely, the question of 

 bees in orchards, and whether they injure 

 fruit or not. He said that the subject had 

 doubtless been discussed by the council, ow- 

 ing to the great lawsuits which were now at- 

 tracting the attention of the bee-keepers in 

 the United States and Canada. The case of 

 Mr. Sparling, which had only yesterday been 

 given in his favor, and the case of the Utter 

 brothers, of Amity, N. Y., had been watched 

 carefully, as it was thought that these would 

 be taken as precedents. He pointed out the 

 advantage of every member of the Association 

 keeping well posted in all matters bearing di- 

 rectly upon the subject of whether it is possi- 

 ble for bees to injure fruit or not. It had been 

 claimed in both of these cases that several 

 things which every bee-keeper knew were ut- 

 terly impossible had been done. He was nei- 

 ther a bee-keeper nor a fruit-grower, but he 



