242 



August, 1^:2. 



American "Bac Journal j 



say that 10 percent was starved brood 

 and 'JO percent European foul brood, 

 I would not have a word to say, for 

 that is the way we have found it in 

 Illinois. 



If an inexperienced man had made 

 that statement instead of Mr. McEvoy, 

 I would say that he was not posted, but 

 just guessed at it. 



Putnam, 111. 



Starved Brood and European 

 Foul Brood in Canada 



BY F. E. MILLEN, 

 .Ifii.irv hnt'fi-lor for the Olliiwci I'.illcy. 

 I have read your correspondence on 

 European foul brood, pickled and 

 starved brood, by Mr. McEvoy and 

 others. I think Mr. McEvoy makes 

 statements that are extreme, and which 

 cannot be verified. I refer to two : • 

 First, "That 00 percent of the so- 

 called European foul brood is starved 

 brood." . 



Second, "That by keeping pure Ital- 

 ian bees, and giving them proper man- 

 agement, none of these kinds of dead 

 brood will be found among them." 



At one time it may have been true 

 that 00 percent of the so-called Euro- 

 pean foul brood was starved 'brood, 

 but Mr. McEvoy forgets that time and 

 European foul brood do not stand 

 still, and I feel sure that 0."i percent of 

 the so-called European foul brood in 

 Ontario today is the genuine article. 



Starved brood never possesses that 

 sickening odor, neither does it have 

 that greasy appearance so common to 

 foul brood larvx. Then, if the weather 

 has been wet and cold, so that food 

 has become scarce, one would look 

 closer and make a more careful diag- 

 nosis than if the weather had been Ime. 

 Again, starved brood is cleaned out 

 more quickly by the bees than is the 

 dead brood from European foul brood. 

 From the virulent nature of the dis- 

 ease, we can almost always find it in 

 every colony in the yard, when once 

 present, whereas starved brood would 

 not be found in colonies with lots of 

 stores. Then, too, the scales of Euro- 

 pean foul brood are smaller than those 

 of starved brood ; in fact, starved brood 

 is scarcely ever left in the cells until it 

 becomes a scale, as the bees begin 

 cleaning it out the first fine day ; where- 

 as, with the liuropean foul brood they 

 sometimes leave tlie hive rather than 

 clean out the diseased larvK. 



The reason why European foul brood 

 sometimes disappears in a heavy honey- 

 How is that the nurse-bees do not touch 

 any of the old stores, but feed the 

 fresh honey, which is not so liable to 

 be contaminated. Next season, if the 

 old stores are fed, the disease makes 

 its reappearance. This is why so many 

 fail to cure the disease when they re- 

 (lueen, but do not remove stores. 



Mr. McEvoy says that by keepmg 

 pure Italians, with proper management, 

 „,»:. of these kinds of dead brood will 

 be present. This is true of starved 

 brood only, as by proper management 

 the black bees can also be saved from 

 getting starved brood; but if the 

 spores of the disease of luiropean foul 

 brood are present, the Italians will 

 surely show the disease, and, if not 



treated, in some cases will die out. 

 It is true that by careful and continu- 

 ous selection Italian-- will stand up bet- 

 ter against the disease, but that they 

 are not immune is plainly evident. I 

 could take him to yards that were re- 

 queened as long as 4 years ago, and 

 the bees are all pure Italians yet, and 

 this season European foul brood is 

 present. 



While it is misleading to the begin- 

 ner to state that Italians are imnume, 

 they should be told that though Euro- 

 pean foul brood may break out, if they 

 will ci>nsla>il/y rc-quon, and that only 

 from their best colonies and new 

 blood, and keep none but the most 

 vigorous, young Italian queens in their 

 colonies, then they have done all they 

 can. By careful watching they need 

 never be wiped out by European foul 

 brood, though a little of, the disease 

 will sometimes show up. 



Mr. McEvoy's plan of removing dis- 

 eased colonies to remote places to be 

 treated is hardly practicable these days, 

 as there are bees almost everywhere. 

 It is not right or fair to other bee- 

 keepers to have diseased bees pass 

 through their district. All diseased 

 colonies should be treated where they 

 are as early as possible, and fed if 

 necessary to preserve their existence. 



Leonard, Ont. 



Samples of Dead Brood 



IIV WM. m'eVOY. 



When I wrote that 00 percent of the 

 so-called ICuropean foul brood was 

 nothing but starved brood, I had in 

 mind the samples that came through 

 the mail to me. I found starved brood 

 in samples out of 10 that were sent 

 to me. 



When I wrote that article it was to 

 show the general condition or propor- 

 tion of the difTerent kinds of dead 

 brood founil, and not to dispute the 

 findings of the great experts such as 

 Messrs. N. E. France, W. D. Wright, 

 N. D. West, Charles Stewart, A. L. Kil- 

 dow, I. E. Pyles, or any of the inspec- 

 tors. I forgot to mention Dr. C. C. 

 Miller, a man that I greatly respect, I 

 was not disputing anything he wrote. 



Pickled brood should be called 

 xlarvid brinnl. It is about l!0 years 

 since I found the cause of the bees let- 

 ting some of their brood starve. VVhen 

 on my rounds inspecting apiaries I 

 always pointed out the difference be- 

 tween ictll fed, half fed, and slay-.\-d 

 hroitil ill Ike same cowIk I found more 

 or less in every locality every spring, 

 between fruit bloom and clover. 



Woodburn, Ont. 



Starved and Dead Brood 



IIY 1. K. I'Yl.ES, 

 AiiisUiiil ■'<tate liisj^eelor ol lUlimh. 



On page 148 of the American Bee 

 Journal, Mr. McEvoy writes: "Please 

 give it out that I say that 00 percent of 

 the so-called European foul brood is 

 starved brood." It makes nn difference 

 about the percent, whether it is W or 

 00. Of course, it could be verified, if 

 true, by the department at Washington. 

 But we all agree as to the description 



of European foul brood; such being 

 the case, how can any one make a 

 mistake and call starved brood I'.uro- 

 pean foul brood .'' Of course, I can 

 readily understand how people who 

 have had no experience will call any 

 dead brood foul brood, but that those 

 having experience should make a mis- 

 take of this kind is beyond my compre- 

 hension. 



In starved brood the larva? never 

 turn yellow, and invariably the adult 

 bees suck the juices away and throw 

 out the skin of the larva, which is 

 always white. In pickled brood the 

 juice is never sucked out, because it is 

 always sour. In starved brood there is 

 scarcely any honey, and none unsealed 

 in the hive, while in European foul 

 brood it makes no difference as to the 

 amount of honey. 



I have read in convention reports 

 that Mr. McEvoy said, in talking of 

 pickled brood, that in most cases it 

 was caused by starvation, and it is just 

 possible that is what he meant instead 

 of European foul brood, at least that is 

 what I prefer to think he meant. 



Putnam, 111. 



The Winter's Lesson 



BY J. i:. cR.\Ni;. 



A letter from a prominent bee- 

 keeper in Michigan tells of the loss of 

 half or two-thirds of the bees of that 

 State, and doubtless this is true to a 

 considerable extent through the North, 

 also in a large number of yards in this 

 State (Vermont). But what often seems 

 a misfortune may prove a blessing. 

 The loss of colonies may mean the 

 "survival of the fittest," or those best 

 adapted to their environment. It gives 

 the bee-keeper plenty of opportunity 

 for an intelligent investigation of the 

 whole subject. 



As I fto around in the springtime in 

 the sharp, bracing air of the season, with 

 a few early flowers just open, and look 

 over the bees, how my enthusiasm 

 rises, and the blood tingles to my finger 

 tips as I discover some new fact, or 

 learn how to better care for the tiny 

 little creatures. 



Even the finding of an occasional 

 swarm that has died has its lesson, if 

 I am only able to interpret aright the 

 conditions that have caused the loss. 



Doubtless the severity of the past 

 winter has had much to do with these 

 lessons, but I doubt if it is the primary 

 cause. I have observed for many years 

 that bees winter much better after a 

 season of an abundant crop of honey, 

 and poorly after a season when the 

 flowers have yielded but little nectar, 

 whether the winter is severe or other- 

 wise. 



It would seem extravagant to say 

 that poor honey seasons are the cause 

 of all our winter losses, and yet 1 have 

 for many years been of the opinion 

 that they were the main cause. The 

 fact that many colonies wear them- 

 selves out, or, at least, weaken their 

 vitality very rapidly searching for food 

 when no honey, or, but little, is to be 

 found, while others rear less brood 

 during .August and September than 

 when honey is abundant in the fields 

 or in the hives, and the (|uality of it 

 often in such seasons inferior, has 



