1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



677 



We know what fire will do; and my own 

 notion is that a bonfire would be cheaper to 

 apply than any concoction of drug^s we 

 could get up. But a drug- is useful when it 

 will kill the bacilli, even if it will not kill 

 the spores; and we make it a practice to al- 

 ways put naphthol beta in the sj'rup to be 

 fed to bees. It costs little or nothing-, and 

 prevents foul brood from getting- into such 

 an active state as to be positively dang-er- 

 ous in the vicinity. P^ormaliu ma}' accom- 

 plish the same thing; but I am still of the 

 opinion I would not rely on an 3' drug- to kill 

 the spores, even if it did kill the bees. But 

 I am almost ]>osifi\e it would have almost 

 no eflFect on snores. Coiling- temperature is 

 about 212. The heat of an ordinary wood 

 flame is about 975 degrees. When that is 

 applied to the inside of a hive to such an 

 extent that the wood is blackened in every 

 crack and crevice, I think we may be rea- 

 sonably sure the spores are destroyed. But 

 if you take the view of Mr. McEvoy it is 

 not necessary to disinfect hives. Recently 

 at one of our o\it_vards we took two old hives 

 that we 1houi,rht h^d contained foul brood 

 and had not been disinfected. Healthy col- 

 onies were put in them, partly for experi- 

 ment, partly because we did not wish to g-o 

 to the trouble to disinfect double- walled 

 hives, and partly because McEvoy said it 

 was not necessary. Both of those hives 

 subsequently developed foul brood. I can 

 not help feeling that it is best to err on the 

 safe side. About two minutes of time will 

 enable one to disinfect any hive, inside and 

 out, if held oyer a flame. If there were 200 

 1 lives, to make liberal allowance it might 

 take half a day; but what is half a daj^'s 

 time compared with running chances of 

 having foul brood? There, I am running 

 off from my question; but having seen the 

 results of foul brood, I am getting to be 

 quite a crank on it; and I believe it is my 

 duty, occupying as I do this position in 

 this journal, to keep on preaching disinfec- 

 tion when it costs little or nothing, and we 

 positively know of a simple and sure way 

 that will remove all sources of disinfection; 

 for we never know whether, in shaking or 

 removing the frames, we have caused honey 

 to drop from diseased combs on to the in- 

 side of the hive. — Ed.] 



y. //. , A/ass. — Unless honey is coming in 

 pretty briskly and unless, too, the colony 

 itself is very strong, the bees would not go 

 into the comb-honey super, even though 

 they might apparently be working, flying 

 in and out of the entrance, and even though 

 there might be acres of white clover and 

 other flowering plants. The honey-flow 

 must be strong, and the hive must be boil- 

 ing over with bees of the right age. The 

 cover must be tight, and the super warm. 

 In localities subject to cool nights it may be 

 advisable to put a protecting case over and 

 around the super. You will find full par- 

 ticulars regarding these conditions under 

 " Comb Honey," in our ABC book. 



iNeighbonsJieldj 



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^mocf. 



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Summer days cut .short their course, 



Seeming scarce betun ; 

 Chilly nights, autumnal sounds, 



Follow south-bound sun. 



xHi 



Mr. F. J. Root, of New York, in writing 

 to the Progressive Farmer, of Raleigh, N. 

 C, speaks of the great benefit that would 

 accrue to the health of the nation by a more 

 liberal use of rice. Of the rice lands of 

 the United States, only a third is now used 

 for that purpose. In speaking of honey in 

 this connection he says, "Honey, too, is not 

 found on the table half as often as it ought 

 to be. It has been regarded as a high- 

 priced luxury, while it ought to be a regu- 

 lar staple article. We are too much given 

 over to pork and potatoes." By the way, 

 if there is a culinary Damon and Pythias 

 it is honey on rice. It is one of the finest 

 combinations that can be had. 



Of 



What bee-men are suffering in Australia 

 will be apparent from the following extract 

 from a private letter sent to a friend of 

 mine, who forwards it to me : 



what pastoralists and stock^owners are going to 

 do should the drouth continue, God only knows. 

 Throughout the western districts, places where dams 

 and waterholes have retained their moisture year in 

 and year out for twenty years are now dry and dusty 

 wastes, and for hundreds of miles the entire face of 

 the country is completely bare of every vestige of veg- 

 etation, save, perhaps, a few trees of stunted growth, 

 and even upon these the leaves and branches hang 

 dull and limp. Queensland is almost as bad. Our 

 flocks and herds are little more than bags of bones, 

 panting and trembling for food and water. The 

 ubiquitous hare and rabbit, as well as the kangaroo, 

 have fallen victims to the ever-present famine. 



\»/ 



The Chicago and Northwestern Railway 

 has the following to say to "the boys" in 

 its employ : 



Cleanliness and neatness are important factors in 

 the railroading of to-day, and these considerations 

 alone are sufficient warrant for a prohibition of the 

 use of tobacco by employees when on duty. We desire 

 that our employees shall not make our property dis- 

 gusting to travelers by the use of tobacco, and them- 

 selves steeped by tobacco-poison while on duty. I 

 believe, however, that the use of tobacco by railroad 

 men is fast decreasing, and the time will come when 

 a tobacco-iiser will be as unwelcome in the transporta- 

 tion departments of the railroads as a drunkard is now. 



Corncerniug this matter the Ram's Horn 

 saj's : 



Young men who are contracting the tobacco habit 

 in any form, or who take liquor as a beverage, or 

 associate with those w ho do, may as well give up all 

 hope of entering business life. They are not wanted. 

 The door of success is shut before they approach its 

 thieshold. 



And yet nearly everj' man and bo}^ in the 

 United States and Europe uses the weed. 



