January. 1919 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



gas consumed, 80 cents; three boilers scrap- 

 ped, about $2 secondhand vahiation; jitney 

 fares, 50 cents; to say nothing of the loss 

 of my jelly bags, all for a cake of wax that 

 one could buy for 20 cents. Of course, that 

 was not all. There was sufficient to wax the 

 kitchen floor, had not the diabolical stuff 

 been carried on our shoes to other parts of 

 the house. 



' ' My old doctor tells me there is nothing 

 so restful to the nerves of a harassed wom- 

 an as scrubbing. That may be true; but 

 just between us, Old Diary Book, I have 

 ordered the plumber to extend the gas pipe 

 into the basement and attach thereto a gas 

 plate." 



These records disclose the fact that a 

 wax-extractor was purchased for the re- 

 mainder of the wax-rendering. The season 's 

 crop amounted to 20 pounds from the melt- 

 ing of old and broken combs, and the cap- 

 pings from 32 combs of honey — in all, 320 

 ounces. Allowing i^ ounce each for the 32 

 combs extracted, or 16 ounces, would leave 

 304 ounces from 144 old and broken combs, 

 or, 2 1-9 ounces each. 



It is an interesting fact that difficulty 

 was experienced in removing from the hives 

 old dark-colored combs for melting, be- 

 cause the queen invariably used them for 

 brood-rearing in preference to new clean 

 fully drawn combs. The combs were finally 

 removed by placing them over queen-ex- 

 cluders until the brood hatched. 



Despite the dead bees, cocoons, propolis, 

 and the dirt that the senior member was at 

 a loss to name, the residue of the old combs, 

 accumulated from the melting in the solar 

 extractor, proved to be an excellent fuel. It 

 makes a quick hot fire. It gives a flame 

 like burning fat. It is especially useful as 

 kindling, and while still damp from the wax- 

 extractor, this mixture, known as slum-gum, 

 may be put in small wooden boxes, pressed 

 down and dried in the sun, and later chop- 

 ped out in chunks when required for use. 



So, even in the winter months, the cheer- 

 ful glow from the family hearth is a con- 

 tinual reminder of one's erstwhile summer 

 friends, the Honeybees. C. D. Stuart. 



Los Gates, Calif. 



IS IT A SAFE PRACTICE? 



A Mild Treatment for American Foul Brood That 

 Has Proved Successful 



In 1916 I wrote you that I had cured a 

 colony of bees that was in the incipient 

 stage of American foul brood, by cutting out 

 the cells that were diseased. These cells 

 were limited to three and all on the same 

 comb. You wrote me 'to watch results next 

 year, as I might not have removed all the 

 infected, honey, and the disease might break 



out again. However, the cure was perfect. 



Now, I am going to tell you another one 

 that some of your most severe critics may 

 object to before investigation. 



It is generally conceded that American 

 foul brood is the most dreaded of all the 

 diseases that bees are subject to, not that 

 it is hard to get rid of, but valuable combs 

 and the benefit of that particular colony as 

 a honey-producer for that year are lost. It 

 certainly disheartens one when he finds a 

 few cells diseased in a splendid colony of 

 bees, thinking the only remedy is to shake 

 them on foundation and destroy all combs in 

 that hive. I am now going to tell you how 

 I have absolutely cured four colonies dis- 

 eased with American foul brood, with the 

 loss of only the individual combs diseased, 

 and I still retained the full use of these 

 colonies as honey-producers. 



Within a radius of one mile from my api- 

 ary there are many colonies of bees in lots 

 of from one to five, about all diseased with 

 American foul brood. Thru the kindness 

 and vigilance of the State entomologist, we 

 got busy and made a clean-up, and I had 

 to keep an eye on my bees almost daily for 

 a time to see that no disease was present. 

 In early June I discovered that four colo- 

 nies out of twenty were diseased, and, as 

 the infected cells were confined to three 

 combs each in two hives, and two combs 

 each in two hives, I decided to apply the 

 "nursery" method. This consisted in plac- 

 ing these diseased combs, bees and all (be- 

 ing sure not to take any of the queens), in 

 an empty hive. This I did about sundown 

 with as little fuss as possible. I then 

 moved all the combs in the former diseased 

 colonies close together, put in dummies on 

 the sides, and closed up the hives. The next 

 day the working bees of the newly made 

 diseased hive went to their respective 

 homes; but there were enough young bees 

 left to take care of the unsealed larvae, and 

 within a few days this nursery hive was 

 running over with young bees. As soon as 

 all were hatched, I shook them on full sheets 

 of foundation, and the trick was finished. 

 The old colonies went right ahead as if 

 nothing had happened to them, and piled up 

 a nice surplus, and in none of the colonies 

 did the disease reappear. 



I have just finished taking a nice shallow 

 super of honey from my nursery colony, 

 which, I am sure, if added to the surplus I 

 have taken from the old colonies, would 

 bring the average up to normal. I allowed 

 this nursery colony to rear a queen to suit 

 themselves, and they have done a good job 

 of it, for she is now laying well. In fact, 

 this nursery colony is one of the very best 

 in my apiary. 



What have I gained by this ' ' nursery ' ' 

 method? Let us figure a little. I lost only 

 10 diseased combs^ instead of 10 diseased 



