December, 1919 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



HEADS OF GRAIN lUi^^m M DIFFERENT FIELDS 



work was judged. Leonard Mangold of 

 Bennington received first prize. 



From the one-frame nucleus, he produced 

 two strong colonies of bees and 24 pounds 

 of comb honey. The cost of his equipment 

 to begin vrith was $12.50. The 24 pounds of 

 honey would easily sell for 40c a pound, 

 amounting to $9.60. The two colonies of 

 bees are easily worth $20.00, making a total 

 net income of $17.10 for the first year 's 

 work in beekeeping. M. D. Vreeland, Flor- 



ence, won second prize; T. E. Grau, Ben- 

 nington, third; Eggert Ohrt, Irvington, 

 fourth; and C. Clinton Dunn, Omaha, fifth. 



A larger club is anticipated next year. It 

 is the object of this club work to encourage 

 boys and girls to keep a few bees and han- 

 dle them in the most up-to-date manner. It 

 is possible for those youngsters not only to 

 produce sufiieient honey for home use, but 

 make money besides. 



Council Bluffs, Iowa. A. H. Dunn. 



Brood Diseases. — By Bill Mellvir 



With apologies to Walt Mason. 



Beekeeping 's going to the deuce; dis- 

 eases punk are breaking loose and microbes 

 swarming by the peck now get the young 

 bees in the neck. Bacillus- Larvae by the ton 

 is watching for a chance to run into our 

 hives to kill the brood and change it into 

 buzzard food. Bacillus Plutoii's in the air, 

 it lurks about us everywhere, and billions 

 of these yellow beasts, on larvae plump, are 

 having feasts. This poor old api- 

 cultural boat, these days can 

 scarcely keep afloat, and these 

 destructive microbes punk will 

 soon convert it into junk. 

 Such tales as these I hear 

 each day from some old time 

 bewhiskered jay who 's always 

 shooting off his lip about the 

 sinking of the ship. Cheer up! 

 We heard the same old knocks 

 when Langstroth steered us 

 by the rocks and Quinby told 

 us how to cure diseases by a 

 treatment sure. In Middle 

 Ages knockers beefed and said, 

 ' ' The sails must now be reef- 

 ed, for foul brood 's coming to 

 destroy the bees and take 

 from life its joy." And Vir- 

 gil heard the same old breeze 

 when he was working with his 

 bees, and writing with the 

 greatest care his book on bees, 

 that dope so rare. When Aris- 

 totle first described the brood 

 diseases, knockers cried: "The 

 stuff is off, it 's no use now, 

 there '11 be no honey for our 

 chow. ' ' And Noah heard it 

 as he nailed on moving screens 

 that night he sailed. They 

 said: "Why take the bees 

 along when brood diseases 

 put them wrong?" I fancy 

 Adam raised a fog and kicked 

 the cat and licked the dog, be- 

 cause a pesky brood disease 

 was working havoc with his 

 bees. Our ancestors who lived 

 in trees no doubt got off the 



same old wheeze. In gibbering monkey talk 

 they wdiined of brood diseases, every kind. 

 This good old ship will plunge ahead in spite 

 of bugs and microbes dread; in spite of 

 rusty grumbling hicks who register so many 

 kicks. So let us put our hammers down, let's 

 shed that unbecoming frown, and fight the 

 microbes like a. man and steer the ship the 

 best we can. 





This is Bill Mellvir himself, 





