452 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Aug. 1 



was to eliminate any possibility of disease 

 lurking in the combs. We meant, of course, 

 that we would prrctice the shake out plan, 

 putting the queen below. 



Quite a number have written, asking what 

 we meant, saying they would suppose, of 

 course, that black brood could be carried 

 down through the zinc back into the new 

 combs built from foundation. 



Confession is good for the soul; and we 

 acknowledge that, when we used the term 

 "a queen-excluder," in the last paragraph, 

 first column, on page 399, we meant a bee- 

 escape board, for we had in mind a modifica- 

 tion of the Baldridge treatment— a treatment 

 that saves all the good brood in an affected 

 colony. 



The exact plan, in brief, as Mr. Baldridge 

 gave it in 1894, is this: A frame of brood and 

 bees is taken from some healthy colony, plac- 

 ed in an empty hive, and the remaining space 

 on both sides is filled out with frames of 

 foundation. This hive is put on the stand of 

 the diseased colony to be treated, which is 

 moved to one side with the entrance point- 

 ing in the same direction, »nd as near as it 

 is possible to have it. A long, tapering, per- 

 forated tube attached to the entrance of the 

 old colony closes out all means of ingress and 

 exit except through this tube. It is, in fact, 

 a bee-escape. The queen of the parent col- 

 ony is caged for 24 nours, when she is put 

 onto the frame of brood in the hive put on 

 the old stand. The bees in the parent colo- 

 ny will gradually abandon the old hive through 

 the bee-escape and enter the new; so also 

 the hatched brood that is not affected with 

 the disease. 



We understand that Mr. Baldridge claimed 

 he not only cured foul-broody colonies in 

 this way, but saved all the good brood. But 

 many believed at the time that there would 

 be danger, from the constant accessions of 

 the diseased colony into the new hive, of 

 foul brood being carried into the newly drawn 

 combs, consequently the plan was not very 

 generally adopted. 



The main thought we had was treating all 

 colonies, whether diseased or not, and melt- 

 ing up all the combs in the yard after all the 

 brood had hatched out. The plan was all 

 right — that is, providing the Baldridge meth- 

 od is effective, and it certainly would do no 

 harm, and probably eliminate the possibility 

 of disease breaking out in what were appar- 

 ently healthy colonies; but in view of some 

 protests to theeffect that infection might be 

 carried below we would now advise adminis- 

 tering the McEvoy treatment, using only 

 starters, on all colonies known to be diseas- 

 ed, and then treat others on the modified 

 Baldridge plan. 



FOUL-BROOD LEGISLATION IN ILLINOIS. 



1""0R several years back the bee-keepers of 

 I llinois have been trying to amend their pres- 

 ent foul-brood law so that it can become ef- 

 fective; but every time they would get a bill 

 well under way before the legislature, some 

 bee-keeper would go before the committee 

 or committees havmg the matter in charge 



and make a statement that foul brood is in- 

 curable, and that there is no need of legisla- 

 tion; that the people who were back of this 

 movement were either after some fat job or 

 interested in the sale of supplies. 



But it appears from the American Bee Jour- 

 nal that, during the last session of the legis- 

 lature, nearly a dozen alleged bee-keepers 

 appeared before the committee and made 

 the statement that the promoters of the bill 

 were manufacturers of bee-hives, and nam- 

 ed in particula.f, C. P. Dadant and A. I. Root; 

 that tnese manufacturers wished to have a 

 law passed requiring the burning of all colo- 

 nies and hives so they could sell new hives. 

 It is hardJy necessary to deny such a silly 

 charge. In the first place, we understand 

 the bill or law does not compel burning of 

 any colony except "in case the owner of the 

 diseased apiary shall refuse to treat his bees 

 or allow them to be treated as directed by 

 the foul-brood inspector." A similar provi- 

 sion appears in nearly all the laws of the dif- 

 ferent States. 



We may say, further, that we did not even 

 know that any special effort was being made 

 last winter to amend the law in Illinois, al- 

 though we knew that the law was ineffective. 

 Nowliere in our literature do we advise burn- 

 ing the hives except in a case where there 

 v/as only one colony in the yard; but after 

 the disease breaks out in several we have al- 

 ways advised scalding out or otherwise dis- 

 infecting the hives and using them over again. 



Some of these people wlio are opposing 

 legislation apparently have foul brood in 

 their apiaries, and do not care to be made to 

 treat their colonies as they should. No law 

 will ask them to burn the hives unless they 

 refuse to treat infected colonies. 



The animus of the opposition is apparent. 

 It can't long hide under the plea that foul 

 brood is incurable, and that manufacturers 

 are working for the amendment because it 

 will make a sale for hives. Both statements 

 are absolutely false. 



According to the government officials, 

 European foul brood is scattered all over Il- 

 linois. If there is a State in all the Union 

 that needs an effective law at the present 

 time it is our sister State. Next year its bee- 

 keepers should go before the legislature a 

 hundred strong. 



IS IT NECESSARY TO DISINFECT HIVES WHEN 



GIVING THE MCEVOV TREATMENT 



FOR FOUL BROOD? 



In the June issue of the Canadian Bee 

 Journal an array of authority has been intro- 

 duced to show that it is not necessary to burn 

 out or otherwise disinfect hives that have 

 contained foul-broody colonies. Our broth- 

 er-editor, Jas. J. Hurley, wants to know what 

 is our proof for believing that the disease 

 may be transmitted through the hive. 



Some eighteen years ago, when we 

 had foul brood all through our bee-yard, we 

 te-ied shaking the affected colonies back into 

 the old hives. In most cases where we did 

 this, foul brood reappeared, but not in all of 



