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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Dec. 1 



General 

 Correspondence 



FIGHTING BLACK BROOD. 



How Dr. Miller Grapples with the Disease 

 Among his Bees; the Frames but Not 

 the Hives Disinfected; is Infection Ever 

 Carried into the Supers? 



BV DR. C. C. MILLER. 



Beginning with the spring of 1909 I decid- 

 ed to give up the Wilson apiary and keep all 

 my bees in the home apiary. I was especial- 

 ly thankful for this when I found that Eu- 

 ropean foul brood was all through the apia- 

 ry. It is more convenient to fight foul brood 

 in one apiary than in two. Here was the 

 situation early in July: 93 colonies affected 

 with the disease; 22 colonies in which no 

 bad brood could be discovered at any time 

 throughout the season, and a lot of nuclei 

 whose condition I can not now tell. An in- 

 spiriting state of affairs, wasn't it? At least 

 I would have the chance to learn something. 



I at once determined to break up all colo- 

 nies that were not of fair strength and throw 

 all the rest on foundation. Before I had a 

 chance to carry out this program in full, 

 events so shaped themselves that I changed 

 my mind, and only 56 colonies were thrown 

 on foundation. 



Dr. E. F. Phillips thought a second shake 

 was not necessary; so, instead of the usual 

 shaking upon starters, and, four days later, 

 throwing on foundation, I at once threw up- 

 on full sheets of foundation. No attention 

 was paid to the condition of the hives — noth- 

 ing whatever was done to disinfect them. 

 The frames were boiled in lye, and used 

 again. A big iron kettle outdoors had a fire 

 built about it, and into this was put enough 

 water neai'ly to fill it, and two or three cans 

 of concentrated lye added. From time to 

 time water was added as it boiled away, and 

 more lye added. Four or five frames were 

 put in the kettle, then soused up and down 

 with a pitchfork, and in a very little while 

 they were taken out and thoroughly rinsed 

 in a tub of cold water. That made them 

 very clean. But the lye was kept boiling 

 hard. Most of the frames were as good as 

 new, and the expense was small compared 

 with the expense of new frames. 



The first colony was shaken upon founda- 

 tion; all the others were brushed. The first 

 thing we knew, some colonies that had been 

 treated left, bag and baggage. However, 

 they didn't take the frames of foundation 

 with them. (First and last, nine colonies 

 thus deserted.) We concluded they were 

 hunger swarms, the bees gathering a little 

 every day, but probably not enough Tor their 

 daily needs. So the next we brushed had 

 sections partly filled given to them, these 

 sections being taken from diseased colonies. 

 This not proving entirely successful, we 

 tried a radically different plan, which plan 



we followed for all the rest that were put on 

 foundation. 



We brushed all but one comb. That comb 

 was left in the hive at one side. Next to it 

 were given two empty frames with not the 

 least sign of a starter in them. Aside from 

 these three frames the hive was left empty. 

 Three days later we generally found at least 

 a little start made at building comb in the 

 empty frame next the full one, and some 

 eggs there. In a very few cases the bees 

 had made a start in the second empty frame. 

 Sometimes no start was made in either 

 frame (remember the dearth), in which case 

 we waited till there was. Then we took out 

 the old filled frame, left the one frame with 

 the start made in it, and filled up the hive 

 with foundation. After a start was made on 

 the foundation, we sometimes took away the 

 frame which had been partly filled with 

 comb, so that it might not be' finished out 

 with drone comb, and sometimes we left it. 



The rule is to treat foul-broody colonies in 

 the evening. With so many cases on hand, 

 that was not convenient. I suppose the ob- 

 ject of operating in the evening is to avoid 

 robbers. It seemed to me that we would be 

 full safer to operate in the earlier part of the 

 day when the bees were scouring the fields 

 for what little could be found than to wait 

 till evening when they had given up the 

 fields and were prowling around trying to 

 rob everywhere. So we did none of the 

 work in the evening, but at any time of day 

 when robbers were not troublesome. When- 

 ever there was any sign of robbers, we stop- 

 ped work. 



Some one may say I was unwise to do so 

 many things against rule. The only reply I 

 need make is that not one of the 56 colonies 

 showed the least sign of the disease after- 

 ward, and I can but speak well of the bridge 

 that carried me safely over. But please re- 

 member that Eui'opean (not American) foul 

 brood is under consideration, also that there 

 was a dearth. With American foul brood, 

 or in a fuH flow, results might be different. 



With regard to operating in the evening, 

 it is an unpleasant time to work, and I don't 

 believe it is always the safest time, so far as 

 robbers are concerned. In a buckwheat 

 flow I would rather take the forenoon. 



As to disinfecting hives, we know that, in 

 thousands of cases, hives without disinfec- 

 tion have been satisfactorily used, and it is 

 entirely possible that in the cases reported 

 adversely the disease may have occurred 

 from other causes. At any rate, the propor- 

 tion of failures seems to be so few that I'd 

 rather take the chances of treating them 

 over again than to disinfect all the hives. 



I fed sections taken from foul-broody col- 

 onies. Is there any positive proof that in 

 any case bees have taken the trouble to caF- 

 ry the infection into the surplus apartment? 

 Certainly no harm came from it in the pres- 

 ent case. If it has done harm in any other 

 case, then possibly the dearth may have 

 made a difference. 



Before I tried it, it is very doubtful if you 

 could have convinced me that it would be a 



