648 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



A 2 1/^ -year-old beekeeper. 



dead bees. I was called by a beekeeper in 

 FebriTai^y who had lost half of his colonies 

 with the Isle-of- Wight disease. I took pho- 

 tos of the bees, which I enclose. In illus- 

 tration No. 1 are three combs taken from 

 the dead hive, showing the exact condition 

 of the stock. On the right hand is a fine 

 comb of honey, weighing approximately () 

 lbs. There were three like this. In the 

 center will be noticed a small patch of 

 brood, showing that the queen did her work 

 right up to the last ; and it is a peculiar 

 feature of the disease that the queen is the 

 last to die. I found her very easily, and 

 her bodj' was quite fresh, giving one the 

 impression that she had not been dead more 

 than a day. The comb on the left consists 

 of empty cells where many of the bees clus- 

 tered only to die. The bees were badly 

 swollen, and all over the interior of the 

 hive, and on the combs, was noticeable the 

 peculiar fseces emitted by the bees. 



The second illustration shows the floor- 

 board. Not a live bee left. The sight was 

 appalling, and we walked away from the 

 apiai-y wondering what would happen next. 

 The beekeeper in question was one of the 

 most up-to-date men we have. Every thing 

 that could be done for the bees had been 

 done. They had clean, dry, sheltered situa- 

 tion, and plenty of good food and winter 

 covering. Foul brood is insignificant in 

 comparison. I have seen 60 lbs. of honey 

 produced from a colony suffering frpm foul 



brood; but I doubt whether we shall see 6 

 lbs. from one suffering from Isle of Wight. 

 This year up to the time of writing I have 

 seen no less than 10 apiaries devastated as 

 a result of the disease. 



One point I have noticed very particularly 

 and that is that I have not seen a colony of 

 Italian bees with this malady. Of course 

 I am only speaking now of what I have 

 seen, but I have great faith in the Italians 

 as disease resisters. On the other hand, we 

 have a number of beekeepers in England 

 whose bees are kept in any thing but a 

 proper manner, and who pay no attention 

 to the improvement of stock. Possibly a 

 lowered vitality in the strains of bees in 

 this country has been responsible for the 

 pest finding a home. This, of course, is my 

 theory only; but as I have studied the dis- 

 ease since its first appearance in this coun- 

 try, and am in communication daily with 

 the best beemen in the British Isles, I hope 

 to state some reliable facts shortly. 



Stone, Staffs., Eng. 



A "NEW" BEEKEEPER 



BY FRANKLIN E. JAMES 



After keeping bees for a year I would 

 say that I have had more genuine pleasure 

 and gained more knowledge than I could 

 have believed possible; and, besides, they 

 have more than paid for themselves, as I got 

 a good crop of honey. There are many bee- 

 keepers around here; but most of them still 

 use box hives, and have little acquaintance 

 with their little workers. Some of them 

 still sulphur the bees whenever they want 

 to " take " the honey, and no amount of 

 persuasion can make them change their 

 methods. I am sending a photo of my 

 youngest boy; and, although only 2V1> years 

 old when the picture was taken, he could 

 handle the frames in a hive nicely. When 

 I asked him to pose for his picture this is 

 what he did, saying, "They won't hurt you." 



New Bedford, Mass. 



SNOWDROP AS A HONEYPLANT IN IDAHO 



BY F. F. GEORGE 



I believe you need an up-to-date picture 

 of a wonderful honey-yielder, snowdrop 

 (buckbush). By looking a little close you 

 will notice almost a mass of white berries. 

 I am quite sure nurserymen once sold it by 

 the above name; but f think I will submit 

 to the name " buckbush." 



This plant blooms here in June, before 

 the white clover. I have a bottle of the honey 



