NOVEMBER 15, 1912 



727 



E. CiHiie at work inspecting an apiary. 



is subject to disease, and how many apiaries 

 are affected. In tlie half of the State that 

 I cover 1 ]la^•e found tlve or six such cen- 

 ters of infection that 1 have been able to 

 locate, and two or three where the disease 

 has ajjpeared and has run its course, de- 

 stroying all before it, and then itself dis- 

 appearing. In one such case, after find- 

 ing almost every yard diseased, I thought 

 it my duty to visit the towns adjoining. 

 The location of these is somewhat peculiar, 

 as the town itself is separated from the 

 towns on the east, south, and west by water 

 varying in width between half a mile and 

 a mile. But as the bees crossed the water 

 freely for forage during fruit and clover 

 bloom I thought I might look for disease. 

 I was, however, most agreeably surprised 

 to find every colony in these adjoining 

 towns free from any taint of foul brood. 

 This exjierience satisfied me that bees are 

 not likely to carry the disease across half 

 a mile of water. How far they will carry 

 it when no water intervenes I have no 

 means of knowing. I have, liowever, come 

 t© the conclusion that a good-sized moun- 

 tain will cheek the spread of disease. In 

 fact, I have some very good proof of it. 

 Speaking of centers of contagion, one 

 of the worst was in my own county, and 

 consisted of about 250 colonies occupying 

 an area almost equal to that of an ordinary 

 town. These bees were scattered through 



eight or ten yards, in some of which almost 

 every colony was diseased. I did not rest 

 until I had learned just how far in each 

 direction the disease was to be found, and 

 had every owner of bees at work making 

 an effort to get rid of the disease. I did 

 not expect that it would all be cleaned up 

 the first year ; but I believe at least nine- 

 tenths of it was. 



An interesting question comes in right 

 here. How far will bees go to rob a 

 colony weakened by disease? I frankly 

 confess that I don't know ; but I was 

 told by one beekeeper that they will go 

 three-fourths of a mile. Another had heard 

 of their going 1^ miles to rob other hives. 



Disease is also sjjread by careless bee- 

 keepers who leave out of doors, for the 

 benefit of other colonies, the hives in which 

 diseased bees have died. The rank and 

 file of beekeepers do not seem to have the 

 slightest idea of the character of foul brood, 

 nor how to prevent its spread. 



The careless use of comb foundation, 

 too. has helped to spread this disease. When 

 a beekeeper has learned the use of comb 

 foundation he often hives swarms that have 

 issued from foul-brood hives on foundation; 

 and the honey cairied by the old bees to 

 the new hive, and there stored in the rap- 

 idly built combs, oftan makes trouble later. 



Middlebury, Vt. 



To he continued. 



