100 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



Feb 15 1900. 



Is it the New York Bee-Disease ? 



BY ABEL GKESH. 



HAVING learned about all I know about bees and honey 

 production from the writings of the contributors of the 

 American Bee Journal giving- their experiences, I feel 

 it incumbent on me to contribute an experience that I had 

 out of the usual, or different from an.v other I ever met with. 



In the autumn of 1897, having about 115 colonies of bees, 

 ■which number, with slight variations, I had had for six or 

 eight j-ears previously, my assistant informed me he no- 

 ticed brood in one hive that failed to hatch, and was a cof- 

 fee-brown in color. I decided to be on the safe side of 

 foul brood, so I sulphured the bees at once. In preparing 

 the rest for wintering, ray assistant again said he found 

 several that showed signs of foul brood, but being late no 

 further notice was taken of it. As was my custom, I put 

 about 80 colonies into the cellar, where they had wintered 

 well for about sis or eight years, and the remainder I packt 

 in large boxes with chaff on the summer stands, and I con- 

 cluded I had a nice start in foul brood. My assistant had 

 some previous experience with that dread bee-disease, and 

 pronounced every symptom present, excepting ropiness in 

 the dead larva: and the glue-pot smell were lacking. 



In the spring of 1898 bees generally came out alive, but 

 some were quite weak ; all were prepared to build up as 

 usual, but many failed in hatching more than one-third to 

 one-half of their brood, and in consequence remained weak. 

 While others built up strong and healthy, and gathered 

 honey freely. The brood that failed to hatch in some cases 

 dried to a brown scale in the bottom of the cell ; in others, 

 where it was capt, the capping had a brown, sunken ap- 

 pearance, and usually had a small pin-hole in the center. 

 At times we were convinced it was genuine foul brood, but 

 at other times we still doubted, because, as I said before, 

 genuine ropiness was lacking in the dead brood, as was the 

 stench attributed to genuine foul brood. 



In looking over the yard as a whole, I discovered that 

 the disease largely predominated amongst the colonies that 

 I wintered in the cellar, and a suspicion was at once aroused 

 in my mind, that the cellar was responsible for the trouble. 

 I then instructed my assistant in preparing colonies for 

 winter, to double all weak afflicted colonies, see they had 

 plenty of honey, and we would not put any into the cellar 

 in the fall ot 1898. I packt about 40 colonies in chaff, as 

 usual— the best and least afflicted— and the balance, about 

 45, I left on the summer stands, with no protection except 

 that I took off the enameled sheets, and covered the brood- 

 frames with burlap sacking, placing on this a half-story 

 rim, into which I put chaff or sawdust filled cushion, then 

 the lid, and lastly shade-boards on the lid, projecting about 

 10 inches in the front and the rear. 



In this condition they wintered fairly well, few failing 

 to respond last spring, and, when building up, very slight 

 traces of the malady was found here and there, perhaps 

 from a few cells to a few square inches in extent, and I do 

 not expect to find any trace of it next spring, as I have 

 packt the same as last winter. 



In 1898 I had about 1,600 pounds of comb honey, and the 

 past year 1,200 pounds. 



My cellar is inclined to dampness, and consequent 

 molding. When I had about 80 colonies in it, the thermom- 

 eter ordinarily registered 45 degrees, seldom fell as low as 

 40 degrees, and I frequently noticed when the honey season 

 opened the bees would gnaw down some badly-molded 

 combs and build new. I think high temperature enabled 

 the bees to winter all right, and mold caused the larva; to 

 die in the combs. 



My bees, as well as those within a radius of 20 miles or 

 more, gathered considerable honey last fall that has a de- 

 cidedly bitter taste. I am not sure of its source, but incline 

 to the belief that it comes from the bloom of what is known 

 as "devil's club," which was very largely visited by bees 

 about the time blackberries were ripe. Elk Co., Pa. 



"The Hum of the Bees in the Apple-Tree Bloom " is 

 the name of the new bee-keeper's song — words by Hon. 

 Eugene Secor and music by Dr. C. C. Miller. This is 

 thought by some to be the best bee-song yet written by Mr. 

 Secor and Dr. Miller. It is, indeed, a " hummer." We can 

 furnish a single copy of it postpaid, for 10 cents, or 3 copies 

 for 25 cents. Or, we will mail a half-dozen copies of it for 

 sending us one new yearly subscription to the American 

 Bee Journal at SI. 00. 



Report of the Colorado State Convention. 



[Coutiuued from patre S5.J 

 THE HIVE QUESTION. 



J. E. Lyon — I wouldn't give a snap of the finger for the 

 kind of hives. The frames have more to do with it, and 

 the bees more than the frames. It is true, they need shel- 

 ter. But give me any old box, with movable frames, and I 

 will produce as much honey as with the latest hive. There 

 is no use in taking up the 8 and 10 frame question. But we 

 do want frames every year. I have had to do a lot of 

 work in cutting down frames. To produce honey in quan- 

 tity we must handle frames. We can't handle hives, we 

 must handle frames. I never produced a larger crop than 

 last year. It was all by \\^n&\'va^ frames. 



Mr. Martin — I am much like Mr. Lyon. The different 

 lengths of the frames manufactured bother me more than 

 anything else about the hives. 



Mr. Tracy — There is a great deal in the frame, also a 

 great deal in the hive. But if you get the dovetailed hive 

 all the time, you get the same all the time. 



J. B. Adams — I have dovetailed hives in my apiary that 

 vary y% of an inch in length. 



Mr. Bates — I like the Wisconsin hive the best — the 

 frames always fit. I have mostl3' used the 8-frame Wiscon- 

 sin, but have used others. 



H. Rauchfuss — I have used almost every kind of hive, 

 from the Heddon with a frame less than six inches deep, to 

 those with frames 11 inches deep. I have some Wisconsin 

 hives that I will sell cheap. I don't like the frame-rest. 

 Sometimes every frame needs to be taken out, and the 

 frame-rest projecting in the Wisconsin hive causes the 

 honey in the brace-combs at the ends to scrape against it. 

 Now they have improved the Wisconsin hive so it takes the 

 Hoffman frame. liut I don't like the Hoffman frame. Mj' 

 preference is a standing closed-end frame of >s-inch stuff 

 all around, the top and bottom-bars '/% inch wide, and the 

 end-bars 1 '2 inches wide. The top-bars are grooved on the 

 underside for fastening foundation with melted was, and 

 the end-bars have a slight groove on the outside for the 

 wires to rest in, so they will not get cut or dull the knife 

 when the frames are scraped. For an extracting-frame this 

 can't be beaten. All the help I have had alwa5's say when 

 they come to the closed-end frames, "Now we can extract." 

 The end-bars keep the fingers out of the honey, and the 

 narrow top-bars favor uncapping, and do not cause the 

 combs to break in the extractor. The Hoffman frame is the 

 worst one to extract from. The top-bar projects beyond the 

 thickness of the comb, causing the comb to break in ex- 

 tracting. The new Hoffman is not the frame for extract- 

 ing. Moreover, a closed-end frame can be inverted, so that 

 the comb may be buUt solid. The original idea of the wide 

 top-bar was to do away with the honey-board. It works all 

 right the first season. After that the bees will build brace- 

 combs between the top-bars. Some of the top-bars warp. 

 There is no brace-comb trouble with the honey-board. 



Ch. Adams — Whenever I get a Wisconsin hive I get rid 

 of it as soon as possible. I have had the same experience 

 exactly in regard to the top-bars and honey-board. 



Mr. Brock — The hive question would be easily settled if 

 we could get all bee-keepers to use the same things. The 

 most trouble comes when a bee-keeper buys other fixtures 

 than what he started with. 



E. R. Root — It is a pretty difficult matter to make one 

 hive to please every one. We have sold frames with nar- 

 rower top-bars for extracting, but we put up thick top-bars 

 in extra supers to avoid having two styles of frames in the 

 same hive. I suspect this is one of the questions which 

 locality has something to do with. We shortened the top- 

 bar in the new Hoffman frame to do away with the gluing 

 to the ends of the hive. In regard to Mr. Lyon's remarks, 

 Mr. Coggshall says locality conies first, next the man, and 

 lastly the hive, and I have seen that demonstrated in his 

 yards. 



Mr. Tracy — The Dan zenbaker cover furnisht with the 

 new dovetailed hive warpt with me. 



