THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



155 



?,. The other advantast^ to be ileiived 

 fioiii the use o( comb foundation is seeur- 

 iiiij; strainht cmnbs in tlie frames. Tliis is 

 tlie main rt-ciuisite for success with luov- 

 al)le-franie hives. Witli erooljed combs, 

 a movahle-frame liive becomes worse than 

 an ordinary Ijox liive, for it does not 

 allow of any nuinipniations necessary in 

 practicnl bee-keepinij. 



All these advantages were long ago 

 recoiiuized by our predecessors and lead- 

 ers in the study of bee-keeping. Samuel 

 Warner, f.irmerly editor of the Bee Jorn- 

 NAi,, was tlie first in America who tried 

 to make comb foundation ; but his at- 

 tempts failed. Mehring, in Germany, 

 nnide the first snecessfnl efforts in 1857 ; 

 but his slieets of foundation were badly 

 printed, and were not always accepted by 

 the bees. P. .Jacob, of Switzerland, im- 

 l)roved on this invention and manufac- 

 tured a press which made much better 

 work ; but the great objection to a press 

 is that it cannot make uniform work un- 

 less tl'.e wax sheets are absolutely perfect. 



In IST.'i the first practical work was done. 

 Mr. A. I. Koot. witli the help of a good 

 Tuachinist, made the first roller mill, and 

 since that time it has been improved upon 

 uniil the use of comb foundation has be- 

 come as widely spread as the introduction 

 of the Italian bee. Hundreds of machinea 

 have been sold, and tlie American founda- 

 tion machines ate used as well in the old 

 world as ill tlie new. I have exported 

 macliines of the Washburn, Dunham and 

 Vandervort make, into France, Italy, 

 Switzerland, Austria, etc. 



The sale of foundation has taken un- 

 looked-for proportions in this country, 

 and this shows once more the practical 

 matter-of-fact spirit of Americans, so 

 prcjmpt in accepting undeniable progress, 

 esiiecially in indnsirial spheres. 



I have been requested to give my opin- 

 ion of the machines now in use. It would 

 hardly be fair to speak in favor of any one 

 publicly. [ can, however, st ite what are 

 the inafn rei|nisites of good foundation 

 both fur brood and for comb honey. This 

 statement is not only the expression of 

 my views, but also tliat of the majority of 

 bee-keepers. 



All comb foundation should look as 

 nearly like the natural base of comb as 

 possible. All unnatural shapes are ob- 

 jected to liy bees and bee-keepers. 



Found-ation for brood-combs requires a 

 thin, uniform base, and heavy, well 

 printed walls. There should be enough 

 * wax in tlie walls of it to make nearly the 

 whole of the comb when drawn out by the 

 bees. The greater or less pressure to 

 which the wax is subjected has absolutely 

 nothing to do with its manipulation by the 

 bees: its greater or less compactness or 

 firmness being altogether dependent on 

 the manner in which it is melted, for use. 



Foundation for comb lioiiey requires an 

 exceedingly thin and uniform base— as 

 thin as that of natural comb, and a very 

 light cell-wall. It should be remembered 

 that this is extremely important to do 

 away with the fish-l)oiie in the comb 

 honey, even when using it in full sheets 

 iu the sections. The successful mauu 

 facturing of such foundation, about 10 to 

 12 square feet to the pouiul, is one of the 

 iinprovements of the last few years, and 

 is no longer a doubtful question. 



Mr. Jlnlli said that Mr. Dadaiit's 

 essay was so complete that it ueetled 

 no discussion. lie endorsed every 

 word of it. 



By request the subject of "Robbing" 

 was discussed. 



Mr. Wilhice and Dr. .Jesse Oren ad- 

 vised the use of coal oil ; but Mr. 

 Viallon said that neither coal oil nor 

 turpentine would prevent the bees 

 robbing. 



Mr. Dadant said we should not al- 

 low robbing to commence, by keeping 

 the apiary free from exposed honey. 



Mr. Hart stated that he bad always 

 been able to stop robliiiig by the use 

 of wet cloths and spray. lie described 

 a case in which several of his hives 

 containing colonies were smashed 

 during a gale, by pine trees falling 

 upon them. He was away for o days 

 thereafter, and upon his return he 

 found a case of robbing, of the worst 

 kind, which he succeeded in subduing 

 by contracting the entrances of the 

 hives with wet cloths so that but one 

 bee could pass at a time, each having 

 to crawl over a part of the wet cloth. 

 He also used a fountain-pump for 

 spraying the bees that were still in the 

 air. Mr. Hart believes that water 

 rightly used will answer all purposes. 



As it was proposed to have the 

 members of the Congress photographed 

 in a group, the Oongr'ess adjourned till 

 3 p. m., and repaired to the Horticult- 

 ural Hall and sat feu- the photographs, 

 about oO of which were ordered by 

 those present. 



At 3 p. m. President Brown called 

 the Congress to order, and an essay 

 was read from Prof. Hasbrouck, Bound 

 Brook, N. J., on 



CHESHIRE'S TREATMENT OF FOUL HEOOD. 



I think that it will not be disputed that 

 the investigations and discoveries of Mr. 

 Frank Cheshire are tlie most important 

 discoveries to bee-keeiiers which have lieen 

 made in a generation, and one of the most 

 remarkable aehievemeuts of scientific in- 

 vestigation on record. When similarly in- 

 telligent, thorough, and successful work 

 shall be inif upon the life-history of the 

 germs which inidoiibfedly produce many 

 of the most terrible of human diseases, the 

 specific modes of destroying them will 

 soon be developed, and such scourges as 

 Asiatic cIkmciii, diphtheria, yellow fever, 

 ami siiiall-]iox, will s(]on lose their terrors 

 to our race. Moreover, these investiga- 

 tions of Mr. Cheshire will make it more 

 easy for himself, or other observers, to find 

 out the mysteries of other related organ- 

 isms destructive to man and the higher 

 animals. 



1 have nothing to offer in verification of 

 Mr. C."s observations, or in demonstration 

 of the etlicai'V of his method of Ireatnient, 

 but 1 promise myself the pleasure, another 

 season, of trying tti sih' what he has seen, 

 and to give his cnre a thorough test, for 

 which material has been promised me. In 

 the meantime, although 1 am not so con- 

 stituted as to appreciate highly " iuterual 

 evidence," yet 1 can very easily see in the 

 reports of these investigations "internal 

 evidence" enough to be overwhelmingly 

 convinced of the genuineness of the dis- 

 coveries, and of the absolute certainty of 

 his method of cure. Can it be possible that 

 a man of such well trained powers of ob- 

 servation was decei\'t'd in the thoroughness 

 and permaneucy of the numerous cures 

 wliicli be has rejiorted with such minute 

 detail, and with such conscientious faith- 

 fulness '' His cures have been sufficiently 

 luimerous to prove conclusi\'ely, if they 

 are admitted to be gemiine, that the 

 remedy is absolutely unfailing. Can any- 

 body lielicve that a man of his character 

 woiild invent all these tales of investiga- 

 tion and experiincnt for a newspaper sen- 

 sation, as that ajie. Wiley, did Ills story, 

 for a " scieiitilic pleasantry ?" 



Some may say that talk on this subject 

 would be iiiore in order after we had all 

 proved Mr. Cheshire's conclusions ac- 

 curate, but 1 fear that many whose bees are 

 afflicted with this terrible p<'sf, are in 



danger of being iuflnenced by croakers hi 

 put oir iiideHuifely the energetic trial of 

 the remedv, which 1 am persuaded will 

 free them from their tninblcs very early in 

 the next season. 1 suiipose tlu're alvyays 

 will be croakers. Some om^ once said fo 



President , " Do you know that Charles 



doesn't believe 'tlie bible?" " Ver^\ 



likelv," said the President, "He didn t 

 make it." Much skepticism on matters in 

 general is inspired by a siuular s|iiiit. 

 Whenever anything new and useful is dis- 

 covered, there are always those who, witli- 

 oiitany consideration, are ready witli an 

 " I don't believe it." Sometimes they at- 

 tein])tto verify ccmclusicms or to follow 

 processes, with a disposition fo be a little 

 Iietter pleased to fail than bi succeed, so 

 that they can demonstrate their foresight, 

 and have the satisfaction of saying, " 1 

 told you so," "all a fraud," "auofhcr luiin- 

 bug.''' 



Now, quite as slioulil lia\e been ex- 

 pected, several jiarties lioth in England 

 and America, have already come forward, 

 declaring that they have tried the phenol 

 cure, after Mr. Cheshire's directions, of 

 course, and they did not succeed. Now, 

 put the statements of these men, over 

 against Mr. Cheshire's, that he has cured 

 numerous colonies, and without a failure, 

 and which deserves the greater credence ? 

 What do these reported failures prove? 

 To me, conclusively, that the treatmeut 

 has been carelessly or awkwardly applied, 

 and probably with some improvements 

 suggested by "the wisdom of the operator. 



What is the iirope.r course to take for 

 those having foul brood iu their apiaries ? 

 (.T.O slow, as advised by scnue of the bee- 

 papers, and potter along with the old 

 treatments till the season is past, with 

 much trouble and loss and uncertainty 

 aliout the result-? This w^iuld remind, me 

 (if the story of the jiliilosopher who siient 

 inucli time in hlteriiigthe water from the 

 brook near his cabin, when, if he had 

 gone up-stream a little way, with a little 

 trcaible. he could have feiu'ed out from the 

 spring the hogs whose wallowing iiiaile the 

 water muddy. 



My advice to all having a trace of foul 

 brood iu tlieirapiaries, is to disregard croak- 

 ers and get to work at it by the Cle shirc! 

 method as early in the spring as possible, 

 and to keep at it in earnest till the thing is 

 cleaned out. If you seem to fail in any 

 ease, conclude that it is from some over- 

 sight of yours, and try it over until you get 

 everythi'ug as it should be, when i am coii- 

 Hdent vou will succeed. 



I am a little afraid that the uncertainty 

 manifested as to exactly what is meant by 

 absolute phenol, which is the remedy- 

 recommended, may lead to s<ime trouble. 

 Phenol has been called pure carbolic acid ; 

 so it is according to Fown's, and that is 

 authority, Une explains it this way : The 

 drug is called plienol in England, carbolic 

 acid in this courdry. That is not exactly 

 the way I understand it. What is finind 

 in crystals iu the drug trade in America 

 and in England, too, I think, and called 

 carbolic acid, is not " pure " carbolic acid 

 —not phenol. Mr. Cheshire says, as I un- 

 derstand it, that this will "not" do. 

 Absolute phenol can be obtained in this 

 cuintrv, 1 think, only at laboratory sup- 

 ply dealers in the large cities. But if 

 there is a demand for it, thedruggists will 

 .soon have it, and reliable parties will un- 

 doubtedly advertise to furnish it by mail 

 or express, on reasonable terms. 



Mr. A. 1. Pioot, of Jledina, O., gave 

 a lengthy address on "The rise and 

 progress of apiculture in America," 

 mentioning many interesting inci- 

 dents in the history of the past S) 

 years, which he was requested to 

 write and publish in full. 



Mrs, Harrison mentioned an addi- 

 tional historical fact that Mr. God- 



