54 



ntmm MMKMicMH mmm joi^mksi^. 



ter of the relation of fruit-growing and 

 bee-keeping, he will find that the in- 

 terest of the two pursuits are closely 

 identified. 



Prof. Cook says, and no doubt truth- 

 fully, that the proper time to spray 

 fruit-trees is just after the blossoms 

 drop. This will save the bees, and will 

 kill the codlin-moth, and destroy the 

 leaf enemies of the trees. Prof.'Cook 

 is a close observer and experimenter, 

 an accepted authority in all that re- 

 lates to the insect world, and will not 

 be troubled much bj' the disparaging 

 remarks of the Oarden. The greatest 

 harm is, that those not acquainted 

 with the facts will accept as truth such 

 paragraphs as the one above referred 

 to. 



I am a horticulturist, myself, and ex- 

 pect to do some spraying of fruit-trees 

 with insecticides, but shall wait until 

 the bees are through with their mis- 

 sion on the trees. 



The editor's pleasantries about teach- 

 ing the bees to keep out of the or- 

 chards, and restraining them like cat- 

 tle, is beneath the dignity of one that 

 assumes to be a teacher in the noble 

 profession of horticulture. 



Ithaca, Wis. 



[It is such pernicious articles as the 

 one from the American Oarden, that 

 do the most damage. Editors, as well 

 as bees, need to learn something, and 

 the editor of the Garden is one of them. 

 —Ed.] 



FOUL BROOD. 



How to Cure and Delect Foul 

 Brood in the Apiary. 



Read at the 3Iichhjan Convention 



BY HON. E. L. TA^-LOR. 



I have been requested by the authori- 

 ties of this association, to prepare an 

 essay on the subject of foul brood, and, 

 in complying, I shall deal with the 

 matter wholly from a practical stand- 

 point. How its symptoms and progress 

 appear to an average bee-keeper, and 

 how it sliould be treated by the practi- 

 cal apiarist who is without scientific 

 training or habits, are the points to 

 which I desire specially to direct your 

 attention. 



I have had a somewhat intimate ex- 

 perience with the disease for the last 

 three and a half years, among my own 

 bees, and have had it there for at 

 least a year longer. When first no- 

 ticed, I think that about 5 or 6 colonies 

 were affected. I say "noticed," for 

 though I saw its effects, I did not recog- 

 nize it as foul brood. Not till I had 

 managed my apiary during a honey- 

 How, in a manner best calculated to 



disseminate the disease, by extracting, 

 changing combs and feeding back, did 

 I awake to the fact that the plague was 

 not only present, but had a thorough 

 foothold. 



Almost from the start, I determined, 

 at the risk of loss, as well of time and 

 labor as of bees, to learn what I could 

 of its character and workings ; so 

 while I tried to eradicate it, I made 

 that purpose so far subject to the 

 other, that I did not act precipitately, 

 but tried different plans of cure, watch- 

 ing symptoms and the results. 



I was alvvaj's careful in respect to 

 combs and honey affected, and in other 

 respects used the care that the average 

 person might be expected to exercise 

 when impressed with its importance, 

 without observing the extraordinary 

 precautions in every particular, which 

 are usually insisted upon. 



The first colony that excited my at- 

 tention — which was in June, 1886 — 

 had here and there dead brood in the 

 imago stage, and little, if any, that 

 answered to the usual descriptions of 

 the disease. As the dead brood was in 

 the heart of the brood-nest, and could 

 not have been the result of chilling, I 

 was somewhat alarmed, but after 

 watching it awhile, the colony cast a 

 swarm, and having noticed no radical 

 change, and as the brood of the swarm 

 was entirely healthy, in the rush of the 

 season I dismissed my fears for the 

 time. 



In August, I awoke to the true state 

 of affairs, on an examination of colo- 

 nies to which honey had been fed back 

 in order to complete a lot of partly- 

 filled sections. Now, there was no 

 mistaking the character of the malady. 

 The viscid nature of the dead matter, 

 sunken perforated cappings, the in- 

 crease of the disease, and, in colonies 

 where it had made considerable pro- 

 gress, a faint odor like that of a poor 

 quality of warm glue, were all there. 

 If half that had been told of its malig- 

 nity were true, there was reason 

 enough for alarm, and most of my col- 

 onies should have been affected, for the 

 conditions for its dissemination could 

 scarcely nave been more favorable. 



From a heavy yield from bassvvood, 

 the brood-chambers had become over- 

 loaded with honej-, and two or three 

 combs from nearly everj' colony had 

 been extracted, and freshly-extracted 

 combs had been carried along and ex- 

 changed for the ones removed. More- 

 over, robbers were plentiful, and the 

 young man who did most of this work, 

 was persistent in facing, but not very 

 skillful in circumventing them. 



How to meet and overcome the great 

 plague, was now tlie uppermost ques- 

 tion. About that time there had been 

 considerable discussion of the malady, 

 and of different methods of cure, in- 



cluding the contributions of Messrs. 

 Jones, Muth and Cheshire, of which I 

 had the advantage. The " starvation 

 cure," as being the most convenient, 

 was first tried largely, and as the sea- 

 son was such that feeding became nec- 

 essary, Muth's " salicylic acid formula" 

 was used in medicating the honey fed. 

 About 40 colonies were operated on 

 that season, the bees being confined 

 according to Jones' directions, with 

 every precaution, till signs of starva- 

 tion ensued, when they were put into 

 clean hives — a part on foundation, and 

 a part on clean, empty combs. All 

 the contaminated hives, combs and 

 honey, were boiled, and the honey, 

 after medication, was fed to the bees 

 under treatment, their hives marked 

 and carefully watched for results. 

 These were anything but satisfactory. 

 In a considerable percentage of the 

 cases, the disease soon reappeared, and, 

 in others, after a time. 



Thus the first campaign closed with 

 meagre results, so far as making prac- 

 tical headwaj' against the enemy was 

 concerned. In casting about for a new 

 plan of procedure, I remembered that 

 the swarm from a diseased colony be- 

 came freed of the disease, by simply 

 being left to itself after hiving on foun- 

 dation ; and while I did not propose, 

 and did not give experiments with 

 other methods, I kept my eye on this, 

 as possibly the " pole star" that might 

 guide to an easy escape. 



The next season, in addition to the 

 methods before used, spraying, both 

 with salicylic acid and with a phenol 

 preparation, was tried, but I was not 

 long in deciding that it was entirely 

 impractical for Americans, who must 

 have expeditious and simple methods, 

 and quick and certain results. 



As soon as the proper season arrived, 

 I tried the new method of simply put- 

 ting the bees into a clean hive furnish- 

 ed with foundation, and anxiously 

 watched the issue. It was successful. 

 Of the numerous colonies so treated, 

 whether the swarms were natural or 

 made by dividing, I do not remember 

 that one retained the disease. Here, 

 then, was a method than which none 

 could be simpler or more effectual. 



To fix upon a systematic plan for 

 the practice of this method, best 

 adapted to serve the interests of the 

 apiarist in the matter of making the 

 most of the bees in securing the honey 

 crop, was the next step. Regarding 

 the time for the operation, it must be 

 during a honey-flow, not necessarily 

 great, but of sufKcient reliability to 

 insure against any necessity of feeding. 

 I found, in my experiments, that 

 feeding a few pounds of honey medi- 

 cated with salicylic acid in the spring 

 — the food being placed in an upper 

 story, in a capacious feeder — the dis- 



