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pal factor in our efficient work in the 

 apiarj', I look upon it as the solvent of 

 all our troubles, and, as far as my ob- 

 servations on this point are concerned, 

 it is a most complete one (I here refer 

 to the bee-moth). 



Setting aside our wintering difficul- 

 ties, which I as yet regard as in a 

 world of doubt, I proceed to make in- 

 quir}' into another matter, which I con- 

 ceive is well worthy the attention of 

 every bee-keeper, and, I fear I may 

 well say, of every bee-master. 



In a word, that insidious disease — 

 foul brood — demands our most careful 

 attention; let it appear in what form 

 it may. From the first description of 

 its ravages upon apiaries, which we 

 learn in the earlier volumes of the 

 valuable American Bee Journal (and 

 this was in the apiaries of foreign 

 countries), I have had my fears that 

 the plague would be introduced among 

 us ; and now that it has become a fixed 

 fact that many of our bee-keeping 

 friends are suflering from its disas- 

 trous ravages, is apparent to us from 

 complaints being made in our various 

 bee-papers. Let us inquire whether 

 from descriptions of various cases of this 

 malady, we may not be deceived as to 

 its true character. 



As an example, I will relate a cir- 

 cumstance which occurred in my api- 

 ary in 1886, and which was a greater 

 mystery to me than anything which 

 had heretofore occurred in my man- 

 agement of bees. At that time, I had 

 a strong colony which commenced 

 gradually to decline in the middle of 

 the honey season (I have kept a record 

 of this, and my observations from day 

 to day) ; the queen was in her second 

 year, and continued to lay pretty 

 freely every day ; the bees appeared 

 healthy, although they worked slug- 

 gishly. I could not detect the least 

 ofiensive smell, and yet scarcely any 

 brood was hatched. During all this 

 time, I was fearful of foul brood, but 

 as we had been taught by those who 

 described it, that it could only be de- 

 tected by its ofiensive smell, I was led 

 to believe that after all I was mistaken 

 and my colony was afllicted by some 

 other serious trouble ; and not until I 

 met an article in the American Bee 

 Journal, copied from the London 

 Journal of EorticiiUure (See American 

 Bee Journal for 1887, page 730), did 

 I find any solution to the mysterious 

 problem. 



From a recollection of my experi- 

 ments and reference to my notes, I 

 was then satisfied that my colony had 

 been severely attacked with odorless 

 foul brood, so accurately described in 

 the article referred to. 



Now, the point that I wish to make, 

 and the danger I have spoken of is, 

 that while we are anxiously watching 



to observe foul brood from the ofien- 

 sive smell which is said to always in- 

 dicate its presence, our bees iiiay be 

 battling against odorless foul brood, 

 which gives forth no scent by which it 

 may be detected. 



Would it not be well that our in- 

 structors should designate whether 

 their treatment is applicable to malig- 

 nant or odorless foul brood ? because 

 I am fullj- satisfied that both classes of 

 this malady are among us, and that the 

 treatment of the one is not at all that 

 which is necessary to the other. I 

 have never met a case of malignant 

 foul brood, neither do I wish to meet 

 one, but in the season of 1888 I was 

 called to the apiary of a friend who 

 bad a case of odorless foul brood pre- 

 cisely similar to the one that I had to 

 encounter in 1886, and which I treated 

 for him. 



A similar case occurred in my own 

 apiary about a mouth afterwards, upon 

 which I operated after the plan given 

 by Mr. Muth, adding some other chemi- 

 cals, and I found no difficulty in over- 

 coming the disease. So satisfied was 

 I of my success in this, that I used 

 some of the combs from this colony in 

 others, and at no time was there any 

 re-appearance of the disease, and in 

 the season of 1888, I not only used 

 some of the combs, but also the hive 

 of the aflfected colony — and all without 

 any bad results ; neither have I since 

 seen the least evidence of its return, 

 either to my own apiary, or to that of 

 my friend. 



I must, however, not neglect to 

 state that I had thoroughly fumigated 

 the combs, scrubbed the hive, and per- 

 mitted both to remain on their stand 

 to become more thoroughly purified by 

 the frosts of the greater part of the 

 winter. 



From ray impressions of malignant 

 foul brood, I feel convinced that I 

 could not have succeeded so well, and 

 further believe that the same form of 

 treatment given successfully to the 

 one, will in no sense be applicable to 

 the other ; hence I felt most anxious 

 that those who write to instruct us, be 

 careful to state for which branch of 

 the malady their method of treatment 

 is intended to be effective. 



In some future article, I will de- 

 scribe my manner of treatment. 



Beaver, Pa. 



TKe Repoi-t of the proceedings of the 

 20th annual session of the International 

 American Bee-Association is now published. 

 The price is 25 cts., postpaid. It contains, 

 besides the report, the new songs and 

 music then used, and engravings of the 

 present officers as well as the retiring ones. 

 In all, it contains 36 pages. It is for sale 

 at this office. 



CONVEIVTIOW DIRECTORY. 



1890. Time and plane of meetin<j. 



Keb. 19-20.-Ohlo Stutf. at Cleveland, O. 



MiM.H DiMMH Bennett, Sec, Bedford, O. 



Feb. 19-20.-N. K. (ililn.N. W. Pa., and Western New 

 York, at Clevcluntl, Ohio. 



Geo. .Spitler, Sec, Moslertown, l*a. 



May 1.— Southwestern Wisconsin, at BoBcobel, Wis. 

 BenJ. E. Bice, Sec, Boscobel , Wis. 



May 3.— Susquehanna Co.. at Hopbottom, Pa. 



H. M. Seeley, Sec, Harford. Pa. 



May 19.— Northern Ulinols, at Rockford. UIs. 



D. A. Fuller, Sec, Cherry Valley, Ills. 



In order to have this table complete, 



Secretaries are requested to forward full 

 particulars of the time and the place of 

 each future meeting. — The Editok. 





Uf 



Cnriiiolaii Bees ts. the Ilalians. 



Will Mr. Pratt please answer the follow- 

 ing questions through the Bee Journal ? 

 1. Are the Carniolan bees as hardy as 

 the Italian bees? 3. Aj-e the Carniolan 

 bees better workers than the Italians I 



Eleva, Wis. Willie C. Adams. 



Mr. E. L. Pratt answers the foregoing 

 questions as follows: 



1. The Carniolan bees, in their purity, 

 are the gentlest and the most hardy bees in 

 the world. Pure Carniolan bees should 

 show no yellow bands. 



2. On comb honey, yes; but on extracted 

 honey it is " nip and tuck " between the 

 two races. Carniolans will work on the 

 bloom under circumstances when Italians 

 would not leave the hive. Carniolan colo- 

 nies are easily built up for the harvest, on 

 account of the extraordinary prolifleness 

 of the queens. By proper management, 

 Carniolans are not more inclined to swarm 

 than Italians. — E. L. Pratt. 



Xhe Past Season in Missonri. 



How I would like to make a great, large, 

 long row of figures to tell bow much honey 

 I have taken from 2.S colonies, spring count, 

 the past season ; but circumstances will not 

 admit of it; 840 pounds, in one and two 

 pound sections, is all that I have that would 

 do for our home market, which is mostly 

 white clover. Heart's-ease has been, years 

 prior to last fall, quite productive of honey, 

 but the past season I pronounced it a fail- 

 ure. I was very much in hopes that golden- 

 rod would assist in making winter stores, 

 but no such assistance responded ; its gay 

 plumes were waving in all directions, but 

 our kind of honey-bees had no use for them 

 in this part of Missouri. Wm. Robson. 



RoUa, Mo., Jan. 21, 1890. 



Honey from tlie Golden-Rod. 



" I do not believe that there was ever one 

 ounce of honey gathered from golden-rod " 

 — thus saith Ira Reeves, of Carmi, Ills., on 

 page 58. Illinois is a great State — it is 

 long and it is broad, and has big men in it 

 — as large as Mr. Doolittle — yet they have 

 never seen every clump of golden-rod and 

 every bee upon it. Now I believe a good 

 many things that I never saw. I believe 

 there is such a man as Ira Reeves, although 

 I never saw him. In August, of 1881, I 

 was at Bethlehem, in the White Mountains, 

 and the hotels were crowded. As I was 



