104 



T'MW mwMmmi^mm mmw jowkkmi^. 



same time that it takes to open and 

 close five liives witli a cap and mat, 

 and witli liilling only one-tentli as 

 many bees. The flat board is also 

 cheaper, and more easily made. In 

 these days of close calcnlation, we 

 must economize. 



Some will want a cap to put a cush- 

 ion in, in winter ; but I simply add a 

 brood-chamber, and have the space I 

 desire for winter, and am not bothered 

 with it when I do not need it. 



I was never troubled with brace- 

 combs in the bee-space under the 

 cover, if made of the proper size ; but 

 when using a mat, the bees would 

 work until they had a space arranged 

 to suit themselves, and had the mat 

 secured from side to side. 



I am sure that if any one gives the 

 flat-board cover a fair trial, he will 

 have no other. 



Mulberry, Pa. 



FLORIDA. 



Bees Gatberiiig Honey — Swarm- 

 in$; Expected Soon. 



Written for the American Bee Jounial 

 BY JOHN CRAYCRAFT. 



orange bloom comes on, which will be 

 about the last of February, from which 

 we get our first fine honey ; and this 

 will last for about four weeks. We 

 hope to get it strictly pure, and we 

 hope to send a sample to the Bee 

 Journal oflice, so that the editor may 

 judge as to its merits. 



We have otily 38 colonies, but ex- 

 pect to double them within the next 

 sixty days. We will work for in- 

 crease, as our fields would sufter, for 

 along the I'iver for about fifty miles, it 

 is almost one continuous, unbroken 

 swamp on one side or the other, with 

 many orange groves, some on the river 

 banks, and others on the dead river 

 branches, that extend out in many 

 places ; so that where desired we can 

 move bees bees very easily and safely 

 on the river, by boats (small row- 

 boats). The river is very narrow, and 

 is not much in the way of bees flying. 

 This day I saw our yellow Italian bees 

 two miles up the river, on the willows. 

 There are no Italian bees near us. 



St. Francis, Fla., Jan. 30, 1890. 



We read the Bee Journal care- 

 fully, and learn from its pages what 

 the bee-keepers through all the North 

 are doing, and in various places in 

 foreign climes. The words given by 

 the numerous correspondents show 

 that throughout the North there is a 

 very mild winter, very often with bees 

 on the wing. Whether this will termi- 

 nate for the best, is to be decided 

 later. 1 fear that stores will be con- 

 sumed before they will be able to 

 gather again. 



This is not the case with us. I do 

 not think that tliere have been five 

 days since Dec. 1, but what our bees 

 have stored a surplus. About Dec. 15, 

 the maples began to bloom, and there 

 was a continuous flow of honey, the 

 bees gathering a surplus and building 

 comb ; and for the past ten days the 

 willows have been giving them all 

 they can do — more honey being stored 

 than is best for fast brood-rearing, the 

 queens being crowded. We did not 

 desire to extract, for the honey is dark, 

 with a great deal of pollen in it. This 

 willow-flow will last, from what I saw 

 to-day along the river, for at least ten 

 days more ; there is great quantities of 

 it along the river, and in the swamp. 

 The willow is similar to the kilmonark 

 that I have seen in Indiana and Ken- 

 tucky. 



Drones are out daily, and we expect 

 swarms at any time, although we are 

 trying to equalize all colonies, so as to 

 have all the field-bees possible when 



SELF-HIVER. 



Its Advantage in the Apiary- 

 Foul Brood. 



Written Jor theAinerican Bee Journal 

 BY GEORGE SHIBER. 



I was very much interested in read- 

 ing, on page 27, Mr. Alley's article in 

 regard to his new swarm-hiver. It is 

 truly a novelty in that line, and it is 

 much more interesting to note that it 

 will work. I am glad that some one 

 has perfected an arrangement which is 

 for the good of a part of the fraternity 

 of bee-keepers, who do not make a 

 specialty of bee-keeping, but keep say 

 ten or a dozen colonies for the pleasure 

 and profit of the honey. 



Swarming has been the only objec- 

 tionable thing about bee-keeping, to 

 me, and now perhaps that objection 

 can be safely laid away to rest. 



There are a number of persons who 

 have made known the fact since, that 

 they have used a similar device for 

 hiving swarms, but the question nat- 

 urally arises — why have they not made 

 it known ? What a boon it will be, if 

 practiced, to have bees hive them- 

 selves ! Who, but the initiated, can 

 imagine the consternation of a bee- 

 keeper, upon arriving home from 

 business in the afternoon, to find his 

 best queen has departed with — well, 

 never mind the rest, a person feels 

 tired, nevertheless ; and I say " Hail !" 

 to the man who can make us easy on 

 that score, and there are many who 

 can second this. 



AN EXPERIENCE WITH FOUL BROOD. 



On page 54 is a very able article on 

 " Foul Brood," by Mr. R. L. Taylor. 

 It is able, because it is true to nature, 

 and his description of it is just as it 

 appears. He says : 



"The descriptions of it, which have 

 been most prominent, are of it as it 

 appears in badly diseased colonies." 

 Everj' bee-keeper whose apiary has 

 never been visited by the disease, 

 ought to read that quotation twice, 

 and then read "between the lines." 



How well I remember the first time 

 I saw indications of foul brood in my 

 own hives. Perhaps, on the whole, 

 there were not over a hundred infected 

 cells in the hive ; nevertheless, I was 

 scared at once, and upon ■ taking out 

 portions of the diseased brood, I dis- 

 covered the indications which all, no 

 doubt, are familiar with. 



I went to work at once, and com- 

 menced dosing with medicated syrup, 

 carbolic acid being the active princi- 

 ple (the one five-hundredth formula). 

 Honey was coming in freely, so I 

 poured it over the combs (the feed) ; 

 consequently the disease did not gain 

 much headway, or rather, it got better. 

 " O !" though I, "the disease is mine ; 

 I have a finger on its throat." Did it 

 cure it ? " Wait till you hear the end." 

 When the honey-flow ceased, and 

 the feeding was stopped, they were 

 worse than ever ; the feed is good to 

 keep it in check, but I cannot believe 

 that it will stamp it out, root and 

 branch, as long as the bees remain on 

 the old combs ; for it is a fact, that the 

 disease leaves a black, tary substance 

 in the cells, and I am inclined to be- 

 lieve that this gummy mass retains the 

 germs of disease. The only thing I 

 know, which will entirely eradicate 

 the disease, is by giving them a new 

 hive and sheets of foundation (after 

 Muth's treatment) . 



As regards the honey crop : The 

 disease can be kept in check so that it 

 will not materially decrease the sur- 

 plus honey. Feeding phenolated syrup 

 in the spring, prepared as laid down 

 in Cheshire's book, you will find the 

 hives boiling over with bees, ready for 

 the honey harvest, so that no one need 

 expect to lose much in this respect. 

 On the other hand, your colony, or col- 

 onies, need much more attention ; for 

 if the disease is allowed to gain much 

 headway during that period of the 

 year when little honey is coming in, it 

 will greatly deplete their number of 

 bees. 



Another idea is in regard to the cap- 

 pings being perforated at a certain 

 stage. Mr. Taylor's experiences agree 

 with mine. I have noted the fact that 

 you will not find one-third of the dis- 

 eased cappings pierced, and a part of 



