Feb. 23, 190S. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



147 



narrow foundation which does not fit the sections. That 

 made by the Weed process does not sag and can be put in 



to fit. . , , , 



Morley Pettit— If foundation is hutig the strong i^'n.v m 

 the sections it will not sag. By the "strong way" I mean 

 with ridges running up and down instead of horizontally. 

 With strong foundation put in this way there is no occasion 

 for using bottom-starters. 



WHAT STYLE OF SEPARATOR. 



Morley Pettit— The best separator I have used is rather 

 •expensive. It is bored full of ^-inch holes, so the bees pass 

 freely through it. It is important to allow the bees to go through 

 the separators, but slatted separators give a wash-board ap- 

 pearance to the comb. 



Mr. Alpaugh— I do not see the need of separators. 



Mr. Holtermann— The best separtor known was invented 

 by Mr. Bettsinger, of New York State. It is made of wire 

 cloth with a quarter-inch mesh. 



HIVING SWARMS. 



Do you hive swarms on starters, full foundation or 

 combs ? 



Use a contracted brood-nest with starters and one comb. 

 Mr. Hall said this comb should contain young brood to make 

 the hive more home-like. 



R. H. Smith— Use 2-inch starters. They give less pollen 

 in the sections than narrow starters. 



PUTTING SECTIONS ON SWARMS. 



Do you put sections on the swarms as soon as they are 

 hived ? 



Mr. Hall — Put them on at once. 



Morley Pettit — If the swarm is inclined to be restless 

 at first, do not put the dummies in the brood-chamber for a 

 few days. 



REMOVING SECTION-SUPERS FROM HIVES. 



In taking off sections do you use a bee-escape, or how? 



Mr. Hall — During the honey-flow, when no robbers are 

 about, set the supers on the ground and the bees fly home. 

 After the honey-flow use escapes. 



Mr. Holtermann recommended a cloth soaked in carbolic 

 acid solution. Insects abhor this acid and the smell from 

 the cloth spread over the super will drive them down and 

 out. 



The evening of Nov. 15, the Fruit-Growers , the Bee- 

 Keepers , and the Horticultural Associations held a mass 

 meeting in Association Hall, at which Mayor Urquart, of 

 Toronto, officially welcomed the numerous delegates to the 

 city. Honorable Jno. Dryden, the Ontario Minister of Agri- 

 culture, was chairman of the meeting. Dr. Jas. Fletcher, of 

 the Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, addressed the meet- 

 ing on 



"WHAT THE LITTLE BEE IS DOING." 



In his remarks the Doctor called attention to the inter- 

 dependence of all things in nature, as illustrated by the com- 

 munity of interest between the fruit-men and the bee-keep- 

 ers. The little bee is doing much more than it is given 

 credit for, and not some things that it is supposed to be doing. 

 There is much to be learned from the life of the bee. The 

 fact that bees are so common is assurance that more should 

 be known about them. Things common to us should be best 

 known. The scheme of Nature is to make things perfect 

 One of her plans is to fertilize flowers, and to do this two 

 sets of organs are developed, one for the production of 

 fruit or seed, and another for protection and fertilization. 

 And because Nature abhors self-fertilization she provides 

 means by which her scheme may be carried out. This plan 

 insures uniformity of type in all the productions of Nature. 

 One of the most active agents in the carrying out of this 

 scheme of Nature is the bee. In return for this service 

 the flowers of Canada provide the best nectar and honey 

 that can be obtained in any part of the world, at the time 

 when they require the service of bees. 



One of the best things for the bee-keepers is the asser- 

 tion made a few years ago by fruit-men, that bees punctured 

 fruit. This sensational libel upon the bee set people to 

 studying more closely than before, with the result that bees 

 are better known. People are now better aware that the 

 bee and the wasp are not close relatives. Bees have a busi- 

 ness-like way of going from flower to flower of the same 

 kind, not from one variety of flower to another. This in- 

 sures a uniform quality of honey and an economical distribu- 

 tion of pollen. 



Peculiar as it may seem, bees gather honey from flowers 

 most extensively just at the time when flowers are most in 

 need of having pollen distributed. The flowers in their turn 

 change their color after fertilization, so that the bee knows 

 it is no longer in need of visitation. . 



In some parts fruit-growers are finding it to their ad- 

 vantage to keep bees in their orchards, simply for the as- 

 sistance the bees give in the perfecting of fruit. 



SECOND DAY— Wednesday Morning Session. 



Prof. F. C. Harrison, of the Ontario Agricultural Col- 

 lege at Guelph, addressed the convention. He congratulated 

 the Association on having in a way amalgamated with the 

 fruit-growers and horticulturists. He said we should fol- 

 low the example of these associations, which, not content 

 with holding annual meetings, are going out during the year 

 to hold orchard and garden meetings. We are in an era 

 of greater prosperity and should help those who are starting 

 in the business. We should have apiary meetings to give in- 

 structions in the best handling of bees. We should also rec- 

 ognize the fact that apiculture is taught only at the Agri- 

 cultural College by offering an annual prize to be competed 

 for by students at the college. The Professor then took up 



'"= '''^''"'''- DISEASES OF BEE-LARV/E. 



The diseases of the larvae of bees may be roughly divided 

 into two groups: one, in which the disease is contagious, 

 and the other in which the disease is not due to a special 

 virus but to some physiological or physical cause. The con- 

 tagious diseases are the most harmful, as they spread from 

 hive to hive and from one apiary to another, often producing 

 a severe epidemic. 



In all cases of infectious diseases there must be present 

 a virus or a living organism which may be a fungus or a 

 mould-like growth, or due to minute organisms, which are 

 popularly called bacteria. These micro-organisms may be 

 carried from one hive to another in many different ways, 

 and the following are the principal means by which contagion 

 is spread, and infection caused : 



1. Bees entering wrong hives. 



2. Bees robbing a diseased colony. 



3. Feeding bees with honey from an infected hive. 



4. Inserting diseased combs into healthy hives. 



5. Using as a foundation, wax from a diseased colony 

 which has been improperly boiled. . i. u- j 



6. Transferring bees into hives that have been inhabited 

 by a diseased colony without first thoroughly disinfecting it. 



7. Placing a hive upon a stand previously occupied by 

 a diseased colony. . , , . 



8. The handling of healthy colonies by the bee-keeper 

 after manipulating diseased hives. 



9. The introduction of a diseased queen. 



10. Healthy bees visiting flowers which may have been 

 infected by diseased bees. 



All these are means by which infection can be carried 

 or transferred from one place to another, and evidence can 

 be brought forward to show that disease has been produced 

 by each of the different means above mentioned. "Foul 

 Drood" being the infectious disease which is best known 

 naturally affords more examples of these methods of transmis- 

 sion than any one of the other contagious bee diseases. 



It is important that all bee-keepers should clearly under- 

 stand these means bv which infection is carried: also they 

 should have a knowledge of the appearance of the various 

 diseases of bees so that they can diagnose or tell the kind 

 and character of the disease in order to apply intelligently 

 methods of prevention or cure. 



I shall endeavor to give you a brief account of the gen- 

 eral appearances of several of the best known diseases, taking 

 them in order of their importance. 



FOin, BROOD. 



The larvae attacked by B. alvei—tht cause of foul brood- 

 may die during all stages of their development. In every 

 instance the larvae lose their white and glossy appearance, 

 when suffering from the disease, and turn to a dull yellow- 

 ish, and later to a brownish, color. In the further progress 

 of the disease, they die and collapse into a darkish brown, 

 coffee-colored, more or less tenacious, shapeless mass. This 

 mass is characterized by its viscid character and before it 

 dries up can be drawn out in threads when lifted with a 

 match or a pointed instrument. It has an offensive odor, 

 which is said to resemble that of glue, and when much dis- 

 ease is present, there is an ammonia-like smell. The cap 



