10 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



January. 



England. 



In the British Bee Journal, Mr. Cow- 

 an insists that the color of honey is due 

 to some pollen mixed with it and gath- 

 ered on the same flowers at the same 

 time. With all respect due Mr. Cowan, 



1 may say that his assertion, while it 

 may be true concerning the flowers and 

 honey he has observed, does certainly 

 not apply in all cases. 



Switzerland. 



In the Revue Internationale; is a 

 study of formic acid. Among the'^ry 

 interesting facts reported is a chemical 

 analysis of different classes of honeys. 

 This reveals the facts that the amount 

 of formic acid in buckwheat is about 

 1-600, and in white clover honey 

 only 1-1500. A worker cell full of 

 honej^ contains something like i-iooo 

 of a gram of formic acid. On 

 the other hand the smallest drop of 

 formic acid obtainable is at least 200 

 times that size. This seems to dispose 

 of the theory that the bees deposit a 

 drop of formic acid in each cell when 

 they are capped. 



The best method of using formic acid 

 against foul brood is that of Mr. Bert- 

 rand. A mixture is made of acid formic 

 at 25 per cent, strength, 2 parts; water, 



2 parts; alcohol, i part. Three or four 

 ounces are put in a saucer or some oth- 

 er convenient vessel (not metallic) and 

 put in a super or somewhere in the 

 hive to be treated. The vapors of the 

 solution reach everywhere in the hive, 

 and destroy the germs of the disease. 

 The dose is renewed every week until 

 a cure is effected. Two or three doses 

 are usually sufficient. If not, the queen 

 is infected and must be changed and the 

 treatment continued. 



The above is given by the best author- 

 ities. However, in view of the facts ad- 

 mitted here (in the United States), I 

 •would suggest that it is doubtful that 



the vapors of the formic acid reach the 

 deep cells of honey, especially those 

 that are capped, and I would suggest 

 that such honey be removed or con- 

 sumed according to the McEvoy meth- 

 od, and the foul brood germs that might 

 be therein, be thus eliminated. The pos- 

 sibility of a queen being infected and 

 laying infected eggs has been denied 

 here. But microscopic examination by 

 Cheshire and later on, somebody else, 

 whose name I cannot recall just now, 

 have shown foul brood germs in the 

 ovaries and eggs of queens taken from 

 diseased colonies. In the above formu- 

 la, the addition of alcohol increases the 

 capacity of the evaporation. 



While in the line of implements, me- 

 chanical appliances, etc., we are unques- 

 tionably ahead of our European breth- 

 ren; we can nevertheless get some good 

 hints from them. In looking over tht 

 advertisements of the Revue Internat- 

 ionale, I find a tinned wire cloth care- 

 fully made to take the place of perfo- 

 rated zinc. The claim is made that the 

 sharp edges of the zinc wear out an 1 

 cut the bees' wings. I do no: know 

 whether this is true or not, but it 

 might be investigated. There are also 

 queen cages, similar to the West cages, 

 but made of wire cloth, soldered to 

 two tin rings, one at each end- They 

 must be very cheap. Candles about 

 one-fourth of an inch thick and a few 

 inches long to fasten combs or founda- 

 tion to frames or wires. They are made 

 of wax. To use them, light them and 

 let the drops of melted wax fall where 

 needed. I may say here that I have 

 tried the process but have not succeed- 

 ed very well. I prefer to apply the 

 melted wax with a brush. A brush 

 made of hair does not work so well. I 

 prefer a home-made brush made with 

 cotton twine instead of hair. It holds 

 the wax better. 



A very ingenious comb lifter is also 

 noted, but could hardly be described 



