THK AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



65 



suppose. In fact, it is impossible (with 

 me) to affect a cure when using only 

 starters. We always want to know the 

 "why and wherefore" of all things. 

 Here is the Imy) reason why we cannot 

 cure foul frood when using starters. 

 When using full sheets a large surface 

 is furnished to commence comb-build- 

 ing on, therefore a large number of 

 cells are started at once, and, before 

 they arc of the right depth for the bees 

 to store honey in. all of the diseased 

 honey is converted into wax. If, on the 

 other hand, starters two or three inches 

 wide are used, the bees .start little 

 '"snears" of comb, which are so small, 

 that before all the infected honey is 

 used the cells are deep enough, and 

 the foul broody honey is stored in the 

 cells, which again starts the disease. 



There are a dozen different methods 

 of treatment, all of which are guaran- 

 teed to "kill or cure." There are so 

 many different plans that a beginner, 

 unless he "watches closely,'" will be us- 

 ing a part of several methods- The 

 result is, no cure is affected, and he de- 

 spairingly leaves the Ijees to their in- 

 evitable doom. I doubt if a more effi- 

 cient method than the McEvoy has 

 been discovered. Its originator is a 

 man who has had an extensive experi- 

 ence with foul brood, and also with 

 bees in general. I will have to admit 

 that some time ago I failed to affect a 

 satisfactory cure with the McEvov 

 method, but I didn't follow the direc- 

 tions, closely enough. You know, the 

 treatment of foul brood is a business of 

 details. Even if I didn't succeed with 

 it, Mr. McEvoy has cured thousands 

 of colonies by his method in Canada. 

 Surely localities do not differ in regard 

 to foul brood. 



New Columbia. 111.. July i. 1901. 



..^ifiiiagai 



Do Bees Hear? 



Hill. N. H.. March 5. 1902. 

 Editor American Bee-Keeper: 



Dear Sir: I have been a reader of 

 your paper for a short time and like it 



very much. It is well worth what it 

 costs to any one that keeps bees- I 

 keep quite a lot of bees and could keep 

 a good many more, but the people 

 about here have wanted to buy all that 

 I would sell. Most of the bees here 

 are black and all were until I got some 

 Italians, four years ago, and that is wiiy 

 1 have had a chance to sell so many. I 

 also rear my own queens- I imported 

 some from Italy last year; they were 

 fine looking bees, and great workers — 

 far ahead of the blacks. 



I don't very often write anything to 

 be put in print. I can talk on this sub- 

 ject much easier than I can write. 



We had a great crop of honey here 

 last year, the largest I ever knew for 

 this place. Some colonies that cast a 

 swarm the last of May made 75 pounds 

 surplus. I recently saw a piece in a 

 bee journal and the writer asked the 

 question, "Do Bees Hear?" and he 

 made answer, no, and tried to prove it. 

 but it did not seem right to me to an- 

 swer it in that way- Now. I should say 

 bees do hear. If not. why, after a hive 

 of bees cast a first swarm, in eight or 

 ten daj'S you will hear in the parent 

 hive, if you listen, in the evening, and 

 you can also hear it in the day time, a 

 day or two before a second swarm is 

 to come otit, if the colony should 

 swarm twice, the piping of the young 

 c|ueen. and following this sound you 

 hear it answered by another muffled 

 sound from a queen in a cell not 

 hatched. If they can not hear, what is 

 all this for"' And if the queens can 

 hear, why not the workers, for they are 

 nothing but undeveloped females. There 

 is one other proof, and that is, when 

 you hive a swarm you shake a few bees 

 down a little way from the hive and 

 they will crawl in every direction, but 

 you shake a few more close to the en- 

 trance, and they will tip up on their 

 heads and flutter their wings and by 

 so doing make quite a noise. You will 

 see the first lot start for the hive like 

 a flock of sheep for their pen, and why? 

 Because they hear. 



We see a good deal in the papers 

 nowadays about mating queens in con- 

 finement. Now, as I said awhile ago, 

 I am the only one here that has Italian 

 bees and I have been troubled but lit- 

 tle with having my queens mate with 

 black bees — only one last year. There 

 is an apiary of blacks only one mile 

 from me of fifteen colonies and not a 

 hive of them showed a trace of Italian 



