236 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



October, 



CAUSE OF BEE PARALYSIS. 



The "Cause of Bee Paralysis'' is ex- 

 plained by Mr. E. J. Atchley, in a re- 

 cent issue of Gleanings. The theory is, 

 in substance, as follows: 



The nurse bees, in accordance with 

 a natural law, secrete or prepare 

 quantities of chyle with which to 

 nourish the larvae; doing so at a time 

 when there is little or no larvae, in 

 the hive upon which to bestow the 

 food, which is necessarily retained, 

 and undergoes a state of fermentation, 

 thus causing the sickness known as 

 paralysis. The severity of the case, 

 Mr. Atchley says, will be proportion- 

 ate to the extent of the chyle secreted. 

 He has also observed that Cyprian 

 and Holy Land bees are quite or near- 

 ly exempt from the disease, and for 

 this peculiarity he accounts in this 

 wise: "These bees are such great 

 breeders that the queens begin laying 

 at the least excitement, in season or 

 out of season, and furnish plenty of 

 larvae upon which the bees can use 

 the prepared food, and consequently 

 they are always healthy.'' 



This is an interesting observation, 

 and all such investigation should be 

 encouraged. The theory is indeed one 

 that evinces much careful attention 

 to the matter upon Mr. Atchley's part. 

 However, it is difficult to comprehend 

 the reason for the action of an exter- 

 nal application of sulphur, if the cause 

 of the disease is internal; and the effi- 

 cacy of the sulphur application has 

 been established beyond question. 



Again, while Mr. Atchley's Cyprians 

 and Holy Lands may have failed to 

 contract the malady, let not the inex- 

 perienced reader take it for granted 

 that they are therefore necessarily ex- 

 empt or immune. Some of the worst 

 cases of paralysis that have come be- 

 fore the writer's attention Avere in Cy- 

 prian colonies, and that during a hon- 

 ey-flow, Avitli an abundance of brood 

 of all stages in the hives. 



In connection with Mr. Atchley's 

 observation, as to the lack of brood 

 being responsilile for the malady, it 

 is interesting to note the theory of 

 Mr. Beuhne, as presented at the con- 

 vention of Victorian bee-keepers, of 

 Australia, last June, and reported by 

 the Aust. Bee Bulletin, as follows: 

 "Queen raisers pay too much atten- 



tion to the amount of brood contained 

 in the hive. It was a mistake to take 

 a too prolific queen. Paralysis was 

 due where queens were bred from too 

 prolific mothers. Bees from such 

 queens have a great tendency to par- 

 alysis. Breed from moderately pro- 

 lific queens. He had adhered to that 

 rule for several seasons and paralysis 

 had disappeared." 



Such directly opposite views from 

 two investigators render the "cause" 

 proposition more complex than ever. 



In connection with the picture which 

 appears in this number of The Bee- 

 Keeper, showing Mr. Herman holding 

 "A Nice Swarm," the editor is inclined 

 to relate an amusing incident: Our 

 engraver in Albany, N. Y., has a habit 

 of itemizing his bills in a way that 

 each engraving is readily recognized. 

 He will, for example, note one cut, 

 "Portrait," another, "bee-boxes," an- 

 other "bee-comb," etc., etc. The last 

 bill presented, among other things, 

 "Man with rooster." We were at a 

 loss for a time to identify the item, 

 but finally recognized the "rooster." 



In apiarian nomenclature, "Honey- 

 harvest" and "Robbing" are synony- 

 mous words. The former is enjoyed 

 by the progressive apiarist, while the 

 latter method is pursued by the non- 

 reading fellow. 



The American Bee-Keeper is in the 

 market to buy bee-keeping articles. 

 Those illustrated with good photo- 

 graphs are especially desired. 



Mr. A. E. Manum, Bristol, Vt., is 

 now entirely out of the bee business. 

 It is difficult to think "Manum" wiT»> 

 out at the same time thmiving "bees." 



General Manager France, of the 

 "National." has scented a hot trail of 

 honey adulterators, and is in deter- 

 mined pursuit. 



If "chunk honey" fails to become 

 popular in the world's markets, no one 

 can charge the failure against H. H. 

 Hyde. 



There is a gi-aud opportunity in the 

 field for adverttising for every man of 

 superior ability. — Printers' Ink. 



