THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



vention of the disease is self-evi- 

 dent ; it consists in that you, as 

 often as a cleaning of the bottom 

 boards is necessary, viz., in the 

 spring, proceed with the above stat- 

 ed washing, and add to the food as 

 well as to the drinking water, a 

 very small quantity of carbolic or 

 salicylic "acid. There is then al- 

 ways a means of disinfection to be 

 found in the hive as is essential to 

 prevent the spread of the disease. 



Just now, as I am about to con- 

 clude this article, I find in No. 10 

 of the " Apiculturist" the communi- 

 cation of Chas. F. Muth, upon 

 "Foul Brood." He says,"salicylic 

 acid destroys all spores of foul 

 brood with which it comes in con- 

 tact, but does not penetrate the 

 mummy which resembles ground 

 coffee when scraped out of the 

 cells." To judge from this method, 

 when the combs are wholly im- 

 mersed in carbolic acid Avater, these 

 mummies which contain the spores 

 of the foul brood in great quantity 

 will soften, and these are destroyed 

 if the comb remains long enough 

 in the liquid. 



At the end of the article, friend 

 Muth describes a new method of 

 cure, without using salicylic acid. 

 It seems as if through this the pre- 

 sent bacterian theory were contra- 

 dicted. But that is not so, for 

 during a plentiful honey harvest 

 the bee poison [acid ?] which is a 

 good disinfectant, is separated in 

 greater quantity than at other 

 times, but the same time the brood 

 is considerably limited. This there- 

 fore furnishes the most favorable 

 case where the bees without out- 



ward help can be masters of the 

 disease. But even in these cases, 

 it appears to me that a washing of 

 the bottom boards, often repeated, 

 with carbolic acid water is to be re- 

 commended. 



I do not dispute the possibility, 

 however, that the disease, in such 

 favorable cases, can be cured with- 

 out the means of disinfection. I 

 have already experienced such 

 cases myself but I would not place 

 any dependence upon it, but try 

 washing with carbolic acid. 



The same is to be said concern- 

 ing Jones' starvation cure. It may 

 prove all right, if it is followed by 

 a good honey-flow or by a strong 

 liberal feeding. But the proceed- 

 ing offers too little security, re- 

 quires more time and reduces the 

 colony more than by the method 

 which I have described. 



To be^ sure, he who fights from 

 incomprehen,sible reasons against 

 every application of medicaments 

 to mankind and animals cannot 

 employ any different agents for the 

 foul brood than fire and sulphur ; 

 but I doubt very much if h6 and 

 the bees are any better off by that 

 than by the use of a small quantity 

 of medicine which would have 

 saved the life of the whole colony. 



Selma, Texas, Nov. 19, 1884. 



WINTERING BEES. 



BY L. C. ROOT. 



I placed my bees in winter quar- 

 ters, Nov. 19, in the order named 



