1872.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOUBNAL. 



251 



versy ; if our facts were too strong to require 

 any aid from epithets and comparisons how- 

 ever true and however obviously sugsested — let 

 our readers "'put themselves in our place," and 

 picture the tragical circumstances under which 

 we wrote. 



In all this controversy, Mr. King has given his 

 read rs only his own side ; while we have obeyed 

 the almost sacred injunction "■audire alteram 

 parlent''^ "'to hear the other side," so truly em- 

 bodied in Mr. Wagner's manly offer, and Jiave 

 given oiir readers both sides ; so that if any injus- 

 tice should be done, the bane and the antidote 

 might go together. Only an honest cause could 

 afford this. 



Loathing the necessity which forced upon us 

 these personal controversies, we again express 

 the hope that they may be referred for settle- 

 ment to the only impartial Tribv\nal. 



L. L. Langstuoth. 



WasJiingtm, D. G., April, 1872. 



[For the Americau Bee Jourua.1.] 



Dysentery in Bees, 



The winter just closing has been one of the 

 most disastrous to bee-culture ever known in 

 this State. I am of opinion that two-thirds of 

 all the bees in this part of the State have died. 

 Some beekeepers have lost all, and others have 

 lost more than half. I have fared better than 

 most others, having lost only five out of 

 seventeen colonies, and only two of them by 

 disease. The other three were smothered by a 

 heavy sleet on newly-fallen snow. The disease 

 that has carried off so many bees is what is 

 termed dysentery. In most cases plenty of honey 

 has been left in the hives. 



I have been of opinion, since the disease first 

 manifested itself, that it was caused by an in- 

 ferior quality of honey gathered from the honey- 

 dew that was so abundant last summer and fall. 

 % Honey-dew is produced by several kinds of 

 I aphides. That which was so abundant in this part 

 of the country last season was the ]>roduct of the 

 white cottony looking insects called beech lice. 

 Much of the honey stored from July to Novem- 

 ber was from this source, for it continued to be 

 abundant even after the first severe frosts. Per- 

 haps, if the M'inter had been mild like the pre- 

 ceding one, so that the bees could have had a 

 good fly occasionally, they would have lived, 

 notwithstanding the poor quality of the honey. 

 I was confirmed in the opinion that the honey- 

 dew predisposed the bees to disease by visiting, 

 on yesterday, a neighborhood where there is no 

 beech timber. There I found that the bees are 

 wintering as Avell as could be desired, no colonies 

 having been lost, and all seeming to be in a per- 

 fectly healthy condition. 



If the honey had been extracted from the 

 combs last fall, and the bees fed with sugar 

 syruiJ until they had enough to winter them, 

 they would, no doubt, have been in far better 

 condition this sprin,^ 



M. Mahix. 



New Castle, Ind., March 1, 1873. 



[For the American Bee Jourual.] 



The Winter in Michigan. 



The past winter has been very disastrous to 

 the beekeeping fraternity of Michigan, for 

 throughout the State there has been a fearful 

 fatality among the bees. 



I have heard from several counties, and from 

 all alike comes the doleful report of dysentery 

 and death. We at the college have lost nine 

 colonies, while nrany more unlucky still have 

 from forty to one hundred deceased colonies. 



The cause generally assigned for this fatality 

 is the unparalleled severity of the winter. But 

 as the symptoms are the same in every case, 

 viz., much thin uncapped honey, sour and other- 

 wise unwholesome to the taste, in all the lifeless 

 hives, besmeared combs, and intolerable stench. 

 We believe the cause to be tlie same in all cases, 

 and think it as evident that it results from sour 

 honey, 



Onr bees that have died were fixed for winter 

 quarters the last of October, 



We then noticed that there was a good deal of 

 uncapped honey, but as it seemed sweet, we 

 believed it would thicken, and be capped over 

 before we should ])ut them into the cellar. 



We took considerable honey away, and were 

 rather careful to take that which was nicely 

 capped over to keep for spring feeding. We 

 have a fine dry cellar, and have always had ex- 

 cellent success in wintering, so we passed the 

 winter away from tlie college, without the least 

 foreboding as to the welfare of our beautiful 

 three-striped Italians, But a sad prospect 

 awaitgd our return, our bees then appearing as 

 stated above. Why the flowers of the past 

 autitmn should have yielded thin honey, which 

 the bees should regard as unworthy of being 

 capped, I think a mystery. If tlie "season had 

 been wet, instead of unprecedentedly dry, I think 

 it would have seemed more explainable. 



Last summer we used the two most excellent 

 honey extractors, the Peabody and St. Charles, 

 Illinois, machine, and extracted, I believe, from 

 seven colonies enough to pay for eithei- machine. 

 If we had thrown out the thin honey in the fall 

 and sold it, buying and feeding cofiee sugar, 

 a la Novice, I am sure we might still have our 

 bees, thus saving .*90, If all our apiarists had 

 done the same, thousands of dollars would have 

 been saved to our State, 



Apropos to machines, I would say that no 

 apiarist can afford to be without a mel-extractor. 

 We also found Dr. Davis' queen nursery most 

 serviceable. 



I cannot close this article without speaking 

 my commendation of the neat Peabody Extrac- 

 tor, the St. Charles machine, rendered easy to 

 work and admirably by the gearing, and Dr. 

 Davis' queen nursery, which is invaluable in 

 helping us to rai.se and keep our queens without 

 trouble or danger. 



A. .1. Cook. 



Agri'-uUural College, Lansing, Michigan. 



Where did Noa'i preserve the bees during the 

 flood ? In the ark -hives. 



