THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAI.. 



79 



For the American Bee Journal. 



The Bee Disease in Western New York. 



As my experience with the bee disease (so 

 called by many good aiiiariuns) has been of 

 a character not to make its repetition desira- 

 ble, I i)roposi' to jiive a lew facts connected 

 therewith, hoping that some of your corres- \ 

 pondents will correct me if I have arrived at 

 a wrong conclusion. 



Our apiary is located on the western slope 

 of the Genesee, about seven miles west of the 

 river, in a line not far from one mile uorth 

 of west from the village of Geneseo. Al- 

 though during cold nights the mercury in the 

 therniomeler sinks several degrees lower on 

 the tlats than on the uplands, yet, owing to 

 protection of these flats from winds, in the 

 middle of clear, calm days, the temperature 

 at times was of sufficient warmth to admit of 

 bees flying, whereas at the distance above 

 mentioned they had no opportunity to leave 

 their hives from late in the fall till the latter 

 part of winter, consequently when the op- 

 portunity did come what had not been frozen 

 out were in an emaciated condition and hard- 

 ly able to regain the hive after once leaving 

 it. 



Thus reduced in numbers, they were una- 

 ble to recruit, and consequently, they gradual- 

 ly dwindled away, leaving the hive well stored 

 with pollen, comb and honey. Out of an 

 apiary of over sixty colonies in the spring 

 of 1873 we had but one swarm left. 



Our neighbors fared no better, for through- 

 out the length and breadth of this elevation 

 of country — bordering both sides of the val- 

 ley — from Ontario to Pennsylvania, (a part 

 of the fairest and most fertile section of 

 Western New York,) the same scene of dis- 

 aster and desolation to a greater or less ex- 

 tent prevailed, and bee-keeping received a 

 blow from the eftects of which it will require 

 some years to recover. Piles of empty hives 

 stood where was once flourishing apiaries, and 

 the busy hum of millions of industrious work- 

 ers was hushed, and silence reigned supreme. 



From the facts above stated I am led to be- 

 lieve that the great loss of bees throughout 

 the country was by protracted cold weather 

 without any favorable opportunities for 

 purifying flights. In the valley proper, the 

 loss was not above the usual average as they 

 had several chances to fly, and consequently 

 came through strong and healthy, but as you 

 traveled east or west from the river, the ele- 

 vation gradually increasing, the greater would 

 become the loss, till you arrived at what 

 raigth be termed the dead line. 



Another circumstance which serves to con- 

 firm me in the opinion that there was no epi- 

 demic, is that I took some b'-f^s with frames 

 of comb left by bees which had died from 

 the disease the winter before, to a person in 



Avon, who hived into them new swarms, 

 which came out in the spring in fine condition, 

 strong, healthy, and without any sign of dis- 

 ease. I again have all my hives and combs 

 refilled with bees and never had them do bet- 

 ter than they have done the past season. 



I will close by saying that if re-using liives- 

 and ttouibs from which bees died out the 

 season before, will not spread and propagate 

 disease could there have been any epidemic 

 connected therewith ? When with due care 

 we can count on wintering our bees with as 

 small a percentage of loss as on other live 

 stock, then will bee-keeping be established 

 upon a surer basis, whereas, of late hundreds- 

 of dollars have been invested in the business, 

 from which there has not been received any 

 adequate returns. C. R. Isiiam. 



Peoria, Wj^oming Co., N. Y. 



Berlepsch on the Culture of Rape. 



In order to make the inti'oductioii- 

 aiid culture of rape successful I have 

 gathered testimonials in regard to its 

 value as a farm crop, and honey plant, 

 from the rape growers in Wisconsin. 

 I have also written to Mr. Berlepsch, and 

 received the reply which is given below. 

 Since it is the most important report,, 

 and testimonial from such high author- 

 ity concerning a honey plant, over 

 given in the American Bee Joirnal. 

 I thought it of sufficient interest to pub- 

 lish. It will surely be found interesting, 

 and will encourage the culture of rape, 

 which, I am quite certain, can be made 

 a success, here in America, as in Ger- 

 many. 



Berlin, Wis. II. O. Ivruschke. 



Munich. Bavaria. Feb. 8th, 1874. 



Deak Bee Fkieni):— Your appreciated letter 



of Jan. 19th. is at Jiand In reply 



to your question. I would say, that I can an- 

 swer you with certainty. 



During the years— between 1841 and 18.58 — that 

 I was a practical agriculturist, I cultivated 

 rape (see pamphlet) to a large extent, and can,, 

 in consequence thereof, and from knowledge 

 otherwise gained, testify most assuredly, that 

 in all Geniiany there is "no itlant yielding more 

 honey than rape. I know of instances, occur- 

 ing in my i>wn experience, where a very popul- 

 ous colony of bees, during the tinic; rai)e was iu 

 blossom, gained a weight of twenty pounds and 

 over in one day. 



On tlie tenth of ^lay 184<5 there was near me a 

 sixty-live acre lield hi blossom. The weather 

 was'excellent, and my strongest colony, which 

 I placed on a jilatforin scale, gained that day 

 over twenty-one pounds in weight. I know 

 only of one other plant that can be c(mii)ared 

 with rajie as a honey-yielding plant, and that 

 is esparcet. It is i>rol)al)ly the best fodder- 

 yielding i^lant for cattle and slice]). It flouri.shes 

 on the pt)orest soil, if only not wet. and from ten 



