EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL WAGNER, WASHINGTON, D. C. 



Vol. II. 



A.XJOXJST, isee. 



No. 2. 



Bee Culture in Cottage Hives. 

 No. 2. 



Having given a sketcli of the natural liistory 

 of the honey bee, we shall, before taking up the 

 general subject of culture, proceed to notice the 

 diseases of that insect — this seeming to be the 

 more suitable place for introducing the topic. 



Strictly speaking, the bee is subject to only 

 two diseases— dyscuterj'- and foulbrood. The 

 former is of frequent occurrence in almost every 

 apiary, usually prevailing at the close of winter. 

 The latter originates only during the brooding 

 season, and appears commonly to be confined 

 to certain localities or districts. 



DYSENTERY. 



This disease, from its frequency, has probably 

 come under the observation of almost every ex- 

 perienced bee-keeper. It consists in the inabil- 

 ity of the workers to retain the fa?ces with which 

 their intestines are filled. Hence their evacua- 

 tions are made involuntarily, on the interior 

 sides, the bottom, and the front of the hives, 

 and on the combs themselves when the case is 

 aggravated, and the weather does not permit 

 the bees to come forth. The discharges consist 

 of brownish or buff colored fsecal matter, of an 

 off"ensive odor, and causing stains diflicult to 

 remove from white cotton or linen fabrics. This 

 disease never occurs in populous colonies well 

 supplied with honey and pollen, unless the bees 

 are kept in very prolonged confinement by 

 stress of weather, and then ceases as soon as 

 they are able to fly out. It is sometimes, also, 

 induced by external causes, such as the frequent 

 disturbance of a colony during winter, by cats, 

 mice, birds, or careless persons. This leads to 

 an increased consumption of honey, thus sur- 

 charging the intestines with ffccal matter, caus- 

 ing functional derangement, followed by pre- 

 mature involuntary evacuations. Occasionally 

 it occurs from the consumption of unwholesome 

 honey— such, for instance, as that procured from 

 fir or pine trees, or from some kinds of honey- 

 dew. Baron Ehrenfels relates the case of an 

 entire apiary of more than three hundred stocks, 

 which suffered greatly from dysentery caused 

 by the consumption of honey gathered, late in 



autumn, Irom the fir trees of a neighboring for- 

 est. Such honey usually remains unsealed in 

 the cells and, attracting moisture, partially fer- 

 ments and turns sour. Dysentery is sure to fol- 

 low the use of it, if the bees have not early and 

 frequent opportunities to fly out and discharge 

 their ficces. No such ill consequences follow 

 the use of such honey in spring or summer. 



Dysentery sometimes prevails as an epidemic 

 among the bees of a whole neighborhood, appa- 

 rently assuming a contagious type. This wac^ 

 the case in Silesia in 1840, when it rapidly spread 

 through the country, and destroyed two-thirds 

 of the hives in that province. Dr. Ja?lme, how- 

 ever, who investigated the case, attributed the 

 disease to the use of honey collected from the 

 common heath {Erica vulgaris), which from 

 the scarcity of other pasturage the i^revious sea- 

 son, constituted the almost exclusive food of 

 the bees that winter. 



External cold, and a low internal tempera- 

 ture in the hive, together with irregular cluster- 

 ing on the combs in Avinter, may superinduce 

 dysentery, from the increased consumption of 

 honey and pollen thereby caused, and the re- 

 sulting accumulation of fa?cal matter, while 

 the bees are confined to the hive. This is the 

 reason, too, why weak or young stocks are more 

 liable to be attacked by this disease than strong 

 or old ones. The former are rarely able to 

 maintain the requisite temperature in the hive, 

 in virtue of their numbers; and the combs of 

 the latter, in which successive broods have been 

 hatched, are much warmer and better adapted 

 for wintering bees, than new combs in which 

 only one brood, or perhaps none, have been 

 reared. 



Great dampness in hives will cause dysente- 

 rj^ if not early removed. This often occurs in 

 hives constructed of thin boards, on Avhich dur- 

 ing "cold spells," perspiration and exhalations 

 become condensed on the interior sides and top, 

 and even ice is occasionally formed. When the 

 weather moderates, the bees partially uncluster 

 and lick up the condensation, and if it be in ex- 

 cess, as it frequently is, it overloads their stom- 

 achs and causes disease. Tlie case is still wor.se 

 when the condensation \\i so gre-at as to drip 



