790 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 15. 



is powerful enough to kill the ferment of the 

 bee, would it not likewise annihilate the germs 

 of foul brood?" And, really, many practition- 

 ers pretend that it is the best means to arrest 

 and cure that terrible disease of the brood. 



The Schweizerische Bicnenzeitung (Swiss 

 Bee Gazette) cites some experiments which 

 have been successful. One proceeds thus: "The 

 bees of a diseased colony are, as much as possi- 

 ble, contracted on some frames. All the other 

 frames are set aside. In a frame with empty 

 combs, there is let drop from a certain height, 

 in a thin stream, 100 grammes of formic acid at 

 20 per cent, and then it is placed in the middle 

 of the infected colony. If the weather is fine, 

 and permits the bees to fly. all the attacked 

 brood will be abandoned in eight days, the cells 

 will be cleaned, and all bad smells will have 

 disappeared. Seldom is one obliged to rep'^at 

 the operation. To preserve the other colonies, 

 it is well to place in them a small bottle with 

 the acid, corked lightly with a little cotton. 

 To hasten the cure, one can, without fear, mix 

 the remedy with the food of the bees, a tea- 

 spoonful to the litre." Three of our friends, in 

 whose apiaries the foul brood had appeared, 

 have applied the remedy with success. When 

 we visited them we noticed a good deal of 

 brood in a state of complete putrefaction, while, 

 a few days later, these colonies were already 

 better. When they had to be put into winter 

 quarters they were strong and in good condi- 

 tion. After this, Mr. Gubler speaks of the 

 origin of the formic acid, and says that, accord- 

 ing to Mr. de Planta's scientific and irrefutable 

 researches and analyses, it is neither contained 

 in the nectar of the flowers nor does it come 

 from the air in the hives; but its origin is to be 

 found in the blood of the bees. 



St. Petersburg, Fla., Aug. 31. 



[As Mr. Norman truly states, we in this 

 country do not take much stock in the antisep- 

 tic or medicine treatment; but Mr. Bertrand is 

 one whose opinion should be given some 

 weight. It is with pleasure that I give place 

 to the above for what it is worth; for if a suc- 

 cessful antiseptic may be discovered, it would 

 save a large expense. This is the first of a 

 series of articles from our foreign exchanges. — 

 Ed.] 



RAMBLE 118. 



THE MERCER FAMILY, ETC. 



By Rambler. 



In this ramble I wish to place Mr. Mercer in 

 a little different role from that in which he was 

 a prominent actor in our last. It is hardly 

 necessary for me to introduce him to your 

 readers, and especially the readers of Glean- 

 ings on this coast. Mr. Mercer is widely 

 known here as an extensive and successful bee- 

 keeper. He was an enthusiastic bee-keeper 

 many years ago, away back in Iowa, and for at 



least thirty years he has had an interest in bees 

 and bee-literature. His married life dates 

 back that number of years, and, from his happy 

 surroundings, it would seem that His honey- 

 moon has never waned. Mr. Mercer has four 

 apiaries, and a total of 700 colonies. Last year, 

 1893, from 300 colonies, spring count, he obtain- 

 ed 24 tons of honey, and increased to 600 col- 

 onies. This year, from 7.50, spring count. Mr. 

 Mercer writes me that his yield is represented 

 by a string of ciphers, with a decrease of .50 

 colonies. 



In connection with the bee-business, Mr. M. 

 runs a general wood-working establishment, 

 making bee-keepers' supplies, house-fittings, 

 and water-tanks. In fact, the factory can turn 

 out any thing in the wood -working line except 

 boats. Boats can be made, of course, as easily 

 as a water-tank; but Mr. M. has a slight aver- 

 sion to boating, and that department is left out 

 of the establishment. 



Mr. Mercer is aided, in his various operations, 

 by four stalwart sons, and it is a pleasure for 

 me to introduce the whole family to the readers 

 of Gleanings. Mr. and Mrs. M. are seated. 

 The oldest son, Wm. Edward, stands behind 

 Mr. M. The next oldest son, Herbert, is seated 

 at the extremf^ left. Harry J. stands next to 

 Edward; and Fred, the youngest, also stands 

 with his hand upon his mother's shoulder. 

 The boys have all had more or less to do with 

 the bees; but Wm. Edward, having taken to 

 himself a helpmeet, and being especially pro- 

 ficient as a builder, devotes his time to his 

 trade, and some of the finest residences in Ven- 

 tura bear the marks of his skill. Herbert runs 

 the factory, aided by the others when necessary. 

 Harry J. is something of a photographer, while 

 Fred, as Mr. Mercer puts it, is an all-round 

 bee-keeper, and can handle more bees than any 

 man he ever had in his apiaries. Mrs. Mercer, 

 of course, lends a helping hand to all of the 

 operations of husband and sons. 



It will be observed that Mr. Mercer looks 

 about as young as his boys, and it causes no 

 little amusement in the family circle to have 

 the " old man " often taken for one of the boys. 



Mr. Mercer has made some fine exhibits at 

 various fairs, and for a long time has had on 

 exhibition in the Chamber of Commerce, at Los 

 Angeles, a single comb (I estimate the size from 

 memory) four feet in length by over one foot 

 deep, with the name Mercer in large raised 

 letters on the side of the comb, all made by the 

 bees. This comb was also a prominent feature 

 in Mr. Mercer's fine exhibit at the midwinter 

 fair, where, I believe, he and Mr. Mendleson 

 took the first premiums. Take it all in all. Mr. 

 M. is an all-round man except in the matter of 

 navigation. 



It may interest your readers to learn that 

 those large water-tanks manufactured by the 

 Mercers are in common use in Ventura Co. 

 They are made to contain sixteen barrels of 



