THE BEE-KEEPERS* REVIEW 



Some Suggestions on Treating Diseased Colonies 

 of Bees; Also on Disinfecting Hives and Utensils. 



By F. E. MILLEN, 



State Bee Inspector for Michigan. 



^^^ WO words should be emphasized strongly when dealing with 

 \^j disease infected hives and appliances from which bees have 

 been treated, — they are Care and Thoroughness. 



When deal'ng with foul brood aim to make one treatment all 

 that is necessary to get rid of the disease. Any bee-keeper with a 

 large and valuable apiary who discovers one or two colonies suffer- 

 ing from American foul-brood, would be taking the safest course 

 by burning- those colonies without delay, after pouring a little gas- 

 oline into each hive to stupefy the bees. 



With the European foul-brood conditions are somewhat differ- 

 ent, for with this disease, if one finds it in one colony, it can soon 

 be found throughout the yard and immediate treatment is called 

 for. Usually the whole yard will need treating, especially if black 

 bees are kept. 



As this article deals with the care after treatment, we will pre- 

 sume that the treatment has been thoroughly carried out. Perhaps 

 one warning will not be out of place ; in shaking the bees akvays 

 shake them on newspapers placed in front of the hive, thus catch- 

 ing any spilled honey. These papers can afterwards be destroyed. 

 It is useless to treat the colonies and leave a pound or two of honey 

 around the entrance for other bees to take up and spread the dis- 

 ease. 



The safest way to sterilize the hives and all appliances that 

 have been used in examin'ng or treating the diseased colonies, is by 

 flaming all the woodwork until charred, this after it has been thor- 

 oughly scraped in a place shut away from the bees. All the tools 

 should then be boiled, and the hands and clothes washed free from 

 all honey. 



If there is much honey in the combs it can be extracted and 

 used as food in the house, but comb or honey must never be left 

 so that the bees may gain access to them, or disease is almost sure 

 to reappear. If used for extracting the infected honey, the extrac- 

 tor should be thoroughly sterilized with boiling- Avater or steam be- 

 fore using again. Should there be only a little honey, it will be safer 

 to cut out combs, honey and all, and render down for beeswax. 



Every bee-keeper with many hives to treat and comljs to melt 

 would do well to invest in a good wax press ; a fair sized hive will 

 yield about two pounds of wax, and beeswax should be one of the 

 valuable by-products of bee-keeping. 



I feel confident that if only the bee-keepers would treat thor- 



