IIG 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Feb. 2d, 



in the sections and extracting-comb? will be all right for table 

 use. 



3. Where colonies have only a few cells of foul brood in 

 the spring, and are fairly strong in bees, the disease won't 

 raalje much headway for some time, and in all such cases the 

 owners will get surplus honey in proportion to the strength of 

 the colonies, the nature of the honey-How, and how they man- 

 age the business. But when colonies rob uery foul-broody ones 

 in spring, they will store the diseased honey right in the brood- 

 nest and feed it to the larva; as long as It lasts; then the dis- 

 ease will make rapid progress, and, by the time the honey-flow 

 begins, the colonies will be so weak in bees that little or no 

 surplus honey will be gathered. 



4. No. Not in the honey and pollen alone, but in cells in 

 combs where foul-brood matter had dried down. Every cell 

 In a diseased comb that has no honey, pollen, or the stain- 

 mark of foul brood left in it, will be all right, Combs that 

 never liml nny brood in, and bave bsen used above the queen- 

 excluder on diseased colonies will be all right after they have 

 been extracted, and given back to the bees until they are 

 thoroughly cleaned. 



'). Yes, they certainly will, and for many years after, if 

 they have cells in them that foul-brood matter dried down in. 

 Many a line apiary has been ruined through bee-keepers buy- 

 ing and using old combs that others had on hand after they 

 lost all of their bees. The amount of damage that has been 

 done through the mistakes that people have made in using old 

 comb that they did not know to be diseased when they first 

 used them, would amount to a serious sum. I never could 

 have made a success of getting the diseased apiaries cured by 

 wholesale in the Province of Ontario, if I had not made it a 

 rule to get all the combs in every badly-diseased apiary made 

 Into wax. 



G. Never. No bee-keeper in the world ever had foul 

 brood introduced into his apiary through using foundation. 

 Mr. F. C. Harrison, Bacteriologist at the Ontario Agricultural 

 College, at Guelph, put a quantity of foul-brood germs Into 

 melted wax after the wax had cooled dow7i co7isidcrable. Mr. 

 Holtermann then made it into foundation, and put a swarm 

 into a hive filled with it. Before the test was made I said to 

 Mr. Holtermann, and Mr. Craig, that it was my opinion that 

 no disease would be found after the foundation was made into 

 combs and filled with brood. Sometime after, when the combs 

 were full of brood, I was askt to inspect them, which I did. A 

 more healthy or nicer-looking lot of brood I never examfned, 

 than I found In these combs made out of foundation loaded 

 with foul-brood germs. Mr. Holtermann made this severe 

 test during the honey-flow, and out of soft wax so as to get the 

 foundation made into combs as soon as possible. 



7. To cure colonies of foul brood in winter, in cold regions, 

 is a thing that I never advised any person to do, and do not 

 approve of disturbing bees in their season of rest. But if any 

 bee-keeper wishes to cure his diseased colonies in winter, and 

 has, or can get, the right sort of combs, it can be done as 

 follows : 



Remove a(( of the combs out of the foul-broody colonies, 

 and then shake the bees back into their own hives ; then in 

 each hive place five combs of honey that is sealed right down 

 to the bottom-bar, that you know to be free from tlie disease, and 

 then with division-boards crowd the bees up so that they will 

 cluster up in the comb. If the diseased colonies are pretty 

 weak, put two or more of them together before crowding the 

 bees up into the five combs of sealed honey. With no place in 

 the sealed combs for the bees to store the diseased honey 

 (which they would take with them from the old combs), they 

 would have to keep it until they consume it, and after that 

 the bees would have to uncap the sealed honey and use it up 

 before they could have any space rid out for brood-rearing. 

 This method gets rid of the diseased honey before brood-rear- 

 ing is started, and always ends in perfect cures, when suitable 

 combs of sealed honey are used.» 



Early spring would be the most critical time in all the 

 year to undertake the curing of foul-broody apiaries, and with 

 the );ki.s'(, of the bee-keepers it would end in failures, losses, 

 and a wide-spread of the disease if such work was undertaken 

 In cartji spring. Foul-broody colonies that are weak in bees 

 In einiii spring are very dangerous things to keep In any 

 locality where many colonies are kept, because they always 

 get robbed out just as soon as robbing sets in, and in this way 

 the disease Is often very widely spread. To guard against this, 

 and make it safe for yourself and your neighbors, in early 

 spring double up all the diseased colonics, la the evciiinijs, 

 that are weak, until they are strong In boos; then contract 

 the entrance to prevent robbing, and wait until the honey- 

 flow begins, then go In for curing, which can bo easily and 

 profitably done by every one. 



This Iowa bee-keeper has raised some very Important 



questions, and I believe that Dr. Howard will agree with all 

 the answers that I have given. Dr. Howard's book on "Foul 

 Brood " is by far the best of any ever publisht on this subject, 

 and every bee-keeper in the world should have one. 



Ontario, Canada, Feb. 8. 



[We mail Dr. Howard's book on "Foul Brood" for 25 

 cents; or club it with the Bee Journal for a year — both for 

 •Si. 10.— Editor.] 



Moving Bees from Indiana to Florida. 



TSr A. F. BBOWN. 



Replying to Mr. Stokesberry's inquiry, on page 2S, re- 

 garding moving bees to Florida, cost of bees here, etc., I would 

 say: It will probably cost .'glOO or .$L2.5 as a special rate on 

 a carload of bees from Indiana to Florida. The railroad 

 transportation company will not take less than a carload, and 

 the carload rate would include one man in charge /rcc. About 

 200 colonies in 2-story single-walled hives make a good car- 

 load. If the bees are properly packt, with ample ventilation, 

 they can be shipt very successfully, especially in early spring 

 or in the fall. 



If you have a carload and cannot sell thein at home at a 

 satisfactory figure, and you are fully determined to follow 

 the business here in Florida, you might ship them to an ad- 

 vantage to yourself financially. 



The cost of bees here will vary from $3 to .$5 per colony, 

 for those in frame hives, and $1.50 to .$2 for colonies in box- 

 hives. Unless one is informed, or has done considerable 

 inquiring around, it might take him some little time to get 

 up a good-sized apiary — say a couple hundred colonies. For 

 those who do not malce much out of their bees, seldom have 

 more than a dozen or two colonies, and those who do make a 

 business of it, don't want to sell unless at good figures. 



About the cheapest and most satisfactory way to get 

 started with an apiary is to buy 50 or 100 colonies in box- 

 hives, and transfer, putting into " new hives." This gives 

 one the advantage of having the most improved hives, and 

 having just what he wants, which is seldom found where an 

 entire apiary is bought outright. 



Again, one leaving the North seldom knows until he has 

 been on the ground to see the country and location, whether 

 or not he is going to like it. Therefore, I would advise sell- 

 ing out and making a fresh start after you have found what 

 you want. Or, still better, wait and see the country first, 

 then decide for yourself whether or not you want to make a 

 change. Like all other places, Florida has its drawbacks and 

 failures. 



A word or two regarding packing bees for shipment : If 

 you move during warm weather, you should have a rim the 

 full size of the hive and 3 inches deep, covered with wire 

 cloth — one on both top and bottom. This will give the bees 

 a chance and ample room to cluster off from the combs. In 

 cool weather, when you have frosty nights and mornings, one- 

 3-inch depth screen on top will be enough, but in warm 

 iveather put a screen on both top and bottom. The frames 

 should be securely fastened so that no amount of jarring can 

 get them loose, and allow them to jam together, or swing back 

 and forth, as this is a death-trap to about every bee in the 

 hive. Colonies heavy in honey are liable to have it broken 

 down in the jarring that is bound to come from moving by 

 railroad ; therefore, do not allow over 15 to 20 pounds — at 

 most 25 pounds — to the colony. 



It is also very essential to have all colonies supplied with 

 some water. In fact, this is most imiiortant in warm weather, 

 and where there is any unsealed brood in the colonies. The 

 best way I found to supply it is in combs, filled by laying each 

 comb in a tub or barrel and pouring water from a dipper held 

 three feet above it ; the force of the fall drives it into the colls, 

 and it stays ; reverse the comb and fill both sides. One comb 

 will hold about one pint, or a little more, and two combs 

 should be given to each colony to insure ample. 



In packing colonies in a car, load so the combs will run 

 lengthwise of the car, and so there will be a circulation of air 

 all among and through them. This can be secured by means 

 of a few 1x2 inch strips laid between the tiers of hives as one 

 Is loading. Lay a few strips on the bottom of the car first, to 

 allow ventilation under the first tier of hives. 



In moving in warm weather, get a cattle-car. These, 

 owing to being built open, give the best kind of ventilation 

 when the train Is in motion. 



When figuring the expense of moving one's apiary South, 

 or to any other place, unless one intends following the migra- 

 tory system, he should figure in the cost of screens, as they 

 are no small item for a carload of bees. Volusia Co., Fla. 



