1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



195 



might attach to it, if it was thought that the cotnbs could be 

 made and filled with adulterated, glucoscd, or bug-juice honey, 

 or even the poor qualities of dark and unpalatable nectar. 



I wanted to lieep the sections of comb honey so far above 

 suspicion, that the fact of their being so put up, would be 

 a guarantee of purity — virgin comb, tilled with God-given 

 nectar by the bees, and fit for the banquet of " the gods of old 

 Olympus," or for any mortal or immortal being in the uuiverse. 



I tremble for the results, as I notice the efforts now being 

 put forth to make the cells nearly one-half an inch deep, by 

 the ?ict(' foundation comb of the " Weed " pattern. It comes 

 too near — horribly too near — to the manufactured comb de- 

 scribed by Prof. Wiley a dozen years ago. 



Is it not putting a club into the hands of the enemies of 

 the pursuit, to beat out the brains of the apiarists '? If not, il 

 is standing on dangerous ground ? 



True, I grant you, it is intended for honorable work, but 

 It makes dishonest work possible, and should be shunned as 

 you would an adder? I surely think that it will injure the 

 sale of honey, and destroy the pursuit, unless a halt is called. 



Another danger is seen. It may give chance for the " mid- 

 rib " scarce to arise again, and be a detriment to honey con- 

 sumption. To apiarists, let me say, do not think of such a 

 thing as using even tliin brood-foundation in the sections, nor 

 countenance this Weed abomination. 



The remark of Mr. T. F. Bingham is to the point, and 

 very appropriate. He says : "Butter is butter, but melted 

 butter is grease ; so comb is comb, but melted comb is wax." 

 Let us be very careful not to allow the pursuit to be injured 

 by the use of too much ivax in the sections of comb honey. 



San Francisco Co., Calif. 



[As Mr. Newman has had no experience with the new 

 deep-cell foundation, any more than has Mr. Hutchinson or 

 Mr. Bingham, their suggestions can be taken only as an opin- 

 ion. We do not anticipate any of the ill-effects mentioned in 

 the foregoing. At any rate, itwill be well to waitbefore pass- 

 ing judgment until bee-keepers have had an opportunity to 

 fairly test the deep-cell foundation on a small scale. Then if 

 it proves to be too " fishbony "or " raid-ribby," or in any way 

 threaten the destruction of the industry, its use can very easily 

 be discontinued. In the meantime, let us not work up any 

 unnecessary or undue excitement over the matter. Mr. Weed, 

 the inventor, is not a vicious man, nor are the makers of the 

 deep-cell foundation anxious to ruin the honey-industry, for 

 by so doing they would but ruin themselves. — Editor.] 



Bi-Sulphlde of Carbon a Foul Brood Remedy. 



BY C. DAVENPORT. 



Ever since I began bee-keeping I have had a great dread 

 of foul brood, and until but a few years ago, comparatively 

 speaking, its appearance in a yard usually meant the total 

 destruction of the whole apiary. But now that the nature of 

 the disease is known and understood, it can be cured by a 

 method which probably all who read this understand. This 

 method is, tho, a great deal of work and a large expense, as it 

 involves the destruction of all the frames and combs in the 

 hives of the colonies affected. 



There are a few who say that it is not necessary to boil or 

 disinfect the hive itself in any way. In curing the disease by 

 the method of changing frames twice, I have no doubt that a 

 cure will sometimes be effected if the hive is not disinfected, 

 for if there are germs of the disease in any small amount of 

 honey that may be left inside the hive, this will at once be 

 consumed by the bees and used in comb-building, or stored in 

 the first set of combs, the same as the diseased honey with 

 which they are filled at the time of removal. But itseenis to 

 me there might be cases in which some infected honey in a 

 crack or hole in the hive, where the bees could not reach it, 

 would cause the disease to break out again. I believe the 

 majority of the best authorities on the matter consider it 

 necessary to disinfect the hive. 



I believe that X have discovered a method by which this 

 disease may be cured with much less work and expense; the 

 frames and combs, as well as the hives, are saved, and any 

 honey that may be in the infected combs is saved, and does 

 not have to be extracted or removed from the combs. The 

 healthy brood can also be saved without much work. 



Three years ago last summer I conducted a great many 

 experiments with different kinds of drugs, trying to find a 

 better method of killing moths in comb honey than by the use 



of sulphur. I was unsuccessful in tbic, for the fumes from 

 any drug I tried, that would kill the moths, also injured the 

 flavor of the honey. In these experiments I found that the 

 fumes from bi-sulphide of carbon were very penetrating ; they 

 would go right through and through a comb of honey. This 

 fume, or gas, is also deadly poisonous. But it all evaporates 

 from the honey after it has been exposed to the air for some 

 time. Honey treated by this method, tho, seems to become 

 thinner, and the flavor is injured, but it is all right for the use 

 of the bees, and the combs are not injured any, no matter 

 how long they are si bjected to the fumes. I decided that 

 these fumes were strong enough to kill the germs of foul 

 brood or any other disease. I did not have, nor never have 

 had, any foul brood among my bees, but I thought if it ever 

 did appear I would give the matter a trial. 



The next summer, however (which was two years ago), I 

 resolved to send for some samples of foul brood, and after a 

 good deal of correspondence over the matter, I received three 

 samples by express. Two of them were not foul brood, altho 

 they greatly resembled it ; the third was genuine foul brood, 

 in an advanced stage of rottenness ; it was a piece of comb 

 about 6 or 7 inches square, containing some honey, and about 

 X of the cells contained dead brood in different stages. This 

 was treated to the fumes of bisulphide of carbon over night, 

 or about 10 hours. A colony was isolated from the rest, and 

 the piece of foul brood laid on top of the brood-frames near 

 the center of the hive; the cover was placed on, and prest 

 down, which masht it so that it ran over the combs, brood and 

 bees. The front of the hive was raised so that none of it 

 would escape. No signs of the disease have appeared in that 

 colony as yet. 



Now, if the bacilli and spores of foul brood can be killed 

 by this means (and in my mind there is not a doubt but what 

 they can), a tank could be made large enough so that several 

 hives could be treated at once, if there were many colonies 

 affected. Only a few extra hives with frames would be neces- 

 sary, for the infected hives and combs could, after treatment, 

 be used for the second change. Combs containing healthy 

 brood could be tiered up on one or two hives, and these then 

 treated after the brood had hatcht. No frames, combs or 

 hives would be injured in the least by this method. While 

 frames are not very expensive, their cost, with the freight, 

 work of nailing them together, and a sheet of .foundation for 

 each one, would make quite an item if many colonies were 

 affected. 



I think all will see the great advantage this method would 

 possess over destroying the frames and boiling the hives, for 

 it would not be nearly as much work to disinfect them as it 

 would to nail new ones together, to say nothing about their 

 cost. The cost of the bi-sulphide of carbon would be but a 

 trifle. 



To disinfect combs by this method, all that is necessary is 

 to place them in a very tight box, with some of the carbon in 

 an open dish, so it will have a chance to evaporate. The box 

 should be as nearly air-tight as it is possible to make it. The 

 amount of carbon to use does not matter, so that there is 

 enough; for any that does not evaporate will be just as 

 strong, or good, to use the next time. 



Moths in brood-combs can also be destroyed by this plan, 

 which also kills the moth-eggs, if there are any. But as this 

 method injures the flavor of the honey. If it were used as a 

 means of killing moths in surplus comb honey, our industry 

 would be greatly injured, if not destroyed. 



Before closing, I will add a word of caution about the use 

 of bi-sulphide of carbon. It is not only very inflammable, but 

 it is explosive as well. No one should ever go near it, or the 

 fumes from it, with a light or fire of any kind. 



Southern Minnesota. 



^ 



Pres. J, 



M. Hick's Address Before the Indiana 

 State Convention. 



I would like to suggest several thoughts for consideration 

 for our mutual benefit. 



First, It occurs to me that we all should try to economize 

 our precious time to the best interest of each and every sub- 

 ject of importance to the bee-keeper. 



Second, That in doing so, we not only advance the best 

 interest of those who keep bees for profit, but also that of 

 every farmer and fruit-grower in the State. 



Third, Let me admonish you, one and all, that it is well 

 known by many who have kept bees in years gone by, as well 

 as those who keep bees now, that almost all the natural re- 

 sources for bees have, by natural causes of civilization, been 

 greatly and materially lessened in our State; hence it should 



