1920 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



157 



Disulphide or Bisulphide 

 and Moth Eggs 



la the Alarch number, page 90, fol- 

 lowing Mr. Pangburn's letter on car- 

 bon disulphide and the killing of the 

 eggs of the moth, we asked for more 

 information. We received it. In fact 

 we received too much of it, on both 

 sides of the question. So we conclud- 

 ed to refer the matter to Dr. Pad- 

 dock, whose experiments on this sub- 

 ject were published in lUiUctin 231 of 

 the Texas Experiment Station. It 

 will be remembered that, in all his 

 experiments, the eggs of the moth 

 were uninjured by the fumes. We 

 now publish a part of his reply and 

 will close the subject: 



"My experience with the moths was 

 in the South, where conditions are 

 very different from those existing in 

 this section. In Bulletin No. 231 of 

 the Texas Experiment Station, you 

 will note that on 3 different occa- 

 sions the eggs of the moths hatched 

 after fumigation. We kept no rec- 

 ords of variations of temperature 

 and humidity. The killing power of 

 carbon bisulphide is much reduced in 

 low temperatures. 



"The dose of one ounce to the cubic 

 foot, used in the experiment, is an 

 excessive dose of bisulphide. An ex- 

 position to this charge for 24 hours 

 is also a maximum exposure. 



"I have no doubt but that under 

 ideal conditions and the use of an ex- 

 cessive dose of carbon bisulphide the 

 eggs of the bee both can be destroyed. 

 In the experiment which we con- 

 ducted we attempted to keep the 

 work on a practical basis, therefore, 

 it seemed more feasible for us to 

 fumigate two times with the dose suf- 

 ficient to kill the unprotected larvae, 

 rather than to use an excessive dose 

 for the eggs. We are fully familiar 

 with the exceptional cases, but I be- 

 lieve it is better to make recommen- 

 dations on the basis of the ordinary 

 fumigation than the exception. The 

 temperature factor is of utmost con- 

 sideration in this territory; for in- 

 stance, if the fumigation was given 

 during the winter, the carbon bisul- 

 phide would not be very efifective. 

 Under low conditions if the eggs 

 have a retarded hatching they might 

 hatch in the spring. The beekeepers 

 might consider this a matter of in- 

 festation. 



"I believe that it would be unwise 

 to make any conclusive statement." 

 F. B. PADDOCK. 



European Foulbrood 



At the National meeting at Buffalo, 

 Dr. Phillips gave a very interesting 

 address upon the general tendency 

 of European foulbrood to extend it- 

 self and perpetuate in some spots, 

 while it readily disappears in other 

 spots. 



From his explanations, accompa- 

 nied with maps, it appears that the 

 disease is persistent in countries 

 where there is a long spell of spring 

 or early summer weather without 

 honey flow. So in the buckwheat 

 district of New York, where the flow 

 comes in August, the disease is more 

 permanent. Good food evidently 

 would tend to lessen the virulence of 



the disease. Similarly, the places 

 where much moisture is found, with 

 numerous fall flowers, such as the 

 Kankakee swamps in northeastern 

 Illinois and northwestern Indiana, the 

 Mississippi low lands as far down as 

 Louisiana, have more to fear from an 

 epidemic condition once the disease 

 is established there. 



On the other hand, the limestone 

 regions where white clover succeeds 

 well, get rid of the disease readily, 

 'i'e.xas has apparently had two or 

 three disease spots, which cleared 

 readily without treatment. 



Such statements are valuable in 

 helping find, sooner or later, the 

 actual causes of bee diseases. We are 

 pretty nearly as ignorant as children 

 on these matters, and we will have to 

 go to schiool a long time before we 

 can master the question of brood 

 diseases. 



A very good point, also, was made 

 in the statement that small hives are 

 less immune than large hives. This 

 is plausible, since colonies in small 

 hives never can be as populous as 

 those in large hives. Tally one more 

 point for the large hives. 



Aii'other point is made for the Ital- 

 ian bees, who get rid of the disease 

 much more readily than the common 

 bees. 



much as those in small hives. Yet 

 some beekeepers of the present day 

 would like to convince us that the 

 size of the brood-nest has nothing to 

 do with the swarming propensity. 



American Foulbrood 



Another very good Bulletin of the 

 Department of Agriculture, No. 809, 

 on "American Foulbrood," by Dr. G. 

 F. White, has been published lately. 

 It is quite exhaustive, contains all the 

 latest experiences of this scientist, 

 with 8 plates showing the disease at 

 diflferent stages and microscopic 

 studies of "Bacillus Larvae," the cause 

 of the disease. It may be had from 

 the Bureau of Entomology at Wash- 

 ington in the usual way. Beekeepers 

 who fear the disease should send for 

 this Bulletin. 



An Apology 



On page 49 of the February number, 

 we complained of the borrowing of 

 an article by the British Bee Journal 

 without giving us credit. We now 

 learn that it was an oversight on 

 their part. We should have surmised 

 this at first, as we ought to know 

 they would not intentionally do such 

 a thing. We apologize for the criti- 

 cism. 



Swarms From Large Hives 



On page 6 of "A Manual for an 

 Easy Method of Managing Bees," 

 published by John M. Weeks, Salis- 

 bury, Vermont, in 1837, we read: 



"The lower apartment of the hive, 

 where they store their food, raise 

 their young bees and perform their 

 ordinary labors, should hold as much 

 as a box 1254 or 14 inches square in 

 the clear. If the hive is much larger, 

 with the chambers in proportion, 

 which should hold about two-thirds 

 as much as the lower apartment, the 

 bees will not be likely to swarm dur- 

 ing the season. Bees in large hives 

 never swarm. ..." 



It seems that some people had al- 

 ready noticed, as early as 1837. that 

 bees in large hives did not swarm as 



Wiring Foundation 



In the present number we give two 

 more articles on wiring foundation. 

 While we do not wish to certify that 

 there is nothing more to be said, we 

 know these are both practical men 

 and worthy of hearing. Before long 

 the average beekeeper will know posi- 

 tively how to fasten foundation so 

 that it will not sag at all. 



Death of Another Bee Woman 



We regret to announce the death of 

 the wife of our old corespondent. Ph. 

 J. Baldensperger, the former Holy 

 Land apiarist. Debora Struve was 

 born at Buffalo, N. Y., November 26, 

 1861. Married to Ph. J. Baldensperger 

 in 1884, in Palestine. A silent woman 

 apiarist, whose name never was pub- 

 lished, but who, nevertheless, worked 

 faithfully and persistently at the 

 apiary. 



In British Columbia 



Bulletin No. 30, "Guide to Beekeep- 

 ing," of the Department of Agricul- 

 ture of British Columbia, by F. Dun- 

 das Todd, is a 68-page treatise, with 

 numerous engravings, neat and clear 

 in type, covering practically the en- 

 tire field in a nutshell. We presume 

 that it is sent free to the British 

 Columbia beekeepers. It is worth hav- 

 ing. 



Centenary of Hruschka 



L'Apicoltore of December last in- 

 forms its readers that this year oc- 

 curs the centenary of the birth of 

 the inventor of the honey extractor, 

 Hruschka. He was born in 1820. He 

 invented the extractor in 1865, or 

 about that time. This invention, 

 which has enriched beekeeping, never 

 brought him a cent of profit, for he 

 took no patent on it, but gave it 

 freely to the world. He was certainly 

 one of the benefactors of mankind. 



Illinois State Association 



The secretary of this association, 

 G. M. Withrow, Mechanicsburg, 111., 

 announces a bulletin to the members, 

 to be published monthly or quarterly. 

 This has already been done by the 

 Michigan Association, and is a good 

 move. Send your membership dues 

 to him. It will entitle you to this 

 quarterly, the State Annual Report 

 and a year's subscription to one of 

 the three leading bee magazines, 

 American Bee Journal, Gleanings or 

 Domestic Beekeeper. Fees $1.50. 



