1920 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



379 



finally commenced to chew on the 

 stinger end, before it seemed to have 

 enough. L. A. SCHOTT. 



Missouri. 



(It appears that grasshoppers will 

 eat anything except iron and stone. 

 We had never heard of their eating 

 bees before. — Editor." 



ANTS 



For the benefit of the en<iuirer ask- 

 ing for a remedy for ants, I would say 

 that if a small block of wood, say 

 1 inch square by 2 inches long, is 

 placed under each corner of the hive 

 or stand and then with a little paddle 

 smear a streak of "tree tanglefoot" 

 around the blocks there will be no 

 further trouble with ants. The tan- 

 glefoot will remain sticky for three 

 months exposed to the weather. It 

 is manufactured by the O. & W. 

 Thum Co., of Grand Rapids, Mich., 

 and is for sale by Peter Henderson 

 & Co., New York. It is put up in 1, 

 3, 10 and 20-lb cans. One pound will 

 take care of 25 hives for a couple of 

 years. E. M. BARTE.'KU. 



Long Island. 



SQUIRREL AND BEES BATTLE 



Clear Lake. S. D.— Aug. 16.— There 

 was a riot in John A. Thomson's 

 family that attracted the attention of 

 the whole neighborhood. Mr. Thron- 

 son's family of fox squirrels have a 

 neat little home in the trees about the 

 residence, and a swarm of bees took 

 possession of the house. The mother 

 squirrel put up an awful fight for the 

 protection of her three babies, the 

 second litter of the year, but the bees 

 finally drove her out. She gathered 

 the babies up and placed them on the 

 step of their home, and there they 

 were rolled up like balls to protect 

 them from the stings of the bees. 



As fast as she could, the mother 

 grabbed a baby and carried it to one 

 of the other squirrel homes and dur- 

 ing her three trips she was badly 

 stung. The babies would squeal 

 every time a bee stung them, and she 

 was the busiest old mother ever until 

 she had her babies in their new home. 

 Then she was busy carrying up dry 

 leaves an 1 other plunder for a new 

 nest, and after the job was com- 

 pleted she renewed her attack on 

 the swarm which had robbed her of 

 her happy home. 



The battle was watched with inter- 

 est by the neighbors. Mr. Thronson 

 finally secured the services of a "bee" 

 man and he smoked out the pests, 

 and order was restored at the Thron- 

 son home. — News dispatch. 



EUROPEAN FOULBROOD 



By Arthur C. Miller 

 I do not expect to say anything 

 particularly new about this trouble, 

 but hope to present some phases of 

 it in a different light and ask a few 

 questions. 



For over 30 years of my beekeeping 

 experience bee diseases were un- 

 known here so far as actual experi- 

 ence was concerned. A few years 

 ago European foulbrood appeared in 

 the western part of the State, and it 

 has spread steadily, despite constant 



fighting. American foulbrood ap- 

 peared in three widely separated 

 points at difTerent times and was 

 traced to feeding purchased honey. 

 It was detected at the start and 

 cleaned up and has not since re- 

 appeared. Biit the pesky European 

 foulbrood stays with us. Some of its 

 spread is traceable to shipping of 

 bees from diseased apiaries, but some 

 cases have appeared in isolated places 

 and careful investigation fails to give 

 any clue to its origin. 



And these new points of infection 

 refuse to yield to any of the custom- 

 ary methods of treatment. The dis- 

 ease seems particularly virulent, 

 spreads through the infected colony 

 with startling speed and dcqueening, 

 uniting and requeening yield noth- 

 ing but one's labor for their pains. 



Here is one case in point. A very 

 strong colony of high-grade bees, 

 clean and sound, were supered. In 

 six weeks they had put up about 100 

 pounds of surplus, and on its removal 

 the brood-combs were found to be 

 utterly filthy with the disease. Not 

 over a few hundred healthy larvae 

 were to be found; but, strange to say, 

 the colony was still strong. This 

 colony was a half mile from the 

 nearest known one. Now, where did 

 the disease come from, why did it 

 spread so fast and why did not the 

 accumulated filth in the brood- 

 combs afTect the adult bees in any 

 way or drive them from the hive? 



Here is another phase of the trou- 

 ble. A strong colony of hybrids had 

 the disease, were dequeened and al- 

 lowed to develop one, which was re- 

 moved before mating. A fortnight 

 later, after all brood had emerged 

 and, so far as examination disclosed, 

 the combs were clean and shiny, a 

 new Italian queen was introduced, 

 and just as soon as her j'oung were 

 old enough they showed distinct and 

 extensive infection. Now what can 

 a poor plain garden variety of bee- 

 keeper do under such circumstances? 

 Another case. A big. strong colony 

 of pure Italians of a reputed resist- 

 ant strain showed the disease in mid 

 May. It was extensive enough, but 



not so bad but what there was a 

 goodly amount of young bees emerg- 

 ing. It was allowed to go until a 

 young queen was available, when the 

 conventional treatment was followed. 

 The results were such that I am be- 

 ginning to lose my respect for the 

 conventions. The colony kept strong, 

 and so did the disease. Also so did 

 the honey flow and the storing of 

 surplus. The treatment was repeated 

 and re-repeated, and still yet again, 

 and the disease is still there. I am 

 about ready to apply the torch and 

 abandon that yard. 



As to "immune stock," I am won- 

 dering if there is any such animal? 

 I have found some quite resistant 

 strains, but when they do get a dose 

 of the virulent type they succumb 

 as well as any others. 



Here are some questions for our 

 scientists. Dr. Phillips and others: 

 W;il young queens growing in in- 

 fected colonies, and which survive 

 the disease, be more resistant than 

 queens reared in healthy colonies? 



Cannot they — the eminent ones — 

 find some way to combat the disease 

 other than the so often useless re- 

 queening? Or else will not one of 

 the tender-hearted ones find some 

 painless and delectable way of pro- 

 tecting the bee manipulator from the 

 sight and odor of the indescribably 

 filthy combs of a badly infected col- 

 ony? 



To you, beloved wiseacres, I appeal 

 for help. 



Rhode Island. 



BEES IN THE ORCHARD 



Believing that more complete pol- 

 lenization of apple blossoms would 

 strengthen the set of the fruit, W. B. 

 Armstrong, L. J. Shadbolt and a num- 

 ber of neighbors in the Lower 

 Naches this spring rented ISO stands 

 of bees from an apiarist and placed 

 them at central points in the or- 

 chards. Just before the calyx spray 

 the owner of the bees was notified 

 and removed them. "'I am not pre- 

 pared to say,' says Mr. Armstrong, 

 "that the result will increase our crop 

 by any definite percentage. But the 



A skcp apiary in Normandy from which bees were purchased, autumn of 1919 



