4G6 



GLEANINGS IN liEE CULTUUE. 



June 



DISINFECTION OF FOUL - BROODY 

 HIVES BY STEAM. 



now TO MAKK A HOAfE-MADE APPAUATrS KO|{ THE 

 PURPOSE. 



N the course of a long- strugS'le with foul brood, 

 a Ki"eat, if not t]te g-reatest difliculty I had was 

 the disinfection of the hives, feeders, and other 

 appliances which had been in contact with dis- 

 eased stocks of bees. I tried washing' with a 

 solution of salicylic acid (in which, however, 1 had 

 very little faith, owing- to its not being- volatile at 

 ordinary teiupei-atures); also with carbolic acid, 

 and fumigation witli burning- sulphur, but all to no 

 purpose, as the disease reappeared, soon after the 

 bees and brood had been g-ot into a healthy state, 

 when they were placed in a hive which had been 

 tenanted by a diseased colony. After many fail- 

 ures I hit on a process by which an infected hive 

 can, with a trifling- expenditure of time and trouble, 

 be ettcctually cleansed, and rendei-ed fit for use 

 without the least danger of its communicating 

 foul brood to any colony placed in il. As the 

 matter may interest American bee-keepers, I will, 

 with your kind pei-mission, describe my process in 

 Or^EANfNGS. As I know verj' little of the hives in 

 use on your side of the Atlantic, a short description 

 of the hives g-enerally used, both in Eng-land and 

 Ireland, may be necessary to enable your readers 

 to make allowance for difference in construction 

 when using the process I recommend. 



The standard British frame measures UX8i4 inch- 

 es, and the hive holds fi-om ten to twenty of these 

 frames. The hives are usually made with double 

 walls, the space between being packed with cork 

 dust which Mr. F. Cheshire's experiments have 

 shown to bo the best and cheapest non-conductor 

 of heat we have. Instead of the honey-board, Ave 

 use a covering- of carpet, which lies on the frame- 

 lop at all times when supers are not on. When I 

 mention the slides by which the entrance can be 

 closed if necessary, 1 consider my description full 

 enough for the present purpose. 



SPROIILE'S APPAHATUS FOR DISINFECTING FOUL 

 BKOOD. 



The principle of my process is, passing a current 

 of steam at a low pressure, from a solution of pure 

 carbolic acid and water, through the hive, by which 

 means the carbolic acid in a finely divided state is 



brought into intimate contact with every part of 

 the liive interior, which is thereby thoroughly 

 cleansed and disinfected. To effect this a small 

 boiler, B, is required, and this T made from an iron 

 paint or ink can as follows: A can to hold 12 lbs. f)f 

 printing-ink measures about 10X5 inches in diame- 

 ter. With a cold-chisel_ it was reduced to five inch- 

 es in height, and three legs of so-called half-round 

 iron were riveted to its sides so as to raise it three 

 inches. In the cover 1 cut two 'j-inch holes, in 

 each of which I put a wrought-iron nipple, which 

 were screwed in their places with back-nuts, shown 

 in the top of the boiler B. The cover was then red- 

 leaded round its edge so as to make a tight joint, 

 after which it was forced into its place in the can. 

 On one of the nipples an elbow was screwed, then 

 another nipple, then another elbow, and finally a 

 piece of '2-inch G. B. tubing, about 14 inches long. 

 I then got apiece of yellow pine, 13X8X3 inches, and 

 about two inches f I'om one end I made a hole large 

 enough to admit the piece of (i. B. tubing. To com- 

 plete the apparatus, an ordinary tin canister cover 

 (one made of a solid piece of tin without soldering), 

 about three inches in diameter, is required as a 

 lamp, as shown at L. To use it, a wineglassful or 

 two of pure carbolic acid is poured into the boiler 

 B with about double the (luantity of liot water, and 

 the open nipiile is closed with a suitable cork. The 

 hive H to be operated on is jjrepared by placing- a 

 few empty frames, F, F, F, in position, on which the 

 carpet covering, C C, is laid, a hole about an inch 

 in diameter being made in the middle of the latter. 

 The piece of pine is then laid on the carpet, to form 

 a stand for the boiler, which is placed in such a posi- 

 tion that the G. B. tubing passes vertically through 

 both wood and carpet into the hive. The canister 

 cover is filled with methylated s])irits of wine, put 

 under the boiler, and lighted. In about five min- 

 utes the acid and water will boil, and the steam 

 will pass through the tube into the hive. It may be 

 desirable to place a saucer, as at S, in the hive, to 

 hold the drip from the boiler. At first the steam 

 will condense on the hive-sides and Hoor-board; 

 but when they become heated, the steam will force 

 its way into every crevice, and at last thi-ough the 

 carpet; but it can be confined to the hive by plac- 

 ing a sheet of brown paper between the carpet and 

 frames. About ten minutes' steaming will be suf- 

 ficient for any hive. To get rid of the smell of the 

 carbolic acid, a current of steam from water only 

 will be necessary. If the boiler is found to leak, a 

 little sawdust put in with the carbolic solution will 

 stop it. 



F'or disinfecting hives, I do not think this simple 

 apparatus can be excelled, and with ordinary care 

 it is most effective. I have used it with over a 

 dozen hives, in each of which a colony had died of 

 foul brood. Those hives have been in use for over 

 two years, without any trace of the disease being 

 visible. 



The winter here has been unusually severe and 

 prolonged this year. Although this is the last day 

 of March, we have, at the time I write, a whole gale 

 blowing from the south-east, with showers of sleet 

 at intervals. Taking advantage of a fine day re- 

 cently, I examined my colonies, and was sorry to 

 find five of them dead. The Carniolans, both full 

 blood and first crosses, were in very good condition, 

 and are, so far as my experience goes, more easily 

 wintered than either blacks or Ligurians. 



Dublin, Ireland. Kobert SPROUiiE. 



