1899 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



307 



the least possible time necessary to kill the 

 spores. There seems to be a difference, de- 

 pending on the age of the culture used, media 

 emplo)ed, etc. Most text books on bacteriol- 

 ogy advise boiling half an hour. At the boil- 

 ing-point of honey it would take a shorter 

 time. My experiments seem to show that 15 

 minutes is a safe time. 



Dr. Miller speaks of gelatine being about 

 the same specific gravity as honey, which 

 would give about the same boiling-point. 

 Gelatine, however, is used only for work at 

 temperatures below body heat. It is not even 

 used in the incubator. The thermal death- 

 point of bacteria is usually worked out on 

 bouillon. 



As to microscopic determination of Bacillus 

 alvei, it takes a long training in the study of 

 the closely allied forms before one can make 

 such a diagnosis. The only point of differ- 

 ence between this and several others is the 

 size of the spores. Accurate work with a mi- 

 croscope that will admit of their being mea- 

 sured at all is one of the most delicate opera- 

 tions of microscopic work ; while staining the 

 spores is, to say the least, not the easiest thing 

 in bacteriology. 



It is quite easy to determine Bacillus alvei 

 by cultural methods. One can not work sai- 

 isfactorily without quite an expensive outfit 

 besides the microscope. The microscopes in 

 use in this laboratory are fitted with a y% dry 

 and a jV oil immersion lens. We are required 

 to use the ^ in making measurements, and in 

 determining the morphological characters of 

 the bacteria. 



If one suspects foul brood, the best thing is 

 to send a sample, securely sealed, to some one 

 who has all the facilities for studying it. I 

 am willing to undertake this work tree of 

 charge as long as I am wheie I can, for the 

 sake of the practice. 



Ithaca, N. Y. 



[The experiment recorded above shows that 

 the temperature 1 obtained, as mentioned on 

 page "233, was very nearly right, for I secuied 

 a figure of 232, with honey about the same as 

 the best sample Mr. Howe speaks of. Right 

 in this connection it might be interesting to 

 place here an extract from an article wriiten 

 by Prof. Henry W. Brice, a skilled miciosco- 

 pist, in the British Bee Journal for March 23. 

 He says : 



If a substance containing bacteria be boiled, all de- 

 veloped germs are destroyed ; and if then left for 

 twenty-four hours, and a suitable medium be present, 

 the spores will germinate ; then, on boiling again, 

 these are in turn destroyed, and if left fjr a like 

 period a further number will be found to exist. The 

 process of boiling must, therefore, be again repeated, 

 until the medium is perfectly free. No boiling alone 

 will destroy the spores while they remain in that condi- 

 tion. This I have proved enti ely to my own satisfac- 

 tion. 



From what has been given by Mr. Howe 

 and by Prof. Brice especially, it would appear 

 to me that, if no boiling alone will destroy the 

 spores of foul brood, then how can 15 minutes' 

 at 235 F be long enough ? I should be inclin- 

 ed to believe that half an hour or a whole 

 hour might still be insufficient. I am not yet 

 ready to get over on Bro. Taylor's side of the 

 fence. Even Mr. Cowan himself speaks of 



the great resistance of spores to acids and to 

 high temperatures. 



Suppose, for example, we boil some honey 

 an hour, and the spores are not destroyed, and 

 then feed this to the bees again. As soon as 

 these same spores get into the organisms of 

 the larvae they would develop and produce the 

 disease again. To my notion, then, and from 

 the present light I have, I should not favor 

 giving the bees honey from the foul-broody 

 stock, even if it had been boiled an hour. 

 The danger of extracting this honey, the dan- 

 ger of handling the combs at all, even if it is 

 intended to melt them up, is so great that, in 

 my humble opinion, it would be far safer to 

 burn all such combs, brood and honey alike, 

 and then bury the ashes. In any event the 

 amount of wax and honey saved would be very 

 small — too small to compensate for the great 

 risk. — Ed.] 



»»■» 



CALIFORNIA LILAC, BUCKTHORN FAMILY. 



Ceanothus Divaricatus. — See Cut. 



BY J. H. MARTIN. 



The California lilac is a compact bush that 

 grows to a height of six or eight feet, and is 

 very plentiiul in the southern portion of the 

 State. It commences to bloom in January and 

 February near the coast, and as late as March 

 and April in the interior. The blossom is 

 very small, but borne in clusters two or three 

 inches in length, and varies from pale blue to 

 pure white. It is very profuse in bloom, and 

 a symmetrical bush looks like an immense 

 snowball. When the plain or mountain side 

 is covered with these shrubs tt presents a deep- 

 green appearance, and a glory of misty blue 

 or white during its bloom. It is not so fra- 

 grant as the domestic lilac of the East. The 

 bees frequent its blossoms, and secure both 

 pollen and honey. With alfilanlla first and 

 lilac next, the bees get a good start in brood- 

 rearing. During this dry season the alfilarilla 

 has not put in an appearance to any extent, 

 and the bees seem to be gleaning with more 

 vigor from the lilac. 



The photo gives a very good representation 

 of the shrub, also of the average California 

 bee-hive. In the foreground there is a new 

 growth of wild buckwheat, and at the right a 

 cactus reaiing its bristly head. 



REARING GOOD QUEENS. 



Seasons of Rest Important; Rearing in Upper 

 Stories. 



BY HENRY ALLEY. 



I sometimes think that the whole story of 

 bees has been told ; but with each issue of 

 Gleanings there is still a good deal that is 

 new and very interesting. I am especially in- 

 terested iu all articles relating to rearing 

 queens, and such matters caich my eye readi- 

 ly. I can't say that there is much, even on 

 this subject, that is very new; yet each writer 

 has an idea that he has found a new way of 



