564 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE.- 



July 15 



shall be selling honey at 3 cts. in a short 

 while." Tell Dr. Miller that, some years ago, 

 I planted a tree, and I have now climbed it, 

 and am now enjoying the fruit of my labor. 

 When I saw him pelting me with straw I just 

 laughed. The fruit is ripe and good up here, 

 and I am not going to come down for straw. 

 Better try a clod. 

 Oberlin, O., May 23. 



[I think we shall have to admit that friend 

 Fowls has the best of the argument. The 

 proof of the pudding is in the eating. He 

 has been getting and is now getting double 

 prices for his honey, because he puts up a first- 

 class article, sees that it is never allowed to 

 candy while on sale (and if it does he replaces 

 it), and puts it up in an attractive form. 

 Friend Fowls, and friend Selser, of Philadel- 

 phia, come very near being our best authori- 

 ties on bottled honey— at least, I believe they 

 know more about the subject than any other 

 two bee-keepers in the country, and they both 

 believe and follow the same method ; and yet 

 if either one ©f them were in Mr. Aikin's lo- 

 cality he might find it more convenient to put 

 out his honey in the candied form, and that 

 the profits would be just as great ; or, what is 

 more probable, the people of Colorado would 

 not pay the prices obtained by Mr. Selser and 

 Mr. Fowls for their bottled goods. — Ed.] 



BISULPHIDE OF CARBON. 



Its Use in Destroying Moth-worms in Brood-combs 

 and Comb Honey; how to Apply the Drug; 

 some Misconceptions Corrected; a Valu- 

 able Article. 



BY C. DAVENPORT. 



In Gleanings for April 15, Rambler thus 

 tells how Dr. Chase kills moth worms in brood- 

 combs : 



" Set the hives containing the combs in a 

 pile of several in height : place under the bot- 

 tom hive a few drops of bisulphide of carbon, 

 and it sobn accomplishes its mission." 



Those who have tried this plan have un- 

 doubtedly thought there was a mistake some- 

 where ; for the fact is, used in this way it 

 would not have much more effect than so 

 much water — at least on such moth-worms as 

 inhabit this locality. I have used considera- 

 ble bisulphide during the last few years, and 

 have done a good deal of experimenting with 

 it ; and if used in the right way it will kill 

 the worms and also kill or destro}' the vitality 

 of any eggs of the moth-miller which maj' be 

 in the combs at the time they are treated. 



Before describing the method that must nec- 

 essarily be employed to do this I wish to sav 

 a few words about the bisulphide ; and I 

 should like to know if there is any one in our 

 ranks who knows much about it — how it is 

 made, and whether there are two kinds of it. 

 The druggist here was able to give me but lit- 

 tle information in regard to the matter ; but 

 he said he thought there was only one kind ; 

 but I think there must be two kinds, or at 

 least two grades of the stuff. 



Some time ago I bought quite a quantity of 

 it. This had a powerful, repulsive, sickening 

 odor, and it was very explosive. The drug- 

 gist cautioned me to be very careful with it, 

 for he said it was very dangerous if fire was 

 brought near it, as the fumes from it, as well 

 as the liquid itself, would explode. 



In order to find out just how dangerous it 

 was I experimented with it by putting small 

 quantities in a dish, and using a lighted match 

 on the end of a long stick. Before the flame 

 touched the liquid itself there would be an 

 explosion every time. 



Section honey which was exposed to the 

 fumes of it long enough to have moth-worms 

 killed seemed to become thinner, or gather 

 and hold some of this damp fume. In some 

 cases the combs, soon after treatment, would 

 sweat the same as honey that has been kept in 

 a damp cool place will. It also injured the 

 flavor. I explained the matter in detail in 

 Gleanings the same season these experiments 

 were made. 



This first supply having been used up, last 

 season I purchased more, which seems con- 

 siderably different from what I had at first. 

 This first supply I got was kept by the drug- 

 gist in a large tin can which would hold a 

 number of gallons All he had last season 

 was in small tin cans which held only a pound, 

 and it was much more expensive than that 

 which he formerly had. The bisulphide in 

 these small cans, costing 40 cents apiece, 

 though it was nearly if not fully as effective 

 in destroying moth-worms as the first was, the 

 fumes from it do not seem so powerful, neither 

 could I get any to explode. A lighted match 

 dropped into a small quantity would not cause 

 an explosion, though it would set the liquid 

 on fire, which would burn somewhat slowly 

 until all consumed, and it does not appear to 

 injure comb honey as the first did, though my 

 experiments with it in this respect have not 

 been thorough enough so I can say positively 

 that it will not. I would not dispense with 

 its use as a means of destroying moth-worms 

 and eggs in brood-combs, even if it cost three 

 or four dollars a pound ; but in order to make 

 its use effective it is necessary that the combs 

 to be treated should be put in a barrel, box, 

 or something of the kind that can be closed 

 up perfectly tight ; and instead of sprinkling 

 a small amount of the bisulphide on the inside 

 of whatever is used, quite a quantity of it 

 must be placed inside in an open dish. I use 

 a small glass tumbler. The amount to use 

 does not matter so there is enough ; for any 

 that does not evaporate can be poured back in 

 the can for future use, as, no matter how long 

 a quantity of it may have been exposed to the 

 air, anv of it which has not evaporated is just 

 as strong as it was before being exposed. It 

 is like chloroform in this respect. The latter 

 I have also used, and found to be effective in 

 destroying worms in brood-combs. But it has 

 no effect on the eggs, and it utterly ruins the 

 flavor of comb honey, giving it a strong rank 

 taste. It is much more expensive for this pur- 

 pose than the bisulphide, and the combs have 

 to be subjected to its fumes for a much longer 

 time. 



