1900 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



ing, which, I have shown, will successfully 

 resist the action of boiling water for an hour 

 or an hour and a half at a time. This same 

 coating will also resist the action of drugs 

 when given to the bees at the proper dilution. 



There are hundreds of bee-keepers located 

 in vicinities where black and foul brood have 

 been raging ; and I would by all means urge 

 all such to medicate all the syrup they feed, 

 either with carbolic acid or beta naphthol, a 

 new drug that is decidedly less objectionable 

 to the bees than the other, and quite as de- 

 structive to the active bacilli themselves. 



This same drug is recommended by bee- 

 keepers in England, and especially by Thos. 

 Wm. Cowan, editor of the British Bee Joicr- 

 nal. It comes in a kind of powder, in oae- 

 ounce boxes. Into an eight-ounce (or half- 

 pint) bottle empty one of these ounce pack- 

 ages. Then pour in just enough wood al- 

 cohol to dissolve the powder ; then fill the 

 bottle full, or very nearly so. This quantity 

 of chemical in solution is just right for 1-10 

 lbs. of sugar undissolved. Measure off 140 

 lbs. of sugar, and then 140 lbs. of water, and 

 mix. Pour the contents of this eight-ounce 

 bottle into the syrup, and stir well. We make 

 all our syrup by mixing sugar and cold water, 

 equal proportion, in the extractor ; that is to 

 say, after the two are placed in the machine 

 we turn the reel vigorously for a few minutes. 

 The next move is to pour in the requisite 

 quantity of the drug in solution, and turn the 

 reel again till the ingredients are thoroughly 

 mixed. If one wishes to feed a less quantity 

 he can figure out for himself just what the 

 proportions will be. 



Mr. Cowan, just referred to above, says that 

 beta naphthol has been thoroughly tested in 

 England, and its efficacy proved, and that it 

 is now the common practice of the most ad- 

 vanced bee-keepers in that country to medi- 

 cate all their syrup before giving it to the 

 bees. We are medicating all the syrup 

 fed to our bees this fall, with the naphthol so- 

 lution. We are doing it as a matter of safety ; 

 for no one knows in these days when one of 

 the dread diseases may visit his apiary. 



Beta naphthol can be obtained at most drug- 

 stores ; but when one can not get it in his lo- 

 cality we will furnish it. See Special Notices. 



Carbolic-acid crystals can be furnished at 

 the drugstores in pound bottles for about 75 

 cts. ; but on account of a very decided repug- 

 nance for it on the part of the bees, the beta 

 naphthol should be used. 



We have been trying the carbolic-syrup 

 mixture in the proportion recommended by 

 Cheshire, but our bees positively refuse to 

 take it. They will go to the feeder and smell 

 of it, and then turn away in disgust. We 

 have even reduced the quantity of the acid, 

 but that seems to make but little difference ; 

 and I conclude, therefore, that bee-keepers 

 had better not waste their time with it. I re- 

 member when we used to spray with a solu- 

 tion of carbolic acid and water, when we had 

 foul brood, the odor would sometimes drive 

 the bees clear out of the hive. 



But it must be distinctly understood that 

 neither carbolic-acid nor beta-naphthol syrups 



will cure a case of foul brood af Ltr it is well 

 started. I would waste no time in spraying- 

 solutions of either in water on foul-broody 

 combs. They are valuable only as prevent- 

 ives — that is, to catch the disease at the start. 

 A pail of water at the beginning may put out 

 what would otherwise be a million-dollar fire, 

 when it would be worthless after it had got 

 well going. 



WINTERING IN THE SOUTH. 



A SHORT time ago a subscriber wrote, ask- 

 ing why there was nothing in the columns of 

 Gleanings or any other bee-journal on this 

 subject. He had, he said, read a great deal 

 about wintering that did not apply to his lo- 

 cality. He was a beginner, and desired to get 

 information. It is true, there has been noth- 

 ing on the subject of wintering in the South- 

 ern States particularly, because for that por- 

 tion of the country there is no "wintering 

 problem," and it almost seems as if there were 

 nothing to be said on the subject ; but for the 

 benefit of our correspondent and others I will 

 give what I believe to be the common prac- 

 tices of bee-keepers in the sunny Southland. 



Where bees can fly almost every day in the 

 year, and for ten months in the year can gath- 

 er a little honey or pollen, outdoor wintering 

 in single-walled hives is recommended. Dou- 

 ble-walled hives would do no harm, and might, 

 during the coldest of the weather, save a little 

 brood ; but it is doubtful whether the added 

 expense for the extra walls and packing will 

 compensate for the possible slight loss of 

 brood and bees during a few cold days. While 

 I would recommend single-walled hives for the 

 southern portions of our country, and for some 

 parts of the West, I would always urge that 

 the same be located in an inclosure of trees — 

 a tight high board fence, a hedge fence, or any 

 thing in the way of buildings that will afford 

 a windbreak against the prevailing winds. 

 The establishing of windbreaks is one of the 

 most important requisites in either the north- 

 ern or southern portion of the country. 



While it is no great trick to winter bees in 

 such localities as are found in Florida, South 

 Carolina, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, 

 South Carolina, yet one must be careful to see 

 that his bees do not run out of stores, as it 

 seems to be a generally acknowledged fact 

 that bees wintered in the South consume a 

 much larger percentage of stores, according 

 to the size of the colony, than those in the 

 North. Those in cold climates are compelled 

 to contract into a very small ball for the pur- 

 pose of concentrating the animal heat ; and 

 while in that condition they go into a sort of 

 semi-dormant state, during which they con- 

 sume a comparatively small quantity of food. 

 On the other hand, bees in the South, espe- 

 cially in the warmest portions, will have access 

 to all parts of the hive, will be rearing more or 

 less brood, and, as a consequence, when nat- 

 ural flora does not secrete nectar they will be 

 liable to run short of stores, and starve. To 

 the southlander let me urge that the greatest 

 danger is starvation ; and the next greater is 

 more or less of robbing during a dearth of 

 honey. Indeed, all things considered, I be- 



