FEBRUARY 15, 1914 



137 



of vegetation which required a walk of 

 nearly thirty miles for the day. This time 

 we continued further up the canyon and 

 tooli the Vivian trail lo Vivian Canyon, and 

 then on over toward the summit. The eleva- 

 tion of honey-plants was found about as 

 we had found them the day before, up to 

 HOOO feet ; but at this point the mountain 

 niesquite was blooming profusely, and was 

 literally alive with bees. But by the time 

 we reached an elevation of 9000 feet the 

 bloom had not yet come out ; but the bees 

 were working on what is known as the cow-- 

 cabbage and a few small flowering plants. 

 We had almost reached the limit of vegeta- 

 tion, there being no trees but the lumber 

 pines, some amanzanita brush of low scrub- 

 by growth, wild lilac and mountain mesquite 

 not yet blooming. Vegetation was so thin, 

 and flowers so scarce, that we decided it 

 would be useless to continue the Search, 



though I returned fully convinced that it 

 was probable that bees often flew over the 

 barren peak of old Grayback, and that the 

 flowers that bloom on this peak at times are 

 visited by the bee for its store of honey. 



As Uncle Sam zealously guards the giant 

 trees and all growth in this a national forest 

 reserve, the little bee will doubtless occupy 

 tliis vast stretch of mountain fastness un- 

 disturbed for many years to come. The giant 

 pines of the mountain sides, coves, and can- 

 yon will remain in their natural state to 

 help protect and retain the vast amount of 

 winter rain and snow that finds its way into 

 the soil, to come again from the springs that 

 feed the mountain sti'eams, finding its way 

 to the valleys to water the orange-gi'oves 

 and other farm products that help to make 

 life in the great semi-arid region of South- 

 ern California. 



Redlands, Cal. 



DO NOT MINIMIZE THE DANGERS OF AMERICAN FOUL BROOD 



BY A. F. WAGNER 



Of late, when speaking and writing of 

 bee diseases, European foul brood seems to 

 be uppermost in the thoughts and writings 

 of most beemen. Is there not a possibility 

 that, in our zeal to prevent its importation, 

 and eradicating it when found, the clanger 

 of American foul brood is minimized? A 

 word of warning at this time may not be 

 amiss. 



American foul brood still exists in per- 

 haps all of the counties of Southern Cali- 

 fornia. At a recent meeting of the Board 

 of Supervisors the chairman said that, if he 

 was not mistaken, beemen are not afraid of 

 this disease, European foul brood being the 

 most feared. When asked if I felt the same 

 about it I answered that I surely dreaded 

 American foul brood, and so w'ould any one 

 else who had ever had any experience with 

 it. The beeman who thinks he has a light 

 job on his hands to eradicate American foul 

 bi'ood will find out his mistake before he 

 gets through. 



A description of this disease in this arti- 

 cle will hardly be necessary, as a description 

 of it can be found in any book on bee cul- 

 ture, so that any intelligent person can 

 readily detect it. But I should like to write 

 a few words as to how it may spread and 

 become a menace to an entire neighborhood. 



It is often caused by swarms, either natu- 

 ral or absconding, from affected colonies. 

 The danger is most in the latter. To guard 

 against this, never hive a swarm into a hive 

 containing drawn combs, nor unite a swarm 

 with weak colonies. I know this to be a 



practice Avith many beemen. Don't count 

 too much on those stray swarms that hap- 

 pen to come to you. Let me give you an 

 illustration : On inspecting a certain yard I 

 found sevei'al affected colonies, and the 

 regular treatment was prescribed. On a 

 trip to this yard later I asked the owner 

 how he had succeeded. The answer was, 

 " Oh ! all right, what are left. Some of 

 them absconded." (I want you to notice 

 they absconded. Where to?) I had tried 

 to get this i^arfy to use my mode of treat- 

 ment, but he took what he thought a quicker 

 mode. Those absconding bees perhaps went 

 to a yard in the neighborhood, and perhaps 

 were hived directly into a hive containing 

 drawn combs, and you know the result. 

 Later another case of foul brood, another 

 shaking, another absconding swarm, etc. 

 To be on the safe side, always hive stray 

 swarms on starters. 



" But," you say, " how can I prevent ab- 

 sconding and get rid of the disease? " In 

 answer I will describe a treatment I used 

 some ten or eleven years ago. 



After trying the shaking plan one day, 

 and finding one-third of the number so 

 treated clinging to brush the next morning, 

 and some gone entirely I marked every 

 colony that needed treatment, and worked 

 every thing down to the brood-chamber by 

 extracting the honey and melting the combs 

 into wax. Next I took one comb out of the 

 center of the brood-nest and put in its place 

 a frame containing about two inches of 

 comb foundation which Ave will tei'm a 



