JULY 15, 1914 



539 



exposition is also a place for fair competi- 

 tion. 



In 1911, at Constance, the invitation to 

 meet at Berlin in 1913 was accepted. The 

 Prussian Government gave 3000 marks, and 

 (he general Government 1000 marks toward 

 defraying the expenses of the fair. Not- 

 withstanding- this, there was a deficit of 

 I Voni 7000 to 10,000 marks. The bee-jonr- 

 iials make all kinds of comments that are 

 of local interest. One editor says: "I told 

 you so at Constance." He had advised us 

 not to accept as a place of meeting a city 

 with millions of inhabitants. In these large 

 cities there are so many kinds of entertain- 

 ments that they will care but little for a 

 heekeei^ers' fair. At present it is not known 

 to what extent the fair was patronized. If 

 t he deficit is due mainly to the small num- 

 ber of admissions, then the beekeepers will 

 hesitate about inviting and accepting as a 

 place of meeting these larger cities. 



The fair lasted from July 24 to 30, and 

 received the praise of all who visited it. 

 This was the 58th meeting of this kind. I 

 think it speaks well for this kind of gather- 

 ing of beekeeping provinces to have endur- 

 ed for 58 years. 



ISLE-OF-WIGHT DISEASE. 



Some time ago Mr. Joseph Tinsley, of 

 England, had an article in Gleanings about 

 this malady. The commissioners appointed 

 to investigate the plague published a report 

 in the Journal of the Board of Agriculture. 

 Dr. Graham Smith and others found that 

 the parasite Nosema apis caused this dread- 

 ful disease that ruined so many English 

 apiaries. This parasite belongs to the ani- 

 mal kingdom, while most of the bacteria 

 that are known to cause diseases in man and 

 animal, also those causing foul brood, stone 

 brood, etc., belong to the vegetable kingdom. 



Nosema apis is a near relative to Nosema 

 bombyois, the parasite that caused the pest 

 of the silkworm, Pebrine, that ruined the 

 silk industry of southern France 60 years 

 ago. The damage was estimated at a hun- 

 dred million dollars. 



Prof. Dr. Zander discovered the parasite 

 in 1907, and with Prof. Dofiein, of Munich, 

 called it Nosema apis to show the relation- 

 ship to Nosema bombycis. Prof. Zander has 

 studied and investigated this parasite close- 

 ly, and states that if a bee is once infested 

 it will die. It seems very difficult to prove 

 the presence of Nosema apis. A great dan- 

 ger is the fact that the contagion may be 

 contracted outside the hive. The watering- 

 I'lace is considered especially dangerous. 

 The possibility of outside contamination 

 cannot be readily located and eliminated. 

 Some three years ago several investigators 



found that Nosema apis is present in many 

 apiaries. Only one reported great loss and 

 considered this parasite very dangerous. 

 This was Prof. Zander. The malady caused 

 by Nosema apis in Germany is known as 

 " contagious dysentery." If Nosema apis is 

 the sole cause of the Tsle-of- Wight disease, 

 it will be well to keep an eye on it. It may 

 be that bees in very good health may, to a 

 great extent, be immune. There Avill be 

 more light on this before long. 



THE ENGLISH SPARROW. 



Mr. A. J. Wright, page 638, 1913, consid- 

 er this a very dangerous enemy of the bees, 

 I wonder if that is the same bird as our 

 common sparrow. With one exception I 

 never heard complaints from beekeepers. 

 The bees are kept so near houses that if the 

 sparrows indulged in a bee diet it would 

 surely have been noticed. The bird is found 

 here in great numbers. I know them as 

 impudent and greedy feeders, molesting 

 useful birds, and consider them a nuisance, 

 but vegetarians. The exce^Dtion above meti- 

 tioned was ten years ago. The reporter of 

 the Wiener Bienenvater observed at the 

 school apiary a sparrow that took from the 

 entrance of the hives dead and live drones. 

 The drones were just driven off, and the 

 reporter concluded the sparrow ate only 

 drones. Soon afterward the man in charge 

 of the apiary shot a sparrow that had a 

 worker in its bill and many parts of work- 

 ers in its stomach. Have you or any of your 

 friends ever heard of sparrows molesting 

 bees? 



THE FINEST HONEY IN THE WORLD. 



This, according to the Bheinische Bienen- 

 zeitung, is from the nectar of wild roses 

 near Kallianu, Greece. It added that wealthy 

 Turks buy all this honey at a dollar a 

 pound. A few tons at that price would help 

 a needy beekeeper toward affluence. 



FOURTEEN THOUSAND COLONIES STARVED. 



It is reported that on the heath-field 

 between Holland and Germany 14,000 colo- 

 nies died of stai'vation. Beekeepers send 

 their bees by trainloads to gather nectar 

 from the heather {Erica vulgaris). On 

 account of the unusually cold and rainy 

 weather the bees could not gather any nec- 

 tar, and the owners did not realize in time 

 the precarious condition of the bees. 



IN UNION THERE IS STRENGTH. 



Beekeepers in general are aware of the 

 truth of this saying, and the leaders of the 

 larger organizations have tried to unite all 

 into one powerful union so as to bring 

 enough power (numerical strength) to bear 

 on the legislators and the seneral Govern- 



