JANUARY 15, 1916 



ed the whole apiary about twice a week 

 with a sulphur bath. 



Some colonies responded to the treatment 

 quickly. Others were not visibly affected 

 for two weeks or more. Two or three died. 

 Some colonies took backsets and had to be 

 treated over again. At present (Nov. 20) 

 (he apiary of 305 colonies seems all well, 

 but we expect to have to fight the disease 

 again next spring. We don't fear the mal- 

 ady as we did at iirst. I believe it to con- 

 sist of a fungous growth on the outside of 

 the bees similar to mildew on the grapes. 

 The sulphur spray does not kill the brood — 

 at least not much of it — unless used more 

 freely than neeessaiy. 



Use sulphur often and with discretion, 

 and I believe the disease can be cured every 

 time. The time to spray first is when the 

 first diseased colony is discovered. 



In regard to this disease I have arrived 

 at some conclusions by intuition or imita- 

 tion in watching the farmers fight pests of 

 all kinds — mildew, red-spider, and the like. 

 They blow sulphur among the branches and 

 leaves of the trees when the heat of the 

 sun ranges between 90 and 110 degi'ees. 

 It is claimed, and I believe it is ti'ue, that 

 the sun cooks a kind of sulphurous gas out 

 of the diffused sulphur that means death to 

 these parasitic plants, bugs, lice, mites, 

 mange, itch, ticks, etc. 



I notice that the sulphur spray in the 



hives, and all over the bee-yard for that 

 matter, seems to do more good during the 

 hotter parts of the day and very little or no 

 gc'od when the temperature is cool (below 

 80°). "We blew the sulphur all over the 

 ground, hives, and dead bees. The apiary 

 smellcd like his Salanic Majesty's prover- 

 bial palace; and I tell you the disease began 

 to disajipear at once. Now please don't 

 imagine that it takes a barrel of sulphur, 

 for we did not use ten pounds. I dare say 

 we wasted part of that. 



We need some special machine for the 

 purpose of putting the sulphur in the hives, 

 or possibly a different-shaped nozzle to at- 

 tach to the machine we already have. This 

 is strapped on a man's back and worked by 

 a hand lever. But the builder designed it 

 for sulphuiing vines and trees, and not 

 hives. When we blew the suliDhur on the 

 brood we could see minute grains of sul- 

 phur in the cells. We killed the brood, and 

 the bees were very reluctant even to clean 

 out and use the combs for any purpose. 

 Still, the light fine sulphuring did no harm 

 that we could discover. Our bees began to 

 build up and get strong right away. 



We have increased from fourteen weak, 

 rundown, poverty-sticken colonies to 305 

 good colonies, and have 560 combs of honey 

 to feed them upon if times get hard with 

 the bees next May or June. 



Selma, Cal. 



THE SULPHUR CURE EFFECTIVE 



BY WASHINGTON D. KEYES 



Early in the spring of 1914 I ordered a 

 pound of bees with queen ; put them in a 

 hive with drawn combs, and as soon as the 

 brood was three-fourths developed a large 

 portion was attacked, and turned, first pink, 

 then brown, and finally black on the sides 

 of the head, and died. They were cut out 

 of the cells and thrown out on the ground; 

 and when the young bees began to hatch out 

 many of them could not fly, and fell on the 

 ground, crawling around as if they were 

 crazy, or blind. This kept up all summer, 



and the colony remained weak; but late in 

 the fall I bought powdered sulphur, sprin- 

 kled it in the entrance, and on the alight- 

 ing-board. I took off the cover and sprin- 

 kled the sulphur on the tops of the frames 

 and between them ; covered the hive up, and 

 in a short time the disease disappeared. 

 The colony came thru in good shape this 

 spring, and is one of the best colonies in my 

 yard — perfectly healthy, strong, and indus- 

 tiious. 



Wilkinsburg. Pa. 



WET COOL WEATHER FAVORABLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE 

 DISEASE; GOOD WEATHER A CURE 



BY E. J. LADD 



In looking over my records I find that 

 bee paralysis, or Nosema apis, has never 

 shown up but that, on a corresponding date, 

 weather conditions were had. For instance, 

 in 1915, when at its worst, a record shows 



continued rain for weeks, and tomatoes and 

 potatoes blighting. In 1912 I find hives 

 A, V, E showing paralysis, weatlier condi- 

 tion bad, potatoes hlighting. In 1908 I find 

 hives 10-a, 12B, and G ^11 showed slight 



