MARCH 16. 1916 



241 



the spout-valve, and just the amount needed 

 for the bees can be controlled by the valve 

 at the back of the pump. 



1 think it a great advantage to have 

 water for bees right near the apiary, for it 

 certainly saves the lives of a great many; 

 for when they are compelled to fly very far, 

 especially on a chilly day more are lost than 

 one is aware of. Furthermore, brood-rear- 

 ing will go on at a more rapid pace where 

 water is near by. 



I have a large trough filled with floats, 

 and it is surprising hoAv fresh and pure the 

 water keeps for a long time without empty- 

 ing. All there Avill be is a small accumula- 

 tion of slime and moss. Perhaps it might 

 be a good plan to clean out the trough 

 occasionally. It is a sight to see the way 

 the bees swarm around the trough-, and the 

 stream of bees going back and forth during 



dry weather and when brood-rearing is at 

 its height. 



I use water from the same pipe to water 

 the poultry by having another valve at th;^ 

 lower end of the pipe. The fowls have 

 had plenty of fresh water constantly all 

 summer. I would not carry water to chick- 

 ens all suimner for the price of two force 

 pumps. Little chicks need fresh water 

 several times a day during the hot summer 

 days. Every time water is used at the 

 pump the bees and fowls get some too. 

 During the summer months some member 

 of the family will be imbibing freely, or 

 there will be a pail or two used otherwise. 

 By closing the valve at the back, the force 

 pump can be used for washing ears; and 

 if near buildings it could be used in case 

 <;f fire by attaching a hose. 



East Avon, N. Y. 



EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN FOUL BROOD 



Their Differences, History, and Methods of Treatment 



BY OREL L. HERSHISER 



Continued from page 162, Feb. 15. 



In the summer of 1912 I treated for 

 European foul brood over half of the colo- 

 nies in one of my apiaries by shaking, ac- 

 cording to the McEvoy plan, and requeened 

 many of them with the resistant Italian 

 stock described in Feb. 15 issue. In the fall 

 82 colonies were prepared for Avinter, 80 of 

 which came thru to the following season in 

 excellent condition. About the middle of 

 May the apiary was moved, and, soon after 

 being established in the new location, 42 of 

 the 80 colonies became reinfected. But, 

 with few exceptions, those requeened with 

 resistant stock the season before were un- 

 usually strong, and showed no trace of the 

 disease. 



When white clover commenced to yield 

 honey the treatment of the diseased colonies 

 was undertaken. These were shaken or 

 brushed upon starters, and three and four 

 days thereafter placed on full sheets of 

 foundation a la McEvoy. The diseased 

 brood was stacked up f ur and five stories 

 high over healthy Italian colonies, care be- 

 ing taken that the queen was confined to 

 her own brood-chamber by an excluder. A 

 good clover-honey flow was on, and, as 

 anticipated, the diseased combs were thoro- 

 ly cleaned out, filled with honey, and no 

 trace of the disease was ever discovered in 

 the brood-chambers of these healthy colo- 

 nies. 



A number of the diseased colonies that 

 had been shaken swarmed out, eventually 



reducing the number in the apiary to 72. 

 In all other respects t-he treatment was suc- 

 cessful, which was shown by an increase in 

 the number of colonies from 72 to 105, 101 

 of which wintered, and a crop of 9500 lbs. 

 of extracted honey, the individual yields 

 running all the way from nothing, in some 

 of the colonies treated, to past the 300-lb. 

 mark in several of the healthy colonies of 

 resistant Italians. 



There is surely a bright side to this whole 

 European-foul-brood situation. It is this: 

 When you have Italianized all your colo- 

 nies with vigorous, resistant stock, the bet- 

 ter condition of your apiary and the valu- 

 able experience you have gained will add so 

 much to your i^roficiency and enable you to 

 produce so much better crops of honey that 

 you will not seriously regxet that the dis- 

 ease overtook you. 



The essentials for the treatment of Eu- 

 ropean foul brood may be summarized as 

 follows : 



Head all colonies with resistant Italian 

 queens, or rear them in the process of treat- 

 ing. 



Treat only strong colonies; if not 

 strong, unite until those to be treated are 

 strong. 



Treat only during a good honey-flow that 

 is sufficient to i^revent robbing, except that 

 strong colonies, that are diseased late in 

 summer, may be given the fall treatment, 

 after breeding has stopped for the season, 



