APRIL 1, 1916 



287 



thought the best thing to do was to try to 

 find a remedy as soon as possible. Remem- 

 bering that sulphur is good in case of pa- 

 ralysis I resolved at once to give it a trial. 

 I looked up the ABC and X Y Z, and this 

 encouraged me to give the sulphur a trial. 

 I concluded, however, that, as sprinkling 

 the combs is injurious to the larvae, I would 

 try another plan. Accordingly, I opened 

 the hives and took out all affected brood, 

 and gave full sheets of foundation in their 

 place. I sprinkled on top of the frames of 

 the brood-nest a mixture of honey, sulphur, 

 and water, putting enough honey to sweet- 

 en, 60 that the bees would feed on it readily, 

 and for the further reason that the bees that 

 do not leave the hive had indoor feed. I 

 also gave them a general open-air feeding 

 of this same mixture every day for two 

 weeks. This, for two reasons, they did not 

 seem to notice for a whole day. First, I put 

 in enough sulphur to give the feed a slight 

 smell. This in a measure destroyed the 

 honey odor. Second, as already stated, there 

 was a light honey-flow on, especially in the 

 morning, and all beekeepers know that bees 

 work more readily on nectar than anything 

 else. After a few days, however, they drank 

 up all that was given each day. This work- 

 ed with great success, for at the termination 

 of a week the death-rate was greatly re- 

 duced, and in three weeks not a bee was 

 seen bumping about, ready to die. 



The curing of the dead larvse is the most 

 difficult, for even in the new frames I had 

 given were found later on the same dead 

 larvae here and there. The only cure I have 



found for this is to give each colony a new 

 and vigorous queen. 



Guayama, Porto Rico. 



[There have been numerous reports to 

 the effect that sulphur in some form or oth- 

 er has not only helped but in some cases 

 cured the peculiar disease known under 

 various names such as Nosema apis, bee 

 paralysis. Isle of Wight disease, etc. Mr. 

 0. 0. Poppleton, of Florida, a conservative 

 and careful beekeeper, and who has had a 

 very large experience with bee paralysis, 

 stated that powdered sulphur sprinkled on 

 the combs and bees would effect a cure ; but 

 the process is rather slow. Sulphur is a 

 well-known antiseptic, and we see no reason 

 why it might not effect a cure if applied in 

 the manner described by Mr. Cox. 



The disease has been so rampant and 

 destructive in some parts of the world that 

 we can well afford to grasp at every straw, 

 especially as the reports regarding the use 

 of sulphur as a cure have been favorable. 



This fact also lends color to the theory 

 that the Isle of Wight disease, Nosema apis, 

 and bee paralysis are all one and the same 

 tiling, but modified by environment and the 

 peculiarities of the season. In damp cli- 

 mates and in damp seasons, and particular- 

 ly in tropical climates, this three-in-one dis- 

 ease, if we may so call it, is much worse 

 than when it breaks out in localities further 

 north in a dry atmosphere. 



Taking it all in all, we would request our 

 readers to try out Mr. Cox's remedy; and 

 if that fails, try out the one recommended 

 by Mr. Clarke.— Ed.] 



MY FIRST SEASON'S EXPERIENCE AS A BEEKEEPER 



BY DR. A. P. BETTS 



In April, 1915, I bought twenty colonies 

 of bees from one Joseph Smith, a veteran 

 beekeeper. The colonies were in eight- 

 frame hives and in good condition. Smith 

 had 160 colonies, and sold me a score of 

 them for $100, because he said he had more 

 than he wanted. 



I had never opened a hive nor hived a 

 swarm nor seen a queen or a frame of 

 brood. I told him just how things were, 

 and he said I was " taking a pretty big 

 contract," but if I wanted the bees he would 

 take my money. "But, honest. Doc, I would 

 advise you to take two or three colonies for 

 the first year." 



I gave Smith his money, and said I would 

 take my chance, and that all I ever got was 

 by doing something that some one else could 

 not do. So he brought over the bees in a 



spring wagon, twelve miles. It was very 

 early in the morning of April 24, 1915. I 

 remember it very distinctly. The day was 

 clear and warm. Smith helped me set the 

 bees in place, gave them a little smoke from 

 his own pipe, and took the screens from 

 the entrances. He chatted awhile, and then 

 drove off. 



Just before leaving he turned his head 

 and said that if I needed any help I should 

 let him know, and he would help me all he 

 could. I thought I saw a flicker of a smile 

 on his face as he drove away. Now, if there 

 is anything more than another that put 

 " pep " into me it was that grin on Smith's 

 face. I think it was woith more than money 

 to me as the months went by. Whenever a 

 difficulty arose or a new problem had to be 

 ■solved, when I was almost at my wits' end. 



