SEPTEMBER 1, 191(> 



Do not imagine you can clean up every- 

 thing at one stroke, nor absolutely even in 

 one year. It will crop out occasionally. I 

 nearly always kill the queen of a colony that 

 tolerates the disease, and replace her. I 

 have bought small lots of bees near me to 

 keep the disease from being harbored there. 

 I do not believe that bees must rob the in- 

 fected honey to get the disease, as it can 

 surely be cured and still retain the combs. 

 This is sufficient proof. Also shaking on 

 starters or foundation does not always cure. 

 [I know that from experience. — R. F. H.] 

 Oh, no! Do not think that. I treat both 

 ways. Again, by dequeening we shall have 

 our combs yet. Any one can see them in 

 the breeding season, full of as nice brood as 

 ever was. I say again, therefore, do not 

 burn good comb. 



I will not say do not shake at all, but 

 why should we when it is not necessary? 



Mr. Reuben V. Cox, Sloanville, N. Y., 

 also kindly wrote the following: 



I am only a small beekeeper compared 

 with you, or only about a quarter your size, 

 having 200 colonies; nor have I stamped out 

 the disease; but I own the yard into which 

 European foul brood was first introduced 

 into New York by nuclei brought from the 

 South, probably in 1890. I bought the 

 apiary in 1908. I have had perhaps 24 or 

 25 cases, and none in the past four years, so 

 I am one from whom you wish to hear. 

 There are other apiaries around here that 

 have gone thru the same. For instance, I 

 worked for E. W. Alexander, seven miles 

 from here, when he had only a few cases. 

 I am told he has had more in the past few 

 years. I think the disease, like most others, 

 varies in severity; and I think Dr. C. C. 

 Miller 's bees must have had a very mild 

 form to be able to cure it in about a ten 

 days' gap in brood-rearing. 



E. W. Alexander, you will notice, recom- 

 mends 25 full days to be sure that every cell 

 of brood, worker and drone, is hatched. He 

 told me he had lost, from first to last, over 



1000 colonics; yet, shortly after 1900, he 

 secured from 25 to 35 tons of honey from his 

 own apiary of 600 colonies. On the other 

 hand, one D. Kimbel, only about two and a 

 half miles west of here, kept and still keeps 

 about 100 colonies, part of which are in box 

 hives. So you can see none of the usual 

 treatment could be given in his case. Yet 

 I know the disease has been on his ground. 

 Here we have sometimes three honey-flows — 

 a light one in June from clover; sometimes 

 a good one in July from basswood, and usu- 

 ally a good one in August from buckwheat. 

 I can cure severe cases by the Alexander 

 treatment in any of these flows. Mild eases 

 will sometimes cure themselves; but I find 

 it hard to winter such cases; and generally 

 the first of the buckwheat flow I kill the 

 queen, and, to prevent robbing, a few days 

 before that flow closes, sulphur the bees, 

 extract the honey, melt the combs, and burn 

 the frames and scorch out the hives. I find 

 that the money from the honey and wax 

 about pays for the new colony I buy in the 

 spring. Some might object to selling honey 

 from the diseased bees; but I consider it no 

 worse than selling it after the Alexander 

 treatment, as in either case the bees polish 

 the cells. European foul brood seems to 

 decrease in severity as the bees become used 

 to it in any locality. 



If the bees can clean out diseased brood, 

 and put the cell in a condition not to trans- 

 mit the disease to the next larva?, they must 

 secrete a disinfectant. If a cell is so clean- 

 ed before storing, either honey or the queen 

 laying in it, then it must be a safe method 

 to remove the laying queen until all cells 

 have been cleaned by the bees. The success 

 of the Alexander method would sustain the 

 above. I am looking fonvard with interest 

 and some anxiety to the developments which 

 will take place among our own bees, and, 

 if able, will give the result of my experi- 

 ence. 



Brantford, Ont., Canada. 



OVER ONE HUNDRED GATHER AT CHICAGO TO LEARN FOUL- 

 BROOD AND SWARM CONTROL 



BY KBNNITH HAWKINS 



Over 100 beekeepers of Indiana, Illinois, 

 and Wisconsin gathered at 3000 North 

 Cicero Avenue, Chicago, on Saturday, July 

 15, for the first annual field meet of the 

 Chicago-Northwestern Beekeepers' Associa- 

 tion, whore they li-stened to prominent bee- 

 keepers of Illinois and Indiana. N. E. 

 France, president of the association, was 

 not able to be present. 



A feature of the day was the picnic 

 luncheon in charge of Secretary John C. 

 Bull and President E. S. Miller. Following 



dinner the events of the day occurred in the 

 following order, with Mr. Miller's system of 

 swarm control featuring: Inspector A. L. 

 Kildow's methods of handling foul brood. 

 A. Stanley, of Chicago, told how he reared 

 queens, as did Kenuitli Hawkins, of Plain- 

 field. 111., who also gave his jjlan of queen 

 introduction by his new queen-cell method. 

 An excellent demonstration with live beas 

 was given by Mrs. Coppin, who, without a 

 veil, gave some beginners several thrills 

 when she opened one of Mr. Bruner's 



