NOVEMBER 15, 1916 



1077 



I'apid spread of the disease and the wide 

 range of territory over which it reams in a 

 short time. To find out the way in which 

 European foul brood spreads I would con- 

 duct some experiments under the following- 

 conditions, adding- to them any suggestions 

 of value that could be found, and eliminat- 

 ing-, before undertaking- the wuirk, any wiiich 

 were deemed valueless. 



1. Establish an apiary in an isolated sec- 

 tion, letting- the bees in each hive have a 

 very large entrance. This entrance could 

 be obtained by having a bottom-board with 

 a deep space. The apiary should stand on 

 a large sheltered pond of water. The object 

 of the water under the hives would be to 

 make it unlikely that the dead lan-fe which 

 the bees clean out could ever blow into the 

 entrances of other liives. 



2. Feed the bees extensively in the open. 

 If necessary I would take them into a com- 

 paratively desert country where their only 

 source of suj^iDly would be the feeders com- 

 mon to them all. If, under such conditions, 

 the disease spread abnormally we would be 

 justified in believing that the disease spreads 

 thru the germs from bees of diseased colo- 

 nies being left on the blossoms and after- 



wa.d carried homo by the bees out of 

 healthy ccJonies visiting the blossoms. 



3. Have enough colonies in a section 

 where no natural stores could be gathered, 

 thus eliminating- the danger of common 

 ground visited by the bees as in No. 2 and 

 supply them with combs of honey and pol- 

 len, giving- it to them in each hive. Or the 

 bees could be fed thru individual feeders 

 placed on each hive. The colonies should 

 be set fairly close together, so if the disease 

 is spread by the dead larvae cleaned out by 

 the bees there would be a good chance for 

 it to get into hives in the vicinity. 



4. Take queens from badly diseased colo- 

 nies and introduce them with the least pos- 

 sible delay to healthy stocks, and take other 

 queens; and, if possible (and I think it is), 

 clip all but their heads in some disinfectant 

 and note the result. 



A careful work carried out along the 

 above lines should give us some information 

 of value. I am strongly of the opinion that 

 worker bees, so far as it lies in our power, 

 should not have the chance to clean diseased 

 larvfe out of the cells. Such work must re- 

 sult in the spread of the disease. 



Brantford. Canada. 



A YEAR WITH POUND PACKAGES OF BEES 



BY KEXNITH HAWKINS. 



After treating all colonies in my home 

 yard in the fall of 1914 for American foul 

 brood, investigation in the spring of 1915 

 showed that I had seven breeding queens 

 left, but that every colony that remained 

 Avas again badly infected with American 

 foul brood. Seven one-pound packages of 

 bees were ordered from Texas to arrive here 

 by May 1, and they were given the queens, 

 being loosed on full sheets of foundation, 

 viith fruit bloom in full swing. 



The bees had no more than arrived wlien 

 the warm weather of April went somewhere, 

 fruit-bloom' froze altogether, days followed 

 when it was impossible for the bees to get 

 m<pre than a few hours' flight, and there was 

 nothing to feed on. They were fed daily a 

 pint of wai-m sugar syrup, half and half. 

 a super being put on, and a news]ia]ier 

 spread over the frames with a small hole cut 

 directly over the cluster for the pei)perbox 

 feeder. 



As soon as the bees had begun to build up 

 a little, signs of American foul brood ap- 

 peared again; and knowing that there must 

 vet be a source of infection, the Illinois in- 

 spector. A. L. Kildow, was summoned. Tie 

 found an ajiiary within a mile with every 



colony but two dead with American foul 

 brood, all tlie rest, about 18 colonies, being 

 exposed for robbing. This was prevented 

 only in a measure by the entrances being 

 pi'actically stopped up with dead bees and 

 by the cold weather. These colonies were 

 burned. 



This infection necessitated treatment of 

 ihe nuclei from the pound packages, such as 

 shaking, giving full sheets again, and feed- 

 ing. It was more than discouraging to see 

 those briglit new combs and sugar stores go 

 into the fire. Lots of queen-breeders adver- 

 tise queens proof against " foul brood," 

 making- no distinction in the advertising be- 

 hveen American and European. Any queen- 

 breeder who ad\ertises in this way is a fake, 

 as there never existed a queen the introduc- 

 tion of which brought about conditions 

 proof against American foul brood. Any 

 2'ood Italian is some iiroof against Euro])e- 

 an. and the purer the Italian the gi-eater 

 the insurance. 



Now tlie weailier turned so cold again 

 tliat two of the packages, after li-eatment, 

 failed to survive the weatlier. leaving- five. 

 Seven m(ire were ordered, witli queens, and 

 ilie feeding of syrup continued as long as 



