GT. KANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



February, 1922 







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THE LEWIS FOUL BROOD CURE 



One Beekeeper Tells How to Make the Solution. 

 Another How to Use It 



Please allow me to say that I think the 

 presentment of the Lewia treatment in the 

 November number of Gleanings could not 

 have been improved upon, and will have the 

 effect of setting the ball rolling right. 



It cannot be too clearly understood that 

 we have stated the case, and given out the 

 results, just as we found them in British 

 Columbia, without any attempt at exaggera- 

 tion, and entirely for the benefit of the bee- 

 keeping fraternity. It is now up to evei-y- 

 one to test the treatment for themselves. 



For the benefit of those who may be un- 

 able to obtain either B-K or Fecto* it may 

 be stated that sodium hypochlorite, of ap- 

 proximately the same strength as is con- 

 tained in these two proprietary preparations, 

 can be made as follows; 



Dissolve six pounds of sal soda in two 

 gallons of hot water, and three pounds of 

 chloride of lime in one gallon of cold water. 

 Pour together and allow to settle. The clear 

 mixture, at the rate of eight ounces to the 

 imperial gallon of water, is readj^ for use. 



The solution should be made with hot wa- 

 ter, at near boiling point, so as to avoid 

 chilling the brood when it is used. A pint 

 of solution will be about sufficient for one 

 spraying for each hive, if a fine mist sprayer 

 is used. Sodium hypochlorite soon deterior- 

 ates if it is not kept well corked and in a 

 dark place. W. J. Sheppard. 



Nelson, B. C. 



Sodium hypochlorite is a very powerful 

 destroyer of bacteria. It was the famous 

 "Dakin Solution" of the war. It is quite 

 harmless to drink, and in fact surgeons in 

 the war have told me that they had to use 

 it in their drinking water when the water 

 could not be sterilized by boiling. It is not 

 particularly pleasant to the taste, but one 

 soon gets used to it. Its efficacy as a bac- 

 tericide is due to chlorine gas it contains. 



Mr. Lewis first used a proprietary article 

 sold under sundry names. I was unable to 

 find any of them here, and on making a few 

 inquiries I learned what the commercial so- 

 lution is and then made it myself. Two 

 pounds of sal soda — common washing Koda — 

 is dissolved in two gallons of hot water. 

 Cold water is too slow. One ])ound of chlor- 

 ide of lime is dissolved in one gallon of cold 

 water. Hot water would free too much of 

 the chlorine gas. It is a fine dry powder 

 and does not readily mix with water, so it is 

 best to stir in a little water at a time, mak- 

 ing a sort of paste and when all is well wet 



stir in the rest of the water. Then mix the 

 two solutions and let stand over night. A 

 white precipitate is found at the bottom of 

 a clear solution. This latter is the sodium 

 hypochlorite and should be bottled for use. 

 The precipitate can be thrown on the 

 ground forfertilizer, being carbonate of lime. 



So much for the material. Now for its 

 use. It is to be sprayed all over the combs, 

 and for this purpose a common bush sprayer 

 costing 50 cents is just right. This throws 

 a fine mist and does not wash larvae from 

 the cells. It is advisable to catch the queen 

 and cage her until thru spraying, because 

 she often wanders out with the bees and 

 sometimes does not find her way back. As 

 soon as the spraying is finished and the 

 bees have begun to spread over the combs 

 again, she may be released and returned to 

 the bees. In spraying, the bees are shaken 

 from a comb and both surfaces of it are 

 sprayed; it is returned to the hive, and each 

 succeeding comb is thus treated. The bees 

 will work away from the freshly sprayed 

 combs, and soon most of them are outside 

 the hive. They soon go back and will lick 

 up all drops of the liquor. It is only the 

 the gas which bothers them. 



The gas penetrates every open cell and 

 destroys all bacteria with which it comes in 

 contact. The liquid can be used full 

 strength; but there is no gain, and I have 

 found half and half of the solution and 

 water fully effective. 



Now as to the results experienced by 

 Messrs. Sheppard and Lewis in their early 

 spring applications. At that season colonies 

 do not readily open and clean out sealed 

 cells, and until such cells are opened and 

 exposed to the gas the contained bacteria 

 are not destroyed and will readily infect 

 healthy brood. It is necessary to repeat the 

 spraying at intervals of about a week until 

 all sealed cells containing dead larvae have 

 been opened and cleaned out. Thereafter 

 the colony stays clean unless it becomes 

 freshly infected from outside sources. 



There is a well-recognized type of Euro- 

 pean foul brood called the virulent type, 

 prevalent here and in other parts of the 

 country. It spreads within the colony with 

 startling speed, and in the course of a week 

 or so after the colony is infected 60 to 90 

 per cent of all larvae are dead or dying. 

 The larvae lose all shape and "melt" down 

 into ;i d;iik, siiapeless, pasty mass which is 

 tracked all itver the combs and hive interior 

 until the filth is most repulsive to the sight, 

 and the bees make only the most feeble at- 

 tempts to clean up. The queen will not use 

 the foul or partly cleaned cells; she will 

 seek such parts of the combs as are free 



