Fkbruarv, 1922 



GLEANINGS IN 1'. K E C II L T U R E 



87 



t.. 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



from the slimy filth and deposit eggs there, 

 so tlie brood is found scattered all about 

 tlie combs, presenting a very strange and 

 unusual appearance. Sucli larvae as die 

 after the cells are sealed, turn into a most 

 unpleasant liquid. 



None of the customary treatments of Eu- 

 ropean foul brood liave the slightest im- 

 pression on the virulent type, nor have I 

 yet found any strain of bees in the least re- 

 sistant to it. According to reports from the 

 Government the germs of the two types are 

 the same, and so far I have been unable to 

 discover any reason for its virulence at dif- 

 ferent times and jdaces. 



When the British Columbia inspectors 

 sent me the jiarticulars of the chlorine treat- 

 ment I was quite as skeptical as you are, but 

 I will try anything once and I was more 

 than glad to hear of anything which prom- 

 ised to check the form of European foul 

 brood we had here. 



I followed their instructions to the letter, 

 and after I found it was a success I began to 

 vary the application to see if I could cut 

 out any of the details and simplify the ap- 

 plication. I found no advantage in the ad- 

 dition of oil, rather the contrary. 



The eggs in the combs are often destroyed. 

 Sometimes it seems to be the strength of 

 the solution and sometimes the chilling; 

 but instead of being an ill to be avoided it 

 is on the contrary an advantage, as it is 

 the equivalent of dequeening for three days 

 and gives the bees a better chance to clean 

 up. Where there are many sealed cells the 

 spraying must be repeated at intervals un- 

 til all cells are opened and cleaned. To de- 

 termine this, all but two colonies of an api- 

 ary were thorolj^ disinfected and cleaned, 

 and the two colonies received spray treat- 

 ment until but one or two sealed cells of 

 dead young were to be found in each comb 

 in one hive and but three or four such cells 

 altogether in the other colony. Then they 

 were let alone to see what would happen. In 

 about a fortnight both colonies were again 

 foul with the disease. Both were fairly 

 strong colonies of pure Italians of a strain 

 claimed to be resistant. 



I now know chlorine gas is a better "re- 

 sistant" agent than any strain of bees. Mr. 

 Sheppard and his associates advised heating 

 the solution before applying it, to avoid 

 chilling the brood. So far I have not found 

 the heating to be of any special advantage. 



Be sure and wear old clothes and old 

 shoes when working with chlorine solution, 

 because it is a wonderful bleaching agent 

 and will quickly take the color out of gar- 

 ments or tan shoes if it drops on them. Nice 

 tan shoes so treated, tho well spotted, are 

 far from being like trout "speckled beau- 

 ties" — as I found out. Arthur C. Miller. 

 Providence, E. I. 



THICK TOP BARS OBJECTIONABLE 



They Reduce the Comb Surface of the Frames and 

 Increase the Brace Comb Nuisance 



I'ersonaliy I have produced thousands of 

 jiounds of fancy sections built solid to the 

 wood and scarcely a cell not capped. Very 

 wasteful and expensive to have them fin- 

 ished so completely I'll admit; but exhibi- 

 tion rules called for it, and that, by the way, 

 was wiiat killed comb-honey production in 

 Ontario. However, that is an aside; what I 

 wish to say is that such methods would pro- 

 duce burr-combs if they were to be had. But 

 we did not have burr-combs of any account, 

 and our top-bars were only five-eighths inch 

 deep. To me it seems superfluous to mention 

 the depth of the top-bar in connection with 

 burr-combs, because it has nothing to do 

 with them. They are built only where spac- 

 ing is inaccurate. They are merely a protest 

 against inaccurate spacing. Inaccurate 

 spacing of tlie comb is overcome by extend- 

 ing or cutting away cells. Inaccurate 

 spacing of pieces of wood induces burr- 

 combs in large spaces and brace-combs in 

 spaces which are too small. Enlarging the 

 pieces of wood without correcting tlie spaces 

 between them simply increases the burr- 

 comb nuisance by increasing the areas over 

 which they may and will be built. The cure 

 for burr-combs is for the manufacturer and 

 the beekeeper to correct the spaces where 

 they cause the most trouble. I believe the 

 space which bees prefer is not less than a 

 quarter nor more than five-sixteenths of an 

 inch. Witli a correct bee-space there will be 

 very few burrs and braces; but the amount 

 of these will be in proportion to the wood 

 surfaces available for building them, and 

 while not much difference will be seen there 

 are always more of them on a deep top-bar 

 than on a shallow one. 



I have not the literature available to see 

 if I can tell how the error crept in. That it 

 was fathered by some who have been an un- 

 told blessing to the industry in other ways 

 should not be made an occasion for jjerpetu- 

 ating an error. That I am not alone in the 

 feeling of protest against the intrusion of 

 unnecessary wood in a frame already too 

 shallow is evident by many letters I have 

 received objecting to so much wood. Ow- 

 ing largely to my teachings at short courses 

 and demonstrations there is a rapidly grow- 

 ing demand in Ontario for the shallow top- 

 bar. One manufacturer objects that on ac- 

 count of buying the pine all in seven-eighths 

 inch boards he cannot save anything by 

 making the top-bars shallow. I should think 

 that could be overcome in some way, consid- 

 ering the fearful price now paid for white 

 pine. But even if it cannot, I would rather 

 he dressed off the extra wood and fed it to 



