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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15 



pected diseased comb should be sent in a 

 stout wooden or tin box. Then do not for- 

 get to mark on it your name and address be- 

 fore sending the sample. We often have in 

 our office six or seven packages of brood 

 without any mark of identification— not even 

 a postmark. 



HOW TO DISTINGUISH BLACK FROM FOUL 

 BROOD. 



We hope some of our friends who have 

 difficulty in distinguishing between black 

 and dead brood will find these suggestions 

 helpful. 



Foul brood is characterized by sunken and 

 perforated cappings of the sealed brood, and 

 by an udor which has been described as like 

 that of a poor quality of glue. The larva, 

 after dying, becomes yellow and finally 

 brown, dries down against the lower side 

 wall, and adheres very tightly so that it can 

 be removed only with difficulty. A dead 

 larva, either sealed or unsealed, will stretch 

 out as far as an inch or more if a wooden 

 toothpick or match is inserted in it and then 

 removed. 



Black brood is characterized by sunken and 

 perforated caps of the sealed brood, but 

 most of the diseased larvae die before ready 

 for capping. The odor is not like that of 

 foul brood, but is more nearly that of sour 

 decayed larvae. The larvae, when first in- 

 fected, have on the body a yellow spjt, and 

 move uneasily in the cell. After death they 

 turn yellow, then brown, and finally black, 

 ultimately drying down to a black scale on 

 the lower side wall. Unlike the scale of 

 foul brood this is easily removed. The ropi- 

 ness, so characteristic of foul brood, is 

 found only to a limited extent. 



To diagnose positively some samples of 

 diseased brood, especially in the early stages, 

 requires microscopic examination. All such 

 samples should be sent to the Division of 

 Entomology, Washington, D. C. 



WHAT HAS THE HARVEST BEEN? 



General Manager France, of the Nation- 

 al Bee-keepers' Association, has sent out a 

 report which in the main we believe to be 

 fairly correct. That relating to the honey 

 prospects we take pleasure in giving below: 



1906 HONEY PROSPECTS REPORTED TO JUNE 25. 



Southern California —Fair crop— better further north 



Texas —Three crops; two first, failure; last, good. 

 Colorado.— Light crop; some lost heavily their bees in 



Mississippi Valley.— Not half a crop. 

 Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana.— Half a crop. 

 Eastern States. -Mostly good reports. ^ ^ , 



The 1905 crop is about all sold; mkrkets bare; demand 

 gQO(j N. E. France, Platteville, Wis. 



HONEY- CROP CONDITIONS UP TO THE TIME 

 OF GOING TO PRESS, JULY 13TH. 



I have just gone over the latest reports 

 from all over the country. In the irrigated 

 regions I do not find any thing new to re- 

 port, except that the crop is very short. In 

 some localities there will be no honey. 

 Southern California, from present mdica- 

 tions, will fall considerably below an aver- 



age crop in a good season where there were 

 bees to gather it The loss of bees all 

 through parts of the State has been heavy; 

 and even if the season had been a fair one, 

 the aggregate of honey would have been 

 light. But, nevertheless, there will proba- 

 bly be some honey from Southern California 

 in carlots to go eastward. 



Conditions in Illinois are particularly dis- 

 couraging. I do not remember to have read 

 a single favorable report except from the 

 extreme southern part of the State. Iowa 

 is almost as bad. Strangely enough, there 

 are reports from this State of general drouth 

 as well as reports of too much rain. This 

 seems to be a season of extremes, not only 

 in Iowa, but all over the United States. 

 Indiana, apparently, will get from a light to 

 a fair crop. Conditions in Ohio are improv- 

 ing very much. The central part of the 

 State seems to be suffering from a drouth, 

 and will not recover. 



The reports at the present time conflict 

 for nearly all the Eastern States, while 

 those earlier in the season were decidedly 

 favorable; but later reports indicate that 

 the crop will fall short of what was first ex- 

 pected, anywhere from 25 to 50 per cent. 

 In some places there has been too much rain 

 and cool weather; in others, the conditions 

 have been ideal. Pennsylvania generally 

 seems to stand in the forefront for honey- 

 production this year; but even from that 

 State there are occasional reports of little 

 or no honey. 



Michigan sends in a great variety of re- 

 ports—hardly any two alike; but as the sea- 

 son will be late the crop will be better than 

 early reports showed. 



The reports from Minnesota and Wiscon- 

 sin are not unfavorable. The lateness of 

 the season will give those States a chance 

 to come forward with an average crop, per- 

 haps. 



Missouri and Nebraska are showing up 

 much better than they did early in the sea- 

 son, for some very flattering reports are 

 now coming from them. 



Kansas seems to be suffering from too 

 much drouth. The reports are few and far 

 between, and generally unfavorable. 



Basswood, where it exists at all in any of 

 the States, has done exceptionally well. 

 The clover honey of this year will be mixed 

 with basswood more than in average seasons. 



SUMMARY OF HONEY-CROP CONDITIONS. 



The crop of Western honey in carlots will 

 be light. The Mississippi Valley, south of 

 the Wisconsin line, and north of Missouri, 

 will have from one-fourth to one-third of a 

 crop; Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky, fair; 

 Missouri and Nebraska, good; Eastern States, 

 half to a full crop. 



PRICES. 



There will not be much Western honey on 

 the Eastern markets, except some from 

 California. Scarcity of honey in the Missis- 

 sippi Valley, together with a shortage of 

 Western honey in carlots, should make prices 

 for table honey in the East fairly firm. 



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