1C8 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



subject, mentioned below, tbey will be sent gratis. They contain 

 the information which beekeepers need in order to successfully com- 

 bat brood diseases.' 



General Hygiene. 



In traveling among the beekeepers, the most urgent need for better 

 sanitary conditions in the apiary have been found. This is not only 

 true in districts where foul brood is being fought, but elsewhere, and 

 even in the yards of beekeepers of long experience. This is partially 

 due to the fact that it is no longer possible to practice some of the 

 methods which were formerly considered wholesome and safe, and 

 partially to the prevalence of diseases. Without attempting to 

 elaborate, and, perhaps rather imperatively, but with the best inten- 

 tions, the more important suggestions are made for bettering con- 

 ditions in the apiary and in Massachusetts beekeeping: — 



Try Italian stock. 



Use a smoker and veil; own these. 



Transfer colonies from box hives. 



Keep down the weeds and grass in the apiary. 



Try to keeiJ your colonies strong always. 



Use removable frames and do not nail these down. 



Contract the entrances of any weak colonies. 



Examine the brood in each colony at least two or three times in 

 the early part of the season. Learn to look from cell to cell and into 

 cells. , 



Keep only as many colonies as you can attend to. 



The use of full sheets of foundation and wiring of the frames will 

 be an advantage to most persons. 



Immediately, as a colony is found dead, close the entrance and 

 remove the hive to a bee-tight building. 



Under no circumstances expose old combs, sections and the like 

 where bees can visit them. There is no economy in it; there is 

 danger of robbing and of disease. 



Treat diseased colonies as soon as they are discovered. The longer 

 tlie delay, the preater is the loss or laboi*. 



Make sure that colonies have ami)le stores for winter. Give them 

 early spring attention. 



Scraps of wax, bits of combs, should never be left in the apiary 

 or out of doors, not even for an hour or so. Have a covered box, 

 can or barrel which is bee-tight and indoors. It pays to accumulate 

 the wax. 



A limited space unfortunately excludes some fundamental pro- 



'" Brood Diseases of Bees, their Treatment and the Law for their Suppression in Massa- 

 chusetts." Bulletin No. 1, Apiary Inspection, Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture. 

 By Burton N. Gates, Ph.D., 1910. "The Treatment of Bee Diseases," United States De- 

 partment of AjiricuUure, Farmers' Bulletin No. 442. By E. F. Phillips, Ph.D., 1911. A list 

 of the other government publications on disease and bees may be found in the last-mentioned 

 paper. 



