272 



American Bee JournaJj 



August, 1909. 



There was no other colony nearer than 

 6 to 8 feet of the one to be treated. 



About 7 p. m., I lifted the colony from 

 its stand, setting it by the side of the 

 same, and placed the hive for their re- 

 ception on the old stand. Then I at 

 once opened the infected colony with as 

 little disturbance as possible, in order 

 to prevent them as far as could be, from 

 tilling themselves with the infected honey 

 of their hive. I lifted out one frame at 

 a time, and did not shake, but brushed 

 the bees off in front of their new home. 

 The brush I used was simply a bunch 

 of catnip in full bloom. This would not 

 scratch the combs, so that no leakage 

 of honey could take place. While in 

 case I had used a rough brush, or shaken 

 the bees, more or less honey would in 

 all probability have been scattered about 

 the hive. 



All the combs were put beyond the 

 possibility of being reached by bees. 

 The bees all ran into their new home 

 and at once went to work with renewed 

 energy. And at the end of 48 hours, 

 the bees not having been gorged with 

 the honey of the old hive, had by this 

 time consumed all the honey with which 

 they had left their old home. So that 

 it was safe to give them full sheets of 

 foundation, which I did, and now they 

 show no symptoms whatever of disease 

 but are hard at work, as much so as 

 any colony I ever had in my possession. 

 Had these bees been gorged with honey 

 at the time I transferred them I would 

 have left them 24 hours longer on the 

 starters I first gave them. In the mean- 

 time I shall look them over carefully 

 during the next 6 weeks following their 

 transfer, and if a vestige of the ailment 

 shows up, I will destroy the colony, as 

 it will be too late in the season for them 

 to build another set of combs and lay 

 up stores for winter. But I feel confi- 

 dent that the source of the disease has 

 been entirely removed, so that the effect 

 must and will cease. 



CAUTION NECESSARY. 



It will be observed that I stated that 

 there was no other colony nearer than 

 6 to 8 feet from the one I treated as 

 described. Had there been, I would 

 have closed the infected hive late at 

 night when all the bees were inside, and 

 removed it entirely beyond the range 

 of the bees of the apiary, and then treat- 

 ed them. This I would deem necessary 

 in order to prevent any of the bees, 

 young or old, from entering any other 

 hive carrying diseased honey with them. 



I also deem it proper to state that I 

 have made it a never failing rule to dis- 

 infect my hive-tool thoroughly after 

 opening any of the infected hives of my 

 apiary. I also thoroughly cleanse my 

 hands after opening any diseased col- 

 ony, and before opening another. To 

 neglect this leaves a possibility for the 

 disease to continue to lurk about the 

 apiary, and it is in all probability due 

 to some such neglect that leads some 

 (but very few) to assume the ground 

 that, treat foul brood as we may, it will 

 appear again. And I will here state, 

 that if such persons are really sincere 

 in this belief, they stand in their own 

 light as well as that of their fellow-bee- 

 keepers, in keeping bees after they know 

 their apiaries are infected. For an 



apiary infected by foul brood can not 

 prove a source of profit to its owner, 

 but, on the contrarv, must result in loss 

 to him, and serious loss to his neighbor 

 bee-keeper, if not financial ruin. 



In conclusion permit me to state that 

 some seem to think it a hishonor to have 

 foul brood among their bees. While I 

 do not take this view of the case, I think 

 it shameful and dishonorable, as well as 

 intolerable, for any one to keep it, and 

 thus favor leaving open the way to har- 

 boring and spreading the abomination 

 and source of financial injury, for any 

 one must be either shamefully ignorant 

 or grossly dishonest to do so. But I 

 sincerely hope we have no practical bee- 

 keepers who assume such illogical, un- 

 reasonable, and untenable ground. 



As to the matter of selecting a com- 

 petent inspector of apiaries, the bee- 

 keepers should formulate a law upon 

 the subject, that none but persons well 

 versed in the habits and management of 

 bees can hold such a position. And as 



to the matter of judgment to be exer- 

 cised upon the part of such officers in 

 executing the law, I think there need be 

 but little apprehension or fear, for all 

 have the right to show that such officer 

 is guilty of an abuse or maladministra- 

 tion of the law in case he unnecessarily 

 destroys property that can be put to 

 valuable use, together with the unneces- 

 sary destruction of bees, comb, honey, 

 hives, and other appliances about an 

 apiary. It should, however, be provided 

 by law that there must not, and shall not, 

 be any unnecessary delay about the mat- 

 ter of ridding an apiary of this ruinous 

 pest. To begin to borrow trouble that is 

 not in sight is equivalent to the fear of 

 that 80-year-old bachelor who was seen 

 weeping bitterly, and upon being ques- 

 tioned as to the cause of his grief, his 

 reply was that he was thinking what a 

 terrible affliction it would be after he 

 was married and his oldest boy should 

 fall in the fire and get burned to death! 

 Lvons, Kans. 



mm 



California Bee Keeper 



- ■ - -I.. .. ■n-j'-'i*-'^^ '■■■■■■■ 



By \V. A. PRVAL, Alden Station. Oakland, Calif. 



Mendleson's Big Honey Crop 



Mr. M. H. jMendleson, of Ventura 

 county, this State, has never been quite 

 satisfied, I believe, with any crop he 

 has yet harvested; there was always 

 something to prevent its being just 

 what it should have been. This year, 

 if everything went right, he would have 

 had a bumper crop, yet what he man- 

 aged to secure is rather staggering to 

 the average bee-keeper. I have learned 

 from one of his helpers the past season 

 that from his 800 colonies, he had 

 something like 45 tons of honey. At 

 the low price of 5 cents a pound, that 

 would be $4,.')00 — something not to be 

 sneered at. If this crop were secured 

 in the East where prices rule higher, 

 the profit would be much better; then, 

 again, it is likely that in the East he 

 would not have so many off-years in 

 which no honey is secured. 



May Mendleson's harvest increase, 

 and may his shadow never grow less. 



cheap, indeed, and I must Iiave one 

 next year! I am told that many of 

 them have been used in apiaries in the 

 central portion of the State the past 

 season. 



Slick Shavers for Uncapping 



A person who may be set down as 

 something of a genius has brought out 

 a simple uncapping knife that knocks 

 all others silly. As it is drawn over 

 the surface of the comb it does its 

 work as beautifully as a keen razor 

 does over the surface of well-lathered 

 fat .man. I have not seen one of these 

 slick shavers in operation, but I have 

 been told they are just the thing. In 

 short, the knife is a steam-heated one, 

 and is kept so by being connected by 

 means of a hose to a small boiler. The 

 device complete, I am told, is but $0; 



Bee-Supply Trouble 



The past season was another one of 

 trials and tribulations to the bee-men 

 hereabouts. There was no supply place 

 nearer than Fresno, and those who 

 tried to get anything from tliere say 

 they are loath to try again. I, myself, 

 got badly sold in the order I sent to 

 the Central California dealers ; nay. my 

 laddie, "nare" again shall I venture 

 thereabouts with an order. Later, I 

 learned through Mr. F. Tainter. of 

 Alemeda, that a firm in San Francisco 

 decided rather late in the season to 

 handle bee-supplies. I called over one 

 day toward the end of the honey-flow 

 to see how I could be fitted out in case 

 I should want anything. This concern 

 charged Fresno prices with the freight 

 from that place to the Metropolis 

 added ; a cinch beyond doubt, for the 

 San Francisco place had its goods laid 

 down in its store just as cheap as they 

 could be had delivered in the Raisin 

 City, and I told them so. I believe that 

 goods generally are sold cheaper in 

 San Francisco than at any other place 

 in California, except, perhaps, Los An- 

 geles, for the reason the former city 

 gets lower railroad rates owing to its 

 being a seaport. 



I was told further, at the store I re- 

 fer to in the Metropolis, that I could 

 not get any comb foundation by order- 

 ing it from certain makers in the East; 



