54 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Feb. 16, 



BMlsll 



Southern Michigan Convention. 



The Southern Michigan Bee-Keepers' 

 Association held their annual meeting 

 at Battle Creek, Feb. 9, 1881. About 

 30 ladies and gentlemen were present. 



The subject of foul-brood was dis- 

 cussed, and a resolution unanimously 

 adopted, indorsing the action of the 

 committee appointed by the State Bee- 

 Keepers' Convention, to introduce abill 

 before the Legislature for a law to be 

 passed for the suppression of that dread 



Dr. J. H. Kellogg, of the Sanitarium 

 in Battle Creek, gave an able address on 

 the " Adulteration of Sweets," with ex- 

 periments ; showing that most of the 

 sugars and syrups for sale at the present 

 time, are largely adulterated. He tried 

 an article labeled as "Pure Strained 

 Honey," manufactured in the city of 

 Chicago, and found there was but little 

 honey in it, but plenty of glucose. 



The meeting adjourned till the first 

 Monday in May next. 



B. Salisbury, Sec. 



[The report of the committee, as also 

 the Legislative bill referred to, are in 

 another column, of this paper.— Ed.] 



North Eastern Convention. 



The eleventh annual meeting of the 

 North-Eastern Bee- Keepers' Associa- 

 tion was held at TJtica, N. Y., on Feb. 

 3-5, 1881, President L. C. Root in the 

 chair. After the reading of the min- 

 utes, Treasurer Bacon reported the re- 

 ceipts for the year $93.49, expenditures 

 $62.21, balance $31.28. 



Mr. T. U. Newman was invited toad- 

 dress the Association, in reply to the 

 resolutions passed at the Convention of 

 last year, which he did. It was then 

 resolved that the subject be entirely 

 dropped, and not again allowed to be 

 brought before the Convention. 



A recess was then taken till 7 p. m. 



EVENING SESSION. 



A letter was received from Dr. C. C. 

 Miller, of Marengo, 111., asking that the 

 association prepare a statistical table of 

 results. 



heretofore had been a failure, because 

 only those who had good yields reported. 

 He thought that the interchange of 

 opinion and results in a general way 

 would be better than to make out a 

 table. 



Mr. Doolittle said the table heretofore 

 had been a failure. 



Mr. Knox moved that the statistical 

 table be dropped. This was agreed to 

 without forma! action. 



A communication from Bingham & 

 Hetherington, asking that their smoker 

 be not entered for premium, was re- 

 ceived. 



Adulteration of Honey. 



The following letter on the adultera- 

 tion of honey was received : 



New York, Jan. 31,1881. 

 Thinking that you may not be aware 



so much already, and so far as extracted 

 honey is concerned, is in danger of de- 

 struction, I hope your president will ap- 

 point a committee to confer with Mr. 

 Root and other members interested in 

 the bill and secure the amendment. I 

 would suggest that a statement be pre- 

 pared, setting forth the extent and im- 

 portance of the bee-keeping industry, 

 and also of something of the extent of 

 the adulteration of extracted honey, 

 and this latter can scarcely be over-es- 

 timated. If you shall succeed with the 

 amendment and the bill passes, you will 

 have accomplished more real benefit to 

 the honey producers and the consumers 

 than has been accomplished by any simi- 

 lar association before on this continent. 

 A. J. King. 



On motion the chair appointed the 

 following committee to draft a petition 

 to be presented to the legislature on the 

 subject: Dr. A. II. Marks, Mr. Bacon and 

 Mr. Van Deusen. 



At this point quite a number of new 

 members were received. 



Foul-Brood. 



The secretary read an essay written 

 by W. A. House, of Fayetteville, on the 

 subject of L 'Foul-Brood," which is given 

 below : 



As the question of foul-brood is again 

 being brought before the public, I deem 

 it my duty to contribute my experience 

 and treatment of this dreaded disease, 

 hoping it may be of benefit to the ex- 

 perienced bee-keeper as well as the 

 novice. Foul-brood is a disease which 

 attacks the brood, causing it to become 

 a putrid mass, in time destroying the 

 colony, and unless it be given immediate 

 and skillful attention, it will make sad 

 havoc among all the bees in that locality. 

 What are the symptoms or means of 

 detecting the disease V Those who have 

 had experience can readily detect it in 

 passing close in front of the hives, by a 

 certain peculiar odor, which is inde- 

 scribable. 



During a scarcity of honey robbers 

 will be almost constantly lurking around 

 the diseased colony, and the bees will 

 appear a little dull or dumpish. The 

 novice would naturally pronounce the 

 colony queenless, but in the hands of a 

 close observing and experienced apiarist 

 it would at once create a suspicion of 

 foul-brood. On opening the diseased 

 hive you find the sealed brood witli 

 sunken caps and a small perforation in 

 the middle, and upon opening these 

 cells with sunken caps you will find a 

 The" president said statistical tables brownish putrid mass, being tough and 



X ". B - 1 ' 1 :i..__ i „ ropy and emitting an offensive smell. 



If the brood is found in this state in 

 clusters of a few cells, with cells of 

 healthy brood intervening, the disease 

 is about one-third advanced. The stage 

 of the disease may also be determined 

 by the color of the larvse. The more 

 advanced the disease, the darker the 

 mass. What are the causes of foul- 

 brood V Some writers claim that this 

 loathsome disease was imported. This 

 cannot be true, for I have known it to 

 exist over thirty-five years ago, or long 

 before the first importation of bees into 

 this country. 



As to the first cause of foul-brood, I 

 am unable to give a positive answer, but 

 I am of the opinion that it is owing to 

 a certain state of the atmosphere ; the 

 disease attacking a colony that is in a 

 certain unknown condition, the same as 

 the first case of small- pox is engendered 



of the fact that a bill is now before the ; As soon as a colony is infected with the 

 New York legislature to prevent the disease, unless thorough and skillful 

 adulteration of sugar, syrup and molas- I treatment be rendered at once, it will 

 ses, I have thought proper to write you i spread rapidly, attacking the whole 

 regarding the matter, and to suggest I apiary, and all the bees in the neighbor- 



that your honorable body take immedi 

 ate steps to have the bill amended to 

 include honey also, before it is put on 

 its final passage. The bill was presented 

 by Mr. Root, member from Rochester, 

 and is backed by all the sugar refiners 

 of this city as well as those in other 

 cities, who desire to do an honest busi- 

 ness and have suffered from the evils of 

 adulteration. I am informed by Hon. 

 W. J. Young, who is an ex-member of 

 the legislature, and also a bee-keeper, 

 that there can hardly be a doubt regard- 

 ing the passage of the bill, considering 

 the men who stand backing it, and he 

 thinks the amendment to include honey 

 would be readily accepted. In view of 



hood." At this alarming stage it would 

 be almost impossible to eradicate it, as 

 bees in the woods would die with the 

 disease and thus leave an exposure that 

 would last for years. The infection is 

 contagious only by carrying honey, wax, 

 propolis or pollen from the diseased 

 hive. The swarm close by the side of an 

 infected one is no more likely to become 

 diseased, than the one in the farthest 

 corner of the apiary. I know this to be 

 true. 



The disease is spread by robber bees 

 geting into a hive already infected and 

 carrying honey, pollen, propolis, wax or 

 anything pertaining to the diseased 

 hive, to their homes. Robbers will be 



the fact that our industry has suffered | lurking around a diseased colony almost 



constantlv ; and the first favorable op- 

 portunity" offered the robber enters and 

 is almost sure to get enough of the 

 honey to transplant the infection in the 

 parent hive. Soon more bees effect an 

 entrance and finally they make no re-' 

 sistance to the robbers, and many colo- 

 nies in the apiary become engaged in 

 carrying away the stores, &c, and with 

 them the disease. If any pieces of 

 comb, frames, or any part of the hive, 

 boxes, stand-boards, honey, or in fact 

 any thing pertaining to a hive of foul- 

 brood be exposed for months or even 

 years afterward, the disease will surely 

 be transmitted to your healthy colonies 

 again. 



In many cases the disease is spread by 

 the bee-keeper ; who after performing 

 some manipulation of the infected hive, 

 goes to some healthy colony, opens the 

 hive and proceeds to supply their wants 

 without thoroughly washing his hands. 

 The honey, propolis or wax thus con- 

 veyed from the one hive to the other, 

 has the same effect as though the bees 

 carried it. Then again, while operating 

 with an infected hive, nine times in ten 

 bees from other colonies will get enough 

 honey to convey the disease. This is 

 one cause why those who try experi- 

 menting with acids, &c, cannot eradi- 

 cate the disease from their apiary. As 

 soon as foul-brood is discovered in any 

 hive in the apiary, or with any neighbor- 

 ing colonies, the apiarist should at once 

 stop building up, or exchanging frames 

 with any hives in the yard ; as in so do- 

 ing frames of brood or honey may be 

 taken from a colony just attacked, and 

 thus spread the disease very rapidily. 

 A single bee getting one load of honey 

 from the diseased hive, will surely trans- 

 mit the infection to the healthy colony 

 when the work of brood-rearing is in 

 progress. 



If the disease should break out in a 

 very few hives only, I would advise, by 

 all means, the immediate destruction of 

 the hives and contents, by burning 

 them as soon as discovered. The boxes, 

 stand-boards and everything pertaining 

 to the hive at the time should also be 

 burned. This is undoubtedly the only 

 safe and sure remedy for the novice or 

 inexperienced. In fact it would be the 

 most available means of eradicating the 

 disease with an experienced apiarist, 

 when the infection is discovered before 

 an exposure to the remaining colonies, 

 but if healthy colonies have come in 

 contact with the honey, pollen, propolis 

 or wax of an infected hive the skillful 

 or experienced apiarist can save his 

 bees and honey by carefully adhering 

 to the following mode of treatment; 

 Remove the colonies to a close and 

 darkened room. Shake the bees of 

 each hive into an empty box that is new 

 and clean. Let them remain there 

 until they show signs of stupidity, when 

 they will have consumed all the honey 

 they carry with them. Now take the 

 bees out of the box and put them into 

 a new clean hive filled with foundation, 

 feed them with sugar syrup, or honey 

 that you know is not from a diseased 

 hive : or, if it be in time of season when 

 honey is coming in they will gather from 

 the fields to supply their wants the same 

 as a young swarm. 



The honey may be extracted from the 

 infected hive, but the utmost care must 

 be taken not to expose a single drop of 

 the honey, comb, or any part of the 

 hive, where the bees can get it. The 

 honey should be brought to a boiling 

 heat and then sold to some manufac- 

 turer, so that it will not find its way 

 back to the bees. Some writers claim 

 that the wax also may be extracted and 

 made into foundation. I have had no 

 experience in this line, therefore cannot 

 give positive advice ; but I should im- 

 mediately burn the hives, frames, bot- 

 tom-boards, boxes and everything per- 

 taining to the infected hive. 



My experience with foul-brood dates 

 back to 1845. My largest experience, 

 however, was between 1850 and 1800, 

 when the disease raged through Mont- 

 gomery county and eastern and central 

 New York. Through the ignorance of 

 a neighboring bee-keeper I had one or 

 two cases in 1867. Since that date there 

 have been no signs of foul-brood in 

 either of my apiaries, neither has there 

 been a case of this disease with any 

 neighboring bee-keeper for the past 13 

 years to my knowledge. 



Mr. House said further that the great 

 danger was in leaving the diseased 

 honey exposed where other bees could 

 get at it. His experience had been 

 much like that of Mr. Quinby. In the 

 fall he had several dozen cells attacked. 

 In the spring he would drive the bees 

 out, provided the colony was strong 

 enough. In his article he had put the 

 worst side out, in order to put men on 

 their guard. 



F. II. Cyrenus said he would not burn 

 a hive, or destroy all the comb. He 

 would give the bees a new hive and 

 clean cells. He would not be afraid to 

 give them back the same honey after it 

 had been scalded. 



Mr. Betsinger asked if he would use 

 any of the combs connected with the 

 foul-brood colony. 



Mr. Cyrenus said he would if the cells 

 were empty, containing absolutely no 

 honey or brood. 



Mr. House said it was dangerous to 

 use such combs. 



Mr. Cyrenus said a man might have 

 50 valuable hives, which it would uotdo 

 to burn. It would be better to scald 

 the hives. 



Mr. House said he had known an in- 

 fected bottom-board to transmit the 

 infection after it had been exposed dur- 

 ing all of the winter months. There 

 were two stages in the disease, the last 

 proving fatal. 



Mr. Rians said he had had experience 

 with foul-brood. In one case there were 

 but three cells, which he cut out with 

 his knife. In the case of two other colo- 

 nies where the disease had progressed 

 too far, he destroyed the comb and ex- 

 tracted the honey. He made new 

 colonies out of the old ones, and they 

 were healthy. The honey which he had 

 extracted, he boiled until it almost 

 boiled over. He fed it out, and soon 

 found ten or a dozen colonies affected. 

 Where practicable he cut out the foul 

 cells. In this way he reduced the dis- 

 ease, until now he had but 3 colonies 

 affected. He was not aware that there 

 were other hives in the neighborhood 

 affected, and to which his bees had 

 access. 



Mr. Cyrenus said perhaps his bees got 

 the infection elsewhere, and did not get 

 it from the honey. 



Mr. Bacon said 40 years ago he lost 60 

 colonies from foul-brood. Sometimes 

 young bees died in the comb, and this 

 was mistaken for foul-brood. He had 

 had no foul-brood in 30 years. 



Mr. House said in Mr. Rian's case his 

 bees were not affected with genuine 

 foul-brood. If not, it would have 

 proved more destructive. He could 

 detect foul-brood by the odor. 



Dr. Marks said he had had foul-brood 

 but had sold the bees. With other bees 

 the disease disappeared without treat- 

 ment. 



Mr. Doolittle instanced a case of foul- 

 brood where the bees all died. He once 

 had 5 colonies diseased out of 14. He 

 put these colonies in the cellar in the 

 tall. In the spring he found that nearly 

 all his bees had foul-brood, he believed 

 because they had been wintered to- 

 gether. He let such bees as would, 

 swarm, putting them in new hives. He 

 kept the old hives for a year or so and 

 then used them again. He did not be- 

 lieve hives would carry the contagion 

 after having been exposed for a winter. 

 He did believe the contagion would 

 spread, by putting the bees together in 

 the cellar. 



Mr. House said the danger in this case 

 was the honey the bees had taken from 

 a diseased colony. 



Mr. Betsinger said but very few per- 

 sons knew what foul-brood was. It 

 was a very dangerous disease, one of 

 the most dangerous in the apiary. Foul- 

 brood will present itself often in a very 

 bad state, at times, and will become 

 dormant of itself, and then burst forth 

 again with all the destructiveness of 

 small-pox. Foul-brood can never be 

 cured. We do not know the cause. I 

 have attempted to wipe it out and 

 thought I had succeeded, but I had not. 

 I know that any portion of honey, comb, 

 or pollen affected with the contagion 

 will transmit it. Dry combs would 

 transmit it. He did not believe there 

 was one apiary in a hundred that did 

 not have foul-brood. Italian bees 

 would drag out foul-brood. If a hive 

 had foul-brood in the spring, it would 



