710 



THE AMERICA!? BEE JOURNAL. 



take the moment we see something 

 ■wrong, or conceive of an improve- 

 ment in human aflaira, to at once call 

 for legislation. 

 Dowagiac, p Mich. 



For the American Bee JotirnoL 



Uniform Teiimerature in Hlies. 



W. T. SMITH. 



In the answer to Query, No. 310, J. 

 E. Pond says that "a large colony 

 well protected from the winds, wiLti 

 some absorbent on the top ot the 

 frames that will allow moisture to 

 pass off and the heat be retained," is 

 the way by which practical uniformity 

 of temperature can be maintained 

 ■within a hive when wintering bees on 

 the summer stands. The hive that I 

 mention on page 570 embraces this as 

 cue of the prominent requisites, as it 

 is so constructed that it combines the 

 uniform bee-temperature ot VJ, colo- 

 nies, with wool cushions on the top of 

 each colony, so arranged that it carries 

 away all the moisture and yet retains 

 the heat, thus keeping the bees dry 

 and warm. 



Dr. J. P. II. Brown also says that 

 with judicious and proper packing it 

 can be maintained. The only judi- 

 cious and proper packing, i believe, 

 that can be tound, is packing bees 

 witli bees. This J have also arranged 

 so that each colony has bees on three 

 sides, and packed on the fourth with 

 ■wool, so that the extreme cold and 

 sudden changes of weather can have 

 no more eflect upon them than it 

 ■VNOuld upon a colony as large as l:i 

 ordinary ones. 



It is a well-known fact that the 

 laying capacity ot one queen cannot 

 extend a single colony to the dimen- 

 sions requiifcd to keep up a sufficient 

 unilorm heat to protect it from the 

 cold and changes ot weather in our 

 severe winters; therefore, we must 

 resort to the combination of colonies 

 in order to obtain that unilorm tem- 

 perature. This has been my theory 

 tor the last twelve years, and tor the 

 last lour years I have been trying to 

 construct a hive on this theory, in 

 which bees could be winteied with 

 certainly and salety ; and with two 

 years" lest it proves to be a success. 



I am satistied that it is useless for 

 bee-keepers to struggle any longer 

 ■with bee-houses,cellais,caves, clamps, 

 single and double-walled hives, ch;itt 

 or sawdust packing, or any other 

 method that has lor its object the 

 protection of a single colony. We all 

 know that a large percentage in these 

 die every winter. The very largest 

 colony that possibly can be obtained 

 from one queen cannot be relied upon 

 to pass through a severe winter with 

 any degree ot certainty, with any of 

 the above methods. "While the com- 

 bination of colonies in my hive 

 secures a unifoim and proper degree 

 ot temperature to protect them with 

 certainty, both in winter and spring, 

 it also induces early breeding, pre- 

 vents spring dwindling, and pushes 

 them forward ready for the tirst honey 

 yield. They can be examined at any 



time, and their condition ascertained 

 without the shghtest disturbance or 

 dauger. 



The labor in transferring them in 

 the fall is much less than packing 

 them in single hives, or moving in 

 cellars or liouses, and it affords an 

 opportunity to ascertain the true con- 

 dition of each colony as they are put 

 up for winter. It requires one-third 

 less stores, and the mortality of bees 

 is 50 per cent, less than that of single 

 colonies ; and i believe, trom the two 

 years' test, that the liability to diar- 

 rhea is entirely overcome by the con- 

 stant removal of the moisture and 

 exclusion ot cold. 1 have 'M colonies 

 now ready to put into these hives tor 

 the coming winter. 1 intend to make 

 a model oi the Live this winter and 

 send it tor the Bee Jouknal Museum. 



Button, Ont. 



For tbe American Bee JournaL 



My Experience w itli Foul Brool 



KAND01>rll GliADEN. 



On page GOl Mr. lloyle gives some 

 facts, and intends to prove that foul 

 brood is not cuutagious in a manner 

 generally supposed ; also that it can- 

 not be cured oy drugs or starvation ; 

 but claims that it lb m the bad honey 

 or houey-dew alone. If wbat little 

 experience I have had with loul 

 brood (if such it is, and i believe it is, 

 as It is just as described in the bee- 

 papers and books), tUen I difter liom 

 Mr. H. in some respects, ll the dis- 

 ease is not Ci ntagious, and it is in 

 the honey alone, v\hy uoes not the 

 disease appear all through the hive at 

 the same time '( lor, surely, it the 

 honey or food is injurious to any part 

 ot the laivse, it mubt be to all parts 

 all through the hive or brood, and it 

 would all become diseased at once, 

 and in all colonies that worked on 

 the same kind ot torage. 



I have seen the disease appear dur- 

 ing the best of white ciover and 

 linden honey Hows this season. It 

 tirst appeared in the colonies having 

 the oldest or darkest brood-combs; 

 and while those hist colonies became 

 badly attected, the odor could be 

 smelt tor rods away; v\hile swarms 

 that had been hived at the beginning 

 of the honej-llow, on foundation, on 

 hives only a few leet tiom the dis- 

 eased colonies, were increasing in 

 bees and also storing honey rapiuly. 



If honey-dew or bad honey was the 

 only cause, those colonies would, no 

 doubt, have all become diseased at 

 about the same time. But i noticed 

 that colonies, upon close inspection, 

 were from all appearniices clear of 

 the disease, while in a few days after- 

 wards it was tound to contain a few 

 cells of brood with the capping 

 sunken and wrinkled in a space of 

 about 1 or 12 inches in circumterence ; 

 and upon opening their hive the 

 young bees or larva; were found dead 

 and quite black. On leaving the 

 colonies a few days longer it was 

 found that the brood-comb contain- 

 ing the Urst affected brood was one- 

 fourth or more affected, and also the 



brood directly across from the first 

 appearance, and also the brood just 

 back of the affected brood would 

 show the symptoms of the disease, 

 and so on until the bees are obliged 

 to remove the honey from the outside 

 frames, and there the last brood is 

 hatched. At that time the colony 

 will be a mere wreck, and an unbear- 

 able stench will come from the hives. 

 The brood or larva; will be a putrid 

 mass, so that if a pin-head is inserted 

 it can be pulled out of the cell like a 

 stringy, mattery substance. 



I do not claim to know what the 

 real cause ot the disease is, but from 

 what I have seen 1 think that the real 

 cause is yet to be discovered. That 

 it is incurable by drugs I aui as yet 

 unable to say, but according to Mr. 

 McLain's statement on page 5»4, it 

 appears to be, or Mr. McLain must 

 have made a sad mistake. 1 am 

 treating mine in the following man- 

 ner ; whether the case will be perma- 

 nent or not, 1 am at this date unable 

 to say : 



Pirst I take the frames containing, 

 the foul brood, and with a sharpened 

 and curved piece of tin tor the pur- 

 pose, 1 shave the cappings oft and 

 then dust thickly with powdered cof- 

 fee, and about every second or third 

 evening I roll a piece of paper in a 

 tunnel shape, and put in some thyme 

 (put It into the smoker), and ignite 

 and blow a few puffs ot smoke m at 

 the entrance, when in a few days the 

 odor w ill not be very strong, t then 

 make a sjrup ot sugar and soft water, 

 adding a lew drops ot carbolic acid or 

 phenol to each pint of syrup, i now 

 nnd the frames of the diseased brood 

 to be somewhat shrunken and dried. 

 I then sprinkle or swab the combs 

 well, and also teed some of the syrup. 



I have just examined 'J, colonies 

 thus treated, that three weeks ago 

 had patches of foul brood the size of 

 an oidinary tea-cup at the top, aud in 

 one colony I tound no toul brooU, but 

 found the cells hlled with hoiiey and 

 some ot it capped, aud in the others I 

 found only one cell containing any 

 foul matter, aud most ot the cells 

 contained honey. 1 have just mixed 

 some ot Mr. McLain"s preparation to 

 try on some ot the diseased colonies. 



Taylor Centre.cx Mich. 



For tne American Bee JoumaL 



ly ReBort— Honey EiMMls at Fairs. 



A. M. GANDER. 



The spring opened early after a 

 moderate winter, and bees came 

 through in good condition, except 2 

 or 3 colonies which were weak, but 

 there was plenty ot pollen and some 

 honey to be had right along trom the 

 time warm weather began. There 

 was soon plenty of brood and young 

 bees to spare from the stronger colo- 

 nies, and by the time the honey harvest 

 was here all were ready for the supers. 



This is the way I strengthened my 

 weak colonies : Instead of putting a 

 comb of brood (taken from a strong 

 colonv) in for them to care for, I 

 shook a lot of young bees before the 

 hive and let them run in, the old bees- 



