786 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Dec. 14, 1899. 



The Coal-Tar Products— Naptha Beta, Etc. 



I 



BY PROF. A. J. COOK. 



HAVE received the following- letter from the editor of 

 the American Bee Journal, with request for a reply : 



Editor York: — I am very much interested in all you cau publish 

 in regard to naptha beta and naphthaline. Do you think if naptha- 

 line were put into hives of healthy colonies in early sprinf^, and kept 

 there durinjr the robbing- season, that the g-erms of foul brood that would 

 be brought from other infected hives would be kept from spreading in 

 the healthy colonies until the bee-keeper would discover it, and have an 

 opportunity to cure it while strong in bees? 



If this "drug will retard the disease so that it can be discovered and 

 treated while a colony is strong, I can see how_ it can be of much service 

 to those who producehonev in foul-brood localities. 



Salt Lake Co., Utah. Geo. E. Dudley. 



The work of the German chemists in the last few years 

 in developing- or obtaining the great number of coal-tar 

 products has been of great importance, and is far from the 

 least of the invaluable services for which we are indebted 

 to the savants of that great country. 



Mr. Dudley wishes to know more of naptha beta and 

 naphthaline. These are carbonaceous substances, or hydro- 

 carbons. The chemical formula is Cio H OH. This one is 

 also known as naphtholium isonaphthol, and naphthol. 

 The crystals are white, and are insoluble in water, but solu- 

 ble in alcohol. They are derived from crude petroleum, and 

 are most important in the arts. 



The Tyrian purple used to be so expensive that only 

 the richest could possess fabrics thus colored or dyed. To- 

 day the poorest can rejoice in the richest purple. The ani- 

 line dyes are so rich that their beauty is only matcht by 

 their cheapness. The variety of these colors is beyond be- 

 lief. They are not only used to color various fabrics, as 

 woolen, cotton and silk goods, but they are of extensive use 

 in microscopic work. Various tnicrobes are distinguisht by 

 their readiness to stain with these coal-tar products. In- 

 deed, three of the most important stains used in studying 

 bacteria are fuchsin, gentian violet and methylene blue. 

 Another one, eosin, is used in histology as much as any 

 stain, and is of inestimable value in developing cell-struc- 

 ture. 



The coal-tar or petroleum products are also much used 

 in the manufacture of perfumes. They are also used as 

 antiseptics and disinfectants. Lest some may not fully 

 understand the exact sig-nificance of these terms, I will de- 

 fine them. 



A disinfectant kills or destroys the germs. It has been 

 proven that disinfectants must come in contact with the 

 bacteria to be effective. 



An antiseptic prevents the development and growth of 

 the germs. It may not destroy them. A disinfectant is of 

 necessity an antiseptic. The reverse is, of course, not 

 necessarily true. 



A germicide is a substance that kills the germs — it is 

 both a disinfectant and an antiseptic. 



The naphthaline hydrocarbons are powerful disin- 

 fectants, and so are germicides, and of course antiseptics. 

 Heat is one of the best germicides, and so of course a power- 

 ful disinfectant. Nest to heat the substances in question 

 rank high. They are among the carbolic-acid compounds, 

 and are very much used. 



As stated above, the disinfectant must come in imme- 

 diate contact with the bacteria to be destroyed. It would 

 seem, then, that the mere presence of naphthaline in the 

 hive might not be enough. All these products are more or 

 less volatile, and in case enough of the material volatilized 

 to reach and kill all the germs, then the work would be done 

 by placing the substance in the hives. But naphthaline is 

 very obnoxious to insects. We use it to keep the dermestes 

 and other cabinet pests from our collections of insects. I 

 should fear that in case we placed enough in the hive so 

 that the emanations were fatal to the foul-brood germs, we 

 should drive the bees away, or, perchance, kill them. It 

 would be more sure to give the bees the material in their 

 food. This is the recommendation, as I understand it. It 

 is found that enough may be fed to destroy the bacteria, 

 and vet not injure the bees. 



The old method to destroy this disease has been so 

 thoroly tried that we may rely on its virtue. In case foul 

 brood is about us, and we fear the infection, then to feed 

 beta naphthol in quantities harmless to the bees and yet 

 sufficient to kill the bacilli, would doubtless be wise. If, as 

 is claitned, 33 grains to 1,000 grains of liquid, or one in 3.000 

 is strong enough, surely it could not injure the bees. It is 

 to be hoped that the .spores are as susceptible as are the 

 bacilli themselves. Thus, bee-keepers may well be inter 

 ested in this beta naphthol. Stained by a related product 



the bacillus of foul brood shows its presence, while the 

 naphtholium itself is a germicide that bids fair to rid our 

 apiaries of this worst malady that atHictsthem. 



THE DZIERZON THEORY. 



The present outcry against the Dzierzon Theory makes 

 me think of the once clamor regarding impregnation of the 

 queen in confinement. So many had done it. They spoke 

 positively, and no ifs were tolerated ; but the most of us 

 couldn't effect it. We did not believe they had. The out- 

 cry soon subsided. What bee-keeper of long experience had 

 not had ample proof regarding this parthenogenesis in the 

 production of male bees? Virgin layers, superannuated 

 queens, laying workers, all speak authoritatively on the 

 question. Drone-larva? never developt into workers in my 

 apiary, nor the reverse. Have they really in any apiary ? 



Los Angeles Co., Calif. 



Queen-Excluders — Their Merits and Demerits. 



BY H. H. HYDE. 



I SEE that Mr. Doolittle advises the use of queen-exclud- 

 ers, on page 626 ; but I cannot agree with him. Their 

 only merit is in queen-rearing, and here I find great use 

 for them. Also, they are a good thing where the bee- 

 keeper has only one flow of honey, but for the majority who 

 have two or more flows queen-excluders are not only a tiui- 

 sance, but reduce the crop of honey from one-third to one- 

 half. My reasons are as follows : 



1st. They retard brood-rearing-. To gather honey it 

 requires bees — the more in one hive the better the results. 

 For instance, a queen-excluder is placed in the hive and the 

 queen confined to one brood-chamber at the beginning of 

 the honey-flow, as it was not needed before, as that hive 

 did not need it because it did not have enough brood the 

 season before. 



But, to return the queen having^ only one story for 

 brood, either comes out with (what I call) a small swarm, or 

 remains to be crowded out. The colonies become weak and 

 in no shape to get any flows of honey later ; and right here 

 let me say that many bee-keepers don't suppose they have 

 a later crop of honey just because their bees are in no shape 

 to gather it. 



Now for the other side : Imagine a colony has been 

 strong all the year, and is strong when it goes into winter 

 quarters with plenty of honey and young bees. Such a 

 colony comes thru in fine shape, and by March 1 brood-rear- 

 ing commences in earnest, and by April 1 the bottom story 

 is full of bees and brood ; the bees and queen are allowed to 

 occupy the next story for brood, it having been left on with 

 honey in it all winter. Now, isn't it plain that these bees, 

 reared now, are the ones to catch the honey-flow from May 

 1 to June 15 ? When this flow comes they go to piling in 

 honey with a rush ; the queen is allowed to go where she 

 pleases, and honey is extracted wherever it is found. You 

 may say this will result in a poor article of hone)', but I 

 say it will not, as it is not necessary to extract from combs 

 containing young larvae. (An expert can extract without 

 injuring young larvae.) 



You may say this course will result in a lot of useless 

 consumers. Not so. We wish brood-rearing pusht until 

 Aug. IS, at least, to get the flow from July IS until frost. 

 With queen-excluders our colonies will be so weakened that 

 they would not store any surplus during this last flow. 



Williamson Co., Tex, 



A Visit to a Cuban Apiary. 



BY HARRY HOWE. 



I AM just back from a visit which Walter Somerford, Fred 

 Somerford, and m3'self, paid to a Cuban apiary. This is 

 located two or three miles from the coast, and about IS 

 miles from Havana. About the time we turned off from the 

 good stone road it began to rain. The red clay soil here 

 makes the worst mud I ever tried to ride a wheel thru. It 

 was not long before we left our wheels by the roadside and 

 went on foot. 



The apiar)' — when we got to it — was under the shade of 

 a fine old grove of trees. Everything was as clean and 

 neat around it as possible. The whole space occupied by 

 the bees was kept clear of leaves and weeds. The whole 

 aspect of the place showed that the owner was a man who 

 tried to have things right. 



The hives were about five feet long and one foot square. 



