Dec. 14. 1899. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



789 



iV. E. France. 



it ever appear. I have 

 cured cases of foul 

 brood in Wisconsin 

 that were imported to 

 our State from some 

 of the most distant 

 States in the Union. 

 While speaking- on 

 this subject I wish to 

 call attention to the 

 great need of nation- 

 al laws, or at least 

 that each State have 

 a law on this subject 

 that will provide for 

 its eradication. As 

 Wisconsin State in- 

 spector of apiaries I 

 feel as if I were, so to 

 speak, one of the 

 great United States 

 colony of bee-keep- 

 ers, and by the united 

 efforts of my sister 

 States, this disease 

 could be stampt out. 

 As it now is I often 

 get discouraged when 

 I find new cases that 

 were just imported 

 from other States. 

 For the health and prosperity of mankind we have laws in 

 each State to quarantine and properly care for all conta- 

 gious diseases ; even laws to provide for experienced veteri- 

 nary surgeons to examine any diseased farm stock, and 

 prescribe what to do. If this is just and right, why not 

 have laws that will protect our bees, the sales from which 

 form the support of a multitude of people ? 



Many times have I found hives with diseased combs in 

 them containing honey, the bees dead from foul brood, and 

 bees from other apiaries taking home the disease. Now 

 Wisconsin bee-keepers have legal protection, and compel 

 such parties either to cure the disease or burn it. From the 

 good that several State laws have done for bee-keepers is it 

 not time we all join hands and secure such laws as will pro- 

 tect our life support ? 



Any one who has carefully read the many articles from 

 Cowan's British Bee Journal, or even the many American 

 writers, such as Dr. Howard's pamphlet, McEvoy's annual 

 reports, and Mr. R. L. Taylor's experiments, will certainly 

 know how to detect and eradicate foul brood. 



N. E. Fr.\nce. 



Dr. Mason — I have had a good deal of experience with 

 foul brood. Twenty years ago the present month we moved 

 from the southern part of Ohio to Toledo, and the follow- 

 ing spring added to our apiary by buying eight or ten colo- 

 nies of bees, and with them got foul brood in two or three 

 colonies, as I afterwards learned to my sorrow. During 

 the summer of 1880, I noticed when passing some of the 

 hives, a peculiar odor, which I afterwards learned was foul 

 brood. In the next three years the number of colonies had 

 increast to about 80, with only three or four badly affected, 

 and not until the winter of 1893-94 did I learn how to cure 

 the disease. At the beginning of the next season I ex- 

 tracted the honey from all tlie combs that had no brood in 

 them. I shook the bees from all the good colonies into 

 clean hives and gave them starters. The combs with brood 

 in them were given to weak colonies, adding one, two, or 

 three stories, as seemed best. These storied colonies were 

 made queenless and left 21 days for all the brood to hatch, 

 then treated as the others had been, to clean hives with 

 starters. Each of these colonies had reared a queen which 

 commenced laying a few days after they were placed in 

 the clean hives. I then extracted the honey from the brood- 

 combs in the storied hives. As soon as I had extracted the 

 honey from the first combs containing no brood, they were 

 thrown, frames and all, into a caldron kettle of boiling 

 water, and the frames were removed as soon as the comb 

 was melted. The same treatment was given the frames 

 and combs from the storied hives. All the hives were after- 

 ward boiled in the same kettle. The first honey extracted 

 was boiled and fed back to the bees. The honey extracted 

 from the combs in the storied hives was so thick with the 

 foul brood matter as to make it ropy, so that when being- 

 poured from one receptacle to another it was difficult to 

 keep it from all going together. This was also boiled. 



strained, treated to a solution of salicylic acid, and fed to 

 the bees, and there has not been a sign of foul brood in our 

 apiary since. I don't believe the frames were in the boiling 

 water (and wax) to exceed two or three minutes — just long 

 enough for the combs to melt — and the hives were not 

 boiled to exceed five minutes. In boiling the honey I 

 took pains to have it all boil by dipping up the boiling 

 honey and pouring- it on the sides of the boiler, and so 

 washing down into the boiling honey any that might be on 

 the sides above that which was boiling ; and this constant 

 dipping kept the honey from boiling over. We see much in 

 the bee-papers about boiling foul-broody honey for tvpo or 

 three hours, or even longer, and Dr. Miller, here, is one of 

 those who advises long boiling. I believe the trouble comes 

 from not being careful and particular enough in the boil- 

 ing — perhaps paying no attention to that which may be on 

 the sides of the boiler, above what is boiling. I believe 

 that to boil foul-broody honey, regardless of the tiine the 

 boiling is continued, will cure the disease. Some of my 

 colonies were a rotten mass of foul brood, but my first at- 

 tempt at curing it was a complete success. In boiling the 

 hives and frames I took great pains when handling any- 

 thing that was or mig-ht be foul-broody, not to touch any- 

 thing with my hands, or anj'thing else used in handling 

 foul-broody things, until they had been disinfected with 

 salicylic-acid solution. It seems to me that where there 

 has been a failure when boiling has been resorted to, there 

 must have been a lack of care somewhere. A careless per- 

 son has no business to attempt to cure foul brood, for he 

 will surely fail. With me a solution of salicylic acid and 

 borax is as sure a cure for foul brood as is boiling, Mr. 

 France, in his paper, advises burning as a cure, and within 

 a few lines says, " I don't believe in burning honey." I 

 am in full accord with his last statement. I don't believe 

 it is necessary to burn anything in connection with curing 

 the disease, and still I have no doubt but with some who 

 keep bees, and have diseased honey and brood, the safest 

 way is to make a bonfire of all contaminated things — bees, 

 combs, honey and hives — and the best time to make the 

 bonfire is at night, -when the bees are at home. 



Mr. Root — I would like to ask Dr. Mason how many col- 

 onies he treated at one time. 



Dr. Mason — I think I was three days (having a bov to 

 help) in treating about 80 colonies. 



Mr. Root — How much honey did you boil ? 



Dr. Mason — I think about 50 gallons. The bees were in 

 bad shape, some of the colonies having very little honey, 

 and none of them very much. 



Mr. Root — That might do for a small bee-keeper, but 

 with a large apiary we recommend to burn the cases and 

 burn the combs. Dr. Mason would likely be careful. 

 There are two stages — the spore form and the bacilli. I 

 don't know which form your bees had. If they had the 

 spore form you could probably cure it by boiling. 



Dr. Mason — I don't know the difference between spore 

 and bacilli. Of course, we expect people will be thoro in 

 this. I tried some experiments. Some one recommended 

 spraying the combs with a salicylic-acid solution, but it 

 proved a failure. When I was thru extracting: that foul- 

 broody honey I closed the extractor, and it was not opened 

 again until last month, when being in need of an extra ex- 

 tractor I took that one to pieces as much as possible and 

 gave it a thoro washing with salicylic-acid solution, and I 

 have no fears of foul brood from using that extractor. 



Dr. Miller — Dr. Mason has quoted me as saying that we 

 should boil a long time. I am a mere parrot. Some say a 

 long' time ; others, a short time ; but to be safe I believe in 

 doing it thoroly. I am on the fence. 



Mr. Root — I am clear off the fence. 



Mr. Cook — Dr. Mason spoke of something being ropy. 

 Does that affect the honey ? 



Dr. Mason — No. 



Mr. Howe — I have been at work in this matter of deal- 

 ing with foul-broody honey for months. I have boiled it 

 long and short, but I have never had the spores grow after 

 IS minutes boiling. After 7 minutes boiling it may grow 

 again. When I finally closed up my work in the laboratory 

 I had a whole lot of all sorts of things, and put everything 

 in the steam bath. Everything was dead ; 15 minutes will 

 kill the germs if boiled, or at boiling heat. 



Pres. Whitcomb — I have not done much else this sum- 

 mer but hustle with foul brood. When I was absent it g-ot 

 started. We haven't lost a single case. It must be treated 

 when other bees are not flying. We extracted the honey 

 and put the frames in boilers and boiled them, then put 

 them out to cool. In boiling honey I don't think any one 

 will ever leave the cover on the boiler very long, for it will 



