212 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



For ttao American Bee Journal. 



Bacteriiiiii — Its Relation to Dysentery, 



GEO. THOMPSON. 



Ever since the Bee Journal was 

 started, dysentery and its cause or 

 causes have been more or less dis- 

 cussed ; but of late there seems to be 

 a growing desire to thoroughly inves- 

 tigate this so-called bee disease. Bee- 

 keepers are becoming conscious of 

 the fact that a knowledge of the 

 causes and prevention is as necessary 

 to successful, and therefore profitable 

 bee-keeping, as bee pasturage. I have 

 watched and read with much interest 

 the divers opinions upon the subject, 

 and I think from present indications 

 the time is not far distant when all 

 the facts will be generally understood 

 and settled. I have never taken much 

 stock in the pollen or bacteria theory, 

 because I think the reasons given are 

 not tenable. What is bacteria V Ac- 

 cording to the well-versed in science 

 in this country, and in Europe as well, 

 bacteria is found everywhere in decay 

 and fermentation, and in looking over 

 the "Library of Universal Knowl- 

 edge,"! lindthefollowingdescription: 

 " Bacterium — a minute and low form 

 of vegetable organism, refractive, 

 spherical and mobile. It occurs as a 

 fossil ; is found in the sap of plants, 

 in the fluids of men, animals, insects, 

 larvaj and eggs ; is abundant in incip- 

 ient stages of fermentation and decay 

 of animal and vegetable tissues and 

 substances. Bacteria act as a fer- 

 ment, changing cane sugar and starch 

 to glucose. They are communicated 

 as germs floating in the air ; they as- 

 sist in the ripening of fruit, and in tlie 

 regeneration of organic matter during 

 the formation of cell structure. They 

 thrive equally well in acid, alkaline or 

 neutral fluids. Many phenomena, 

 otherwise attributed to spori'taneous 

 generation, are caused by these min- 

 ute and omnipresent organisms." 



The above, in a very clear and suc- 

 cinct manner, informs us what it is, 

 where it is to be found, and what it 

 accomplisiies. It is no reason, to me 

 at least, because bacteria are found in 

 fermented pollen or honey, that they 

 are the cause of dysentery. As well 

 might we say if a man has the same 

 malady, that bacteria was the cause 

 of it because they are found in his 

 food, and in the very air he breathes. 

 As well might we argue that an ani- 

 mal is brought into the same condi- 

 tion by eating decayed vegetables, be- 

 cause they are found there. I con- 

 sider that this state or condition is 

 bro\iglit about, not by bacteria, but by 

 a changed condition of food. 



Geo. Grimm, in February Gleanings, 

 has an excellent article upon the siib- 

 ject, one well worth reading three 

 times over. And on page 104 of the 

 Bee .Journal is an article by Chas. 

 Dadant, one of the best I have ever 



seen. I believe with him, that diar- 

 rhea is a more appropriate term. I 

 have often questioned the propriety 

 of calling it a disease, for in the most 

 of cases a good cleansing flight is all 

 the remedy the bees require. 

 Geneva, 111. 



For the American Bee JoumaL 



Tlie Coming Bee— Its Production. 



THOMAS BALCOMB. 



Not seeing much of late In regard 

 to the " coming bee," I hope the sug- 

 gestion or two I make will not be out 

 of place. I have taken considerable 

 interest in the articles that appeared 

 from time to time in the Bee Jour- 

 nal upon the coming bee, and I think 

 it hardly-' advisable to let so important 

 a subject cool down, considering its 

 great importance, and the vast fleld 

 that is open for study and practical 

 experiments. 



I have no doubt that there are many 

 apiarists whose greatest wish is to 

 produce that coming bee, and are 

 working their apiaries with that ob- 

 ject in view. But, on the other liand, 

 there are those who ridicule the sub- 

 ject, and think the coming bee will 

 never come. Be that as it may, it is 

 evident that there is a great variety 

 of opinions upon the subject, also upon 

 the qualities of the various races of 

 beesj for there are very many that 

 consider the Italians good enough, 

 and others that can see a superiority 

 in other races over the Italians, and 

 even a few that prefer the black or 

 German bee to the Italian. 



As this coming bee must have the 

 desirable good qualities that are now 

 disseminated tliroughout the various 

 races of bees, and as opinions differ so 

 much in regard to these various good 

 qualities, it may seem difficult to many 

 where to make the starting point to 

 produce this coming bee. I have no 

 doubt that if the matter was left to 

 itself, that in the distant future there 

 would be Apis Americana from nat- 

 ural causes, inasmuch as the Asiatic 

 and other races of bees are getting in- 

 troduced and desseminated tlirougli- 

 out the land, they must in the cour.se 

 of time get so hybridized that a dis- 

 tinct variety of bees would be the re- 

 sult, best suited to the climate and 

 surroundings. For any one man to 

 undertake to produce the coming bee, 

 I think would only result in a partial 

 failure. True, the apiarist that can 

 control a considerable area of coun- 

 try can, by a careful selection and 

 crossing, produce a superior strain of 

 bees ; but with such a variety of cli- 

 mates and opinions, it is doubtful in 

 my mind, whether the experiments of 

 a few would benefit the apiarists of 

 the country generally. 



Still, notwithstanding the many dif- 

 Hculties that stand in the way, I think 

 much good would result by co-opera- 

 tion in which many might participate 

 to help to bring to ligiit Apis Ameri- 

 cana. I think that if a society was 

 formed of the advanced apiarists of 

 the country for the purpose of accu- 

 rately testing the good qualities of 

 the various races of bees, tlieii, by a 



careful system of crossing, I think 

 something definite might be arrived 

 at, but even with the formation of 

 such a society, it will take many gen- 

 erations of bees, and many failures, 

 before anything satisfactory is ac- 

 complished ; tlierefore, at present, I 

 see nothing to indicate a near future 

 for the coming bee. That should not 

 deter those that love our interesting 

 occupation from experimenting and 

 improving their bees. 



The coming bee must arrive sooner 

 or later. The possibilities of fertili- 

 zation in confinement are so few, that 

 we can liardly expect any assistance 

 from that source, unless experiments 

 are conducted more extensively, which 

 could be done by the same society. I 

 think success will seldom be reached 

 by those who conduct their experi- 

 ments on a small scale, such as boxes, 

 barrels or the like, for I think the 

 queen, like the higher order of ani- 

 mals, has her period of heat, therefore 

 to be successful, I think some kind of 

 a structure will have to be erected in 

 which heat and light can both be reg- 

 ulated and so arranged as to accom- 

 modate several hives containing the 

 queen and drones to be mated; but 

 each hive to have two entrances, one 

 opening on the inside of the struc- 

 tures, and the other covered with per- 

 forated tin, opening on the outside. 

 Even then many failures will result 

 from the queen being able to pass 

 through the entrances that were only 

 intended for the workers. 



Luling, Tex. 



For tlie American Bee JoumaL 



A Standard Frame. 



W. J. DAVIS. 



The action of the British Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association, as reported on pages 

 179-180 of the Bee Journal for 

 March 22, comes so near my own 

 views of the right size of frames for 

 the brood chamber, that I will take 

 the liberty of reporting my experience 

 with frames. 



I have used the standard Langstroth 

 frame for 21 years. I think the depth 

 of frame right (viz : 8}{ inches, inside 

 measure). But I am convinced that 

 for this latitude it is too long. It is a 

 point that all skillful apiarists of the 

 colder parts of our country agree upon, 

 that the size of the brood chamber 

 should be contracted, during winter 

 and spring, for the better husbanding 

 of the heat generated by the bees. It 

 is also a fact that when the bees of a 

 colony cluster for mutual protection 

 against the cold, they form as near a 

 splieie, (U' ball, 'as their home and 

 combs will admit of, and no one will 

 question but what that shape will ex- 

 pose the least number of bees on the 

 outside of cluster. Now it follows 

 that if the compact cluster of bees be 

 6 inches in diameter (and such a colony 

 would be considered a good one in the 

 month of March), and the combs be 

 18 inches in length, from front to rear, 

 they occupy in the greatest diameter 

 but 1.3 the length of the hive when re- 

 duced to its smallest size by the use of 

 division boards. The unoccupied part 



