186 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Rev. E. L. Briggs : If any one sets 

 out shade trees, let them set out bass- 

 wood or linden. Nature gives us a 

 succession of bloom ; first there is the 

 willow, then the plum, peach, cherry, 

 apple, gooseberry and raspberry, keep- 

 ing the bees always busy enough to ke#p 

 up breeding and have the hive full 

 of young bees in time for the great 

 honey flow in Jinie from white clover. 

 Young bees never fly until they are 16 

 days of age, and they will be ready 

 just in time for this great honey flow, 

 lasting about four weeks ; then comes 

 tlie linden, after that a vacancy in the 

 honey flow comes in the right time, as 

 the brood has been pretty well crowd- 

 ed out, and now the queen will fill 

 every corner with brood for the young 

 bees, for the fall flow of honey. Now 

 comes the fall flow from heart's-ease, 

 smartweed, goldenrod and catnip. I 

 sliould sow seed, as Mr. Newman sug- 

 gests, but not depend upon it alone. 

 1 just arose to supplement what Mr. 

 Newman said. Mr. Muth, of Cincin- 

 nati, has his apiary on his house-top, 

 and depends on Nature for his supply 

 in the midst of thatlarge city. 



The Statistical Report for ISS^ of 

 the members of the association, was 

 announced as follows : 1,703 colonies 

 in the spring ; 2,669 colonies in the 

 fall ; these produced 38,385 pounds of 

 comb honey ; 29,-515 pounds of ex- 

 tracted honey, and 546 pounds of wax; 

 13 wintered their bees in cellars ; 7 in 

 bee houses, and 23 on tlie summer 

 stands ; 32 reported the bees in good 

 condition, 4 fair, and 2 poor. 



Mr. Moore : Do chickens eat bees ? 



Mr. Carpenter: Chickens eat drones; 

 they catch them on the fly. 



Mr. Nagle : Do they never catch 

 other bees V 



Mr. Carpenter : I have watched 

 them, and have never seen them catch 

 worker bees. 



Mr. Briggs : If he has sucli chick- 

 ens, I would like to buy some of them. 



Mr. Nagle and Rev. E. L. Briggs ex- 

 plained their methods of rearing 

 queens. 



On motion the time for holding the 

 next annual meeting was fixed for the 

 third Wednesday and Thursday in 

 February, 1S85. 



Mr. Newman suggested that the 

 fact that reduced fares may be ob- 

 tained, be incorporated into the notice 

 for the next meeting. 



On motion the convention adjourned 

 till the third Wednesday in February, 

 1885. Wm. Goos, ^'ec. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Specimens of Foul Brood. 



T. J. BURKILL. 



I notice Mr. Stewart's criticism on 

 page 167, upon sending specimens of 

 suspected comb tlirough the mails. 

 The points are well taken, and should 

 be well heeded. My requests were 

 not sufficiently guarded— indeed, I did 

 not at the time tliink of the possible 

 infection of a healthy colony through 

 the mails. While the cliance must be 

 considered a remote one, and may be 

 altogether avoided by proper wrap- 

 ping, still men are not always prudent 



and careful, and as the matter is im- 

 portant, all ought to agree with Mr. 

 Stewart. Please do not send me any 

 more specimens in this way ; perhaps 

 it is better not to send any more in 

 any way. I have enough of the gen- 

 uine stuff on hand now to start any 

 number of cultures. 



Ttie main point to determine by a 

 large number of specimens is whether 

 or not what bee-keepers call foul 

 brood is always the same thing, and,if 

 not, to ascertain reliable characteris- 

 tics of the different diseases. Of the 

 considerable nuniber of packages re- 

 ceived, all save one were clearly of the 

 same nature. Two said to be a mild 

 form of foul brood, contained the 

 same microscopic organism found in 

 malignant cases, and I have no doubt 

 would upon inoculation of a healthy 

 colony produce the same effect. But 

 this latter might not prove true, be- 

 cause it is now known that some of 

 these minute parasites or " disease 

 germs" differ in their physiological 

 effects while the appearance remains 

 without change. Their virulence is 

 modified, somewhat as cultivation 

 changes the poisonous properties of 

 certain flowering i)Uints. This is a 

 most proper subject for investigation, 

 yet it cannot be done without material 

 of all kinds and forms of the disease. 



As spring approaches I find myself 

 face to face with another serious im- 

 pediment to a complete study of this 

 dreaded scourge of the apiary. ^laiii- 

 festly an investigation to be practi- 

 cally valuable must include direct ex- 

 periments on the bees themselves, 

 including, of course, the young from 

 the egg onward. Mr. Ileddon queries 

 (on page 164) whether ten miles is not 

 a proper distance apart for apiaries. 

 Suppose my experimental bees fly the 

 distance thus suggested, and suppose 

 the disease be distributed by ttie suc- 

 cessive visits to flowers, what a pretty 

 " kettle of fish " I should soon have 

 pn hand ! 



It is true that many think they 

 know that foul brood is not conveyed 

 from colony to colony by such means, 

 but it seems certain that no one does 

 know. To prove or disprove such 

 points is the object of an investiga- 

 tion. I find it feasible to cultivate 

 successfully the organism {Bacillus) 

 in meat broth in little glass flasks 

 stopped with sterilized cotton-wool. 

 From a minute speck of the material 

 in a diseased comb any quantity can 

 be furnished by the aid of ttiese flasks, 

 and microscopical examination can be 

 made at any time, and as often as de- 

 sired without introducing other or- 

 ganisms from the air or otherwise. 



In this way tlie life history of the 

 " disease germ " can be made out— its 

 method and rapidity of propagation, 

 the effects of stated temperatures, of 

 disinfectants, etc. So far there is no 

 trouble, but liow can we be sure that 

 growth and development in meat 

 broth is the same as in the brood of 

 bees ? Is it feasible to keep a suffi- 

 cient number of bees shut up with 

 brood comb to try results V 



Champaign, 111. 



Convention Notices. 



i^° We will organize a bee-keepers' 

 association at the Court House in 

 Franklin, Ind., at 10 a. m., April 5, 

 1884. All beekeepers are invited to 

 attend and take part in tlie organiza- 

 tion. L. R. Jackson. 



Urmeyville, Ind., Feb. i6, 1884. 



1^" The fourth semi-annual meet- 

 ing of the Western liee-keepers will 

 be held at Independence, Mo., April 

 24 and 25, 1884. This will be the most 

 interesting convention of bee-keepers 

 ever held in the West. The associa- 

 tion numbers among its members 

 some of the most successful bee-keep- 

 ers in the country, and many outside 

 the association, from abroad, will be 

 here to take part in the discussions. 

 Let each one come prepared to take 

 part in the discussions, and bring 

 something to exhiiiit. The program- 

 me, when completed, will comprise 

 all the interesting subjects of the day. 

 The committee apjiointed at our last 

 meeting on " marketing honey," will 

 report the first day. and it will be of 

 great interest, for the committee 

 IS composed of thorough men who 

 have given the subject a large amount 

 of attention since our last meeting. 

 Jerome Twichell, of Kansas City, has 

 kindly consented to address the con- 

 vention on the subject of " Preparing 

 honey for market." 



C. M. Grand ALL, Sec. 

 Independence. Mo. 

 H. ScovELL, Pres. Columbus, Kans. 



1^" The sixth annual convention of 

 Texas bee-keepers will be held at the 

 " Bee Garden " of Judge W. II. An- 

 drews at McKinney, Collin Co., Tex., 

 on April 24 and 25. 1884. A larger 

 number of leading bee masters than 

 ever assembled on a similar occasion 

 in the Soutli, is anticipated. 



Wji. R. Howard. Sec. 



Kingston, Tex., Jan. 16, 1884. 



i^° The Lorain County Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association, will meet at Elyria, 

 O., Wednesday. April 9, 1884. 



O. J. TjiRKELL, Sec. 



North Eidgeville, O. 



1^ The Progressive Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will meet for their spring 

 meeting May 3, ]ss4, at the apiary and 

 residence of J. B. Haines, Bedford, 

 Cuyhoga County. O. All interested 

 are invited. J. R. Reed, Sec. 



^" We now club the British Bet 

 Journal and our Monthly for $2.50. 



^" The Union Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation of W^estern Iowa, will meet 

 attheEmmett house, in Dexter, on 

 Saturday, March 29, at 10 a. m. sharp. 

 All who are interested in apiculture 

 are invited to attend. 



M. E. Darby, Sec. 



W. B. Kenyon, Pres. 



1^ The next meeting of the Bee- 

 Keepers' Association of Central' Illi- 

 nois, will be held in the ottiee of the 

 County surveyor, in Blooiningtoh, on 

 Wednesday April 9. 



\V. B. Lawrence, Sec. 



