692 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Phenol and Foul Brood. 



On page 698 Mr. Kohnke has made 

 some criticisms on the use of phenol 

 for curing foul brood, as suggested in 

 a late number of the Bee Journal. 

 Criticisms are always in order on 

 every subject, if conducted in a 

 friendly spirit. On the discovery of 

 the method, which Mr. K. notices, 

 the British Bee Journal remarks as 

 follows : 



Mr. Cheshire, in his paper read be- 

 fore the bee-keepers at the Interna- 

 tional Exhibition, gracefully expresses 

 his indebtedness to Mr. Robert Sproule 

 for suggesting to him the use of 

 phenol as a proliably successful means 

 tor the cure of foul brood. Mr. 

 Sproule, in a communication which 

 appears on page 284 of the present 

 issue, says "that whatever credit there 

 is for the suggestion of carbolic acid 

 as a cure for the disease is due to 

 Prof. Tichborne, of the Apothecaries' 

 Hall, Dublin, with whom he had a 

 conversation in October, 1881 , on the 

 subject." As the order of the day 

 appears to be, " Suum aiiqw, tribuito," 

 we may be permitted to trace the 

 suggestion of carbolic or phenic acid 

 back to the year 1876. In that year 

 there appeared in the columns of the 

 Bee Journal (vol. iv. page 113) a letter 

 from Captain Dan yell, author of 21ie 

 Italian [Giotto's] System of Bee-Keep- 

 ing, in which he details with consid- 

 erable minuteness the mode adopted 

 by Signor Brassi and Dr. Dubini, two 

 advanced Italian bee-masters, for the 

 cure of foul brood ; and mentions 

 among other curative means the use 

 of "phenic or carbolic acid." This 

 letter is referred to by the then editor 

 of the Bee Journal, in a subsequent 

 number, as a letter which may be 

 read " with much advantage." 



In a communication recently re- 

 ceived from Mr. Cowan, he says, 

 " With regard to Mr. Cheshire's 

 treatment of foul brood, I think he 

 has overlooked the fact that it has 

 already been recommended by Vogel 

 and (iravenhorst ; and in 1877 Dr. 

 Cech published a book called Phenol, 

 Thymol und Halicylsa^ire, als Heilmittel 

 der Brutpest der Bienen. For various 

 reasons it has not been popular ; but 

 you will find in last number of the 

 Alsace-LoiTttine Bee Journal an article 

 on the cure of foul brood with phenol 

 according to Gravenhorst's method, 

 by r. Vierling, who also calls it 

 'Bacillus' of foul brood." 



Mr. John M. Hooker, another Eng- 

 lish apiarist, comments upon the 

 above item as follows : 



If, indeed, Mr. Cheshire did not in 

 the first place suggest phenol either 

 as a preventive or cure for foid brood, 

 there can be no doubt that he first 

 fully saw the enormous value which 

 this substance, when properly used, 

 would prove to bee-keepers. Had, 

 indeed, the other gentlemen been fully 

 aware of its value, do you not think 

 we should have heard more about it y 



Signor Grassi, I see from Captain 

 Danyell's letter, does mention acido 



phenico : but the considerable minute- 

 ness of detail in his description to 

 which you refer, is wholly devoted to 

 the use of salicylic acid. Moreover, 

 phenol is suggested here only for 

 washing purposes ; and then as sec- 

 ond to salicylic acid, which the writer 

 says it may replace on account of its 

 being cheaper. 



Phenol has, however, been shown 

 by Mr. Cheshire to be immensely 

 superior to salicylic acid ; and here 

 we have experimental corroboration 

 of an inference to be made by any one 

 well acquainted with the generjil 

 properties of phenol and salicylic acid. 



The thanks of all bee-keepers are 

 due to Mr. Cheshire, not only for his 

 very able, interesting, exhaustive, 

 and original researches upon the true 

 nature of the disease, but also for the 

 cure he has placed in their hands; 

 and here I refer more especially to 

 those formulae which he has pub- 

 lished. In less scientific, careful, and 

 experienced hands than those of Mr. 

 Cheshire, phenol would have been 

 immediately discarded, owing to the 

 difficulties and want of success which 

 must necessarily attend first experi- 

 ments in a case of this kind ; but 

 with a knowledge of the benefits de- 

 rived from its use in other cases of 

 germ disease, and with the persever- 

 ance which characterizes the truly 

 scientific man, Mr. Cheshire has suc- 

 cessfully carried on and completed 

 his work, and has thus rendered pow- 

 erless one of the worst enemies the 

 bee-keeper has as yet had to contend 

 with. 



In our next issue we will give a 

 subsequent article on this subject 

 from Mr. Cheshire, which will explain 

 some points, and add further details 

 of his experiments. 



Honey at the Indiana State Fair. 



The Indiana Farmer describes as 

 follows the honey display at the In- 

 diana State Fair ; 



The display of honey and things 

 pertaining to the bee-keeping interest 

 at the State Fair, was the best that 

 has ever been made at any of our 

 Fairs, and was very creditable to 

 those who took part in the undertak- 

 ing ; much more so than might have 

 been the case in former years, on ac- 

 count of the present poor season, re- 

 quiring a very great amount of care 

 and work to put things in a creditable 

 condition. Mrs. C. Robbins, Presi- 

 dent of the State Bee-Keepers' So- 

 ciety, and the Treasurer, Mis. L. 

 Stout, have been untiring in their ef- 

 forts to induce bee-keepers to show 

 what an advancement had been made 

 in the business, within the last few 

 years. Mrs. Cox and Mrs. Lane, of 

 Boone county, were both contributors 

 and took part in entertaining friends. 

 Mrs. Robbins, Mrs. Stout, and Mrs. 

 Cox each made a display of honey- 

 producing plants, the two former 

 being very line indeed, including, as 

 they did, almost the entire list of the 

 honey-producing plants of this State 

 and we think, if the truth 



known, it would appear that the com- 

 mittee had to resort to straws to de- 

 cide which was entitled to the " red 

 ribbon," the long straw falling to 

 Mrs. Stout. 



Mr. S. H. Lane, of Whitestown, 

 Ind., was awarded the first premium 

 on extracted honey in the most mark- 

 etable shape ; also on comb honey, 

 and for the best display of honey. 

 Mr. Cox receivino; the second premium 

 on the latter. Both gentlemen ex- 

 hibited a show-case filled with one- 

 pound sections ; one side of Mr. Cox's 

 case being filled with sections heart- 

 shaped and diamond. They also 

 showed honey in many sizes and kinds 

 of retail packages. A globe, jar and 

 cross in the collection of Mr. Lane, 

 attracted much attention. 



The greatest attraction to the un- 

 initiated was the word "honey" in 

 letters of comb honey, as made by 

 the bees, directly in the sections ; the 

 spaces forming the letters being filled 

 by the bees with comb, afterwards 

 the outside blocks being removed 

 leaving the letters standing in bold 

 relief. All of which was performed 

 under the careful hand of Wm. 

 Hutchinson, whose apiary is near 

 Acton, Marion county. 



Taking the honey display as a 

 whole, it was creditable to our State 

 Society, to which all the exhibitors 

 belong, and we are well satisfied that 

 it has done much good, not only 

 among bee-keepers, but in the way of 

 educating the people as to what we as 

 bee-keepers are enabled to ofler them 

 in the way of an enticing luxury for 

 the table. 



Seasonable Hints. 



The American Agriculturist for No- 

 vember contains these seasonable 

 hints to bee-keepers : 



Small fruits and flies are now gone, 

 the cooler weather excites the appe- 

 tites for sweets, and if your comb 

 honey crop is not sold, now is the 

 time to dispose of it. The local mar- 

 ket should be looked after first, and 

 no honey sent to the distant markets 

 until the local demand is supplied. 

 If there is no local market, make one ; 

 if you have never tried, you will be 

 astonished at what can be accom- 

 plished by a little push. Honey should 

 not be "kept over" in hopes of re- 

 ceiving better prices, as old honey is- 

 not preferred to that which is new. 



Contract the entrances to the hives 

 so that mice cannot enter. If the 

 bees, which are to be wintered out of 

 doors, have received no protection, 

 furnish it at once. Have everything 

 in readiness if tliey are to be wintered 

 in a cellar or a " clamp." When it is 

 evident that the bees have enjoyed 

 their last autumn flight, carefully 

 carry them in. 



i^" The "Autumn Leaves " which 

 will bring the most returns are, no 

 doubt, the Leaflets—" Why Eat 

 Honey ?" Scatter them and see the 

 effect in selling honey in every neigh • 

 borhood, at good prices. Two hun- 

 dred will be sent postpaid for $1.00;. 

 were 500 for $2.2.5 ; 1,000 for $4.00. 



