THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



505 



It is not usually noticed till the col- 

 ony has all dvvindleil down. The 

 queen keeps laying in the combs 

 nearly as well as usual, but the third 

 or fourtli lot of brood does not ma- 

 ture as much as the preceding ones, 

 and if a comb is talien from the hive 

 and given to healthy colony, every 

 comb will be more or less affected 

 with it iu two or tliree mouths, and it 

 wijl spread all througli the apiary iu 

 one or two seasons, according to the 

 number of colonies. The infection 

 seems to stay in the hives unless they 

 are thoroughly washed inside with 

 salt and vinegar. In 18S0 and 1881 I 

 saw 25 colonies in one yard ruined by 

 it. I have known of its ravages since 

 1878, in different parts of this State. 

 I never have had but three or four 

 hives troubled with it, and those were 

 in an isolated apiary for the purpose 

 of experimenting, but it lias shown 

 itself in several apiaries where there 

 has been a large amount of bare- 

 headed brood, during the previous 

 season. 



I have been as far as 35 miles, by 

 request, to examine colonies that I 

 have found it in, and found it the 

 cause of the colonies being depleted 

 to a serious extent. I am sure it is as 

 much to be dreaded as the malignant 

 foul brood, because it is not as easily 

 detected in its tirst stages, and for that 

 reason it easily and surely gets the 

 upper hands of the novice, and its 

 ravages get a good foot hold. 



Please to examine the specimen as 

 closely as possible, and call the atten- 

 tion of the best informed apiarists to 

 the subject. I am ready to give all 

 the information I possess on the sub- 

 ject, and would like the opinion of 

 others. Perhaps if the specimen was 

 examined by some competent apiar- 

 ists, it would be more thoroughly in- 

 vestigated. 



Washington Depot, Ct. 



[We have had no experience with 

 foul brood in any form, but will try to 

 get the opinion of those who have, at 

 the Convention here next week. — Ed.] 



For the American Bee JournaL 



Bees Injured by Heat, etc- 



J. D. ENAS. 



Under the heading of " Bees Injured 

 by heat," Mr. M. Bragg seems to 

 think that my bees suffered from not 

 being properly shaded. Most of my 

 hives are not shaded, though I am not 

 opposed to shade for hives ; I have 

 planted some trees for that purpose, 

 and have used the live oak for shade, 

 but do not observe any difference in 

 the result. When bees cluster at the 

 entrance, I lind out the reason at once, 

 and attend to it. 



My hives are the Muth-Langstroth, 

 with false ends, for the frames in the 

 second story, which gives an air space 

 at the ends of frames, and prevents 

 the combs from melting, and the over- 

 heating of the brood. It is a longtime 

 since I had any combs to melt from 

 heat. I use a piece of burlap on the 

 top of the frames, which absorbs 



moisture, and keeps the top of the 

 hive cool in warm days. I also raise 

 the top and also the hive from the 

 bottom board, if needed. 



On the last of December, 1882, we 

 had a down-East snow storm; snow 

 was six inches deep on a level, with 

 frost in the evening. Previous to that 

 our season was warm, and fruit buds 

 were nearly in bloom. One could see 

 the pink lining to the cherry buds. 

 Many of our fall and winter flowers 

 were in bloom ; even blue sage, which 

 was killed by the snow and subse- 

 quent frost. The snow did not last 

 48 hours. The Manzanita, which was 

 in full bloom, was cut short. Fruit 

 buds that were about to burst were 

 checked, and none too soon, for every 

 thing would have been killed. All 

 tender plants were killed to the 

 ground ; even the live oaks shed their 

 leaves, some entirely, which is un- 

 usual, and which I have not seen be- 

 fore, during a residence of more than 

 31 years in this State. 



Jn February again, during a warm 

 spell, the Sage bloomed, to be again 

 caught by frost, which checked the 

 rearing of brood. Having plenty of 

 combs of sealed honey, I uncapped it 

 and gave it when it was most needed. 

 We had a good many cool and sudden 

 showers until May, when the bees 

 were booming again, though the 

 weather was very bad for queen rear- 

 ing most of the spring, as it seemed 

 to rain just when one expected a lot 

 of queen cells to hatch, or a lot of 

 young queens to be fertilized. 



Early in .June we had north winds 

 whichdried up vegetation, injured 

 the bloom and young fruit, and put 

 another check on the honey flow, and 

 the effect was felt the balance of the 

 season throughout the State. 



Our climate is not the same as at 

 Mr. Bragg's place, which is probably 

 100 miles, or so, further south. The 

 highest marked by the thermometer 

 was 102^, and that for one day only. 

 That was the only time that the bees 

 left the combs; but by raising the 

 hive from the bottom board, they 

 soon went inside. I used the entrance 

 of the whole width of the front of the 

 hive. I am of the same opinion as 

 Mr. Bragg, that a double-walled hive 

 will suit this climate. I think the 

 dead-air space an improvement, to 

 guard against over-heating. 



Queens stopped laying from -1 to 6 

 weeks, but are building up, at the 

 present. I had to feed 100 pounds of 

 sugar. They are doing better now, 

 and prospering. The frost stopped 

 the supply of pollen. 



At the time my bees were getting 

 reduced, they did not seem to be 

 bringing in pollen, and by feeding 

 them honey liquefied, I induced rob- 

 Ijing more than I cared for (although 

 I had a bee tent). After using all 

 means to stop robbing without suc- 

 cess, I made a lower story to the hive, 

 only m inches high, well ventilated 

 with double-wire cloth over the ven- 

 tilators, with a trap for entrance, so 

 tliat the bees could go in, but not get 

 out. I set the hive on that, and closed 

 all the openings except the entrance. 



I had a hole one-half way up, in 

 front of the hive, and closed with a 



plug. When the robbers were very 

 thick at tlie entrance, I opened the 

 upper hole, and they would stream in, 

 in a solid body; when most were in, 

 I closed the hole. In this way I got a 

 strong colony. I then placed an 

 empty hive on the stand, and removed 

 the hive with bees, shaded ttiera for 

 several days, and put them on their 

 stands after dark. The next morning 

 they were ready to defend what they 

 had before robbed. I think the other 

 hives were more than the loser. This 

 is the worst season I have seen since 

 1877. 

 Xapa, Cal., Sept. 17, 1888. 



For the American Bee Journal, 



Ohio Convention. 



The Ohio Bee-Keepers' Association 

 held a meeting at Columbus, O., from 

 Sept. 3d to 7th inclusive, during the 

 Ohio State Fair, at which time several 

 questions of importance were dis- 

 cussed, among which was the subject 

 of Queen Bearing and Managementi 

 by A. Benedict, of Benington, O. 



Also by S. D. Riegel, of Adelphi,0., 

 on Bearing Queens from Larvae, 

 Rearing Queens in Small Nuclei, 

 and Putting Queens with Swarms at 

 Swarming Time, etc. 



A question was asked and not satis- 

 factorily answered. Will a Colony 

 Swarm without Drones V 



ilany other questions of importance 

 were discussed. 



An interesting lecture was deliver ed 

 by Dr. Besse, of Delaware, O. 



I must not close this report without 

 thanking the Ohio State Board of 

 Agriculture for the Interest they have 

 taken in the advancement of bee-cuU 

 ture, by the liberal premiums paid, 

 and suitable buildings provided for 

 the display of honey and all kinds of 

 bee appliances, of which there was a 

 very good display by Dr. Besse, S. D. 

 Eiegel, A. 15euedict, Mr, Drum and 

 many others. 



The meeting adjourned to meet 

 some time duringthe winter, of which 

 due notice will be given. 



C. M. Kingsbury, Sec. 



1^ The fall meeting of the New 

 Jersey and Eastern Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will be held in the city of 

 New York, at the Cooper Union, on 

 Wednesday, Nov. 7, 1883. 



J. Hasbkouck, Sec. 



Bound Brook, N. J. 



1^ The Lorain County Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association will meet at Oberlin, 

 Ohio, on the last Tuesday in October, 

 30th. O. J. Terrell, -Sec. 



Advertisements intended for the Beh 

 Journal must reach this oflice by 

 Saturday of the previous week. 



i^Do not let your numbers of the 

 Bee Journal for 1883 be lost. The 

 best way to preserve them is to pro- 

 cure a binder and put them iu. They 

 are very valuable for reference. 



