1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



149 



in that it will dry and form a sort of mucil- 

 aginous surface, and I am sure it would 

 make a most excellent tirene. 



In reg-ard to moles, Stenog at my elbow 

 sa3's, " Perhaps there are species of them 

 in France that tally exactly with the de- 

 scription of the French writer. I was sim- 

 ply giving a translation, and do not hold 

 mj'self responsible for what the writer 

 said."— Ed.] 



WAS IT FOUL BROOD? 



This summer I found what I thought was 

 foul brood. A hive had three or four dozen 

 sunken cappings with dead larv£e in a pu- 

 trid condition, some in open cells, and some 

 would be ropy and string out on a twig or 

 spear of grass. This fall, a month or six 

 weeks later, I examined the colony. There 

 was brood on both sides of two frames, 

 about the size of a man's hand; and not a 

 sign of foul brood was found. The cap- 

 pings were bulged out, and brood was in a 

 healthy condition. Should I burn that de- 

 ceitful colony? In the spring I also found 

 similar stands, only not so much dead 

 brood. I looked through them two or three 

 times during the summer, and found them 

 all right. Do bees ever make a cleauing- 

 up of this foul matter when in a putrid con- 

 dition? If the}' do, perhaps I caught them 

 in this cleaning, and will find them foul- 

 broody later on. An experienced bee-man 

 here told me foul brood was never found 

 better after once getting among the bees. 

 Is this the case? Would foundation be dan- 

 gerous to use, made from wax melted from 

 foul-brood\' combs? Could j-ou furnish me 

 a book treating on the cure of foul brood? 

 Geo. R. Middleton. 



Wagerman, Idaho, Nov. 10. 



[I think there is no doubt that the colony 

 you describe had foul brood. It is not an 

 uncommon occurrence for an affected colony 

 to clean out the combs, and for a time at 

 least the brood will appear to be health}'. 

 But my experience is that such a colon}', if 

 left to its own individual efforts, will every 

 now and then develop the disease. The 

 trouble will continue, and sometimes con- 

 tinue for several years. While foul brood 

 may never get the upper hand of that colony, 

 the presence of the disease in it is a con- 

 stant menace to that whole apiary. There 

 is something strange in it, but some colonies 

 seem to have the power to resist the disease, 

 notwithstanding it will break out every 

 now and then. But that same virus, if 

 carried to ayiother hive, would mean the al- 



most immediate destruction of the colony. 

 I would not burn the hive, but I would 

 burn the combs, put the bees on frames of 

 foundation, and put them in a clean hive, 

 back on the stand. The hive itself I would 

 char out by spraying it on the inside with 

 coal-oil and lighting it. While it may not 

 be necessary to disinfect the hive, I certain- 

 ly would be on the safe side, if that is the 

 only colony you have in the yard. — Ed.] 



GETTING BEES OUT OF INACCESSIBLE PLACES. 



Could you tell me the best way to get a 

 swarm of bees out of the siding of a house, 

 and save the swarm? They went in there 

 last August. When is the best time to take 

 them out? G. R. Hendrick. 



Cora, Kan., Jan. 27, 1903. 



[Mr. McDonald describes in this issue a 

 very satisfactory method of getting bees out 

 of a tree or inclosure. But if you wish to 

 do the work up quickly, and at the same 

 time get the honey, blow considerable 

 smoke into the entrance or where the bees 

 get into the house; then with a cold-chisel 

 pry off the siding. If you do your work 

 carefully you can get the bees and combs 

 out, and then you can replace the siding 

 without very much damage to the house. A 

 little putty and a coat of paint would make 

 it look as well as ever. — Ed.] 



the CARNIOLAN-ITALIAN CROSS. 



In response to a call for information con- 

 cerning the Carniolan-Italian cross, I will 

 say I have in one of my apiaries, side by 

 side, five colonies in ten-frame hives, repre- 

 sentatives of their respective strains, each 

 having characteristics of its strain, and I 

 could not say which I prefer. 



First in the row is the three-banded long 

 tongue, every bee alike. Their superior 

 does not exist. Next, imported Carniolan 

 just ended her third season; next the strain 

 golden Italian; then two Carniolan-Italians. 



It was exceedingly interesting to study 

 closely the nature of each during the three 

 last seasons. Early this spring the three 

 first mentioned started off with the Carnio- 

 lan the strongest, the three banders second, 

 and golden third. For a time neither of 

 them seemed to increase rapidly (owing to 

 unfavorable spring). Then all at once the 

 Carniolans began to increase rapidly (just 

 seemed to bloom), it was not long until I 

 gave the other two each a frame of brood 

 and bees from them, to start them going, 

 because it was getting late, if I expected 

 any honey. You could see the improvement 

 in the two very quickly. 



The latter part of May I noticed queen- 

 cells in my Carniolan colony; and, knowing 

 their willingness to swarm, I quickly chang- 

 ed their minds by making two nuclei, when 

 it was time for mating, placed entrance- 

 guards in front of all hives except the three- 

 banders, and I now have two true to name, 

 Carniolan-Italian cross. Their bees re- 

 semble the three-banders, though somewhat 



