228 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. is 



goes on, it comes more and more into prom- 

 inence. It started first in the East, and is 

 now g-radually working westward. It was 

 Capt. J. E. Hetherington who first intro- 

 duced this section, or what was practically 

 the same thing, 3JiXS, I think, at the Cen- 

 tennial at Philadelphia in 1876. 



FORMALDEHYDE AS A CURE FOR FOUL BROOD. 



Some two or three issues ago, Mr. Weber, 

 of Cincinnati, told of a very interesting and 

 satisfactory experiment showing how he 

 thoroughly disinfected combs affected with 

 foul brood. At that time I requested him 

 to keep us posted in regard to his further 

 experiments. In a letter just received, he 

 writes: 



Mr. /?oo/.— Fulfilling my prohiise made you some 

 time ago, to inform you of any future developments 

 regarding the cure of foul brood by means of formalin 

 gas, I now hand you the final report of Prof. Guyer, 

 of the University of Cincinnati. The combs men- 

 tioned in his report were sent to me to experiment 

 with, by friend bee-keepers. After fumigating them 

 I sent them to the professor, with the request that he 

 endeavor to find signs of life; but, as he says, he could 

 not. Following is his report: 



Seventy-five tests for foul brood in bee-comb. Tests 

 were as follows: 40 tests on comb which had been sub- 

 jected to formaldehyde-culture, medium-agar at 37°C; 

 10 tests on comb containing honey treated as above ; 

 15 tests on comb as above culture, medium boriellon at 

 37°C ; 10 tests on comb (foul brood) not treated with for- 

 maldehyde. Bacillus alvei (germ of foul brood) was 

 found in the comb not subjected io formaldehyde; none 

 was found in the combs which had been treated with 

 formaldehyde. 



This establishes beyond a doubt that formalin gas 

 is a sure cure for foul brood; and I hope that bee-keep- 

 ers who are unfortunate enough to have colonies af- 

 flicted with this disease will give the new cure a trial. 

 I will cheerfully furnish directions, etc., to any one 

 upon request. C. H. W. Weber. 



Cincinnati, Ohio. 



I do not feel so certain myself that forma- 

 lin gas is an absolutely sure cure; but the 

 experiments thus far conducted by Mr. 

 Weber give us great reason for hoping that 

 we have something here of more than ordi- 

 nary value. If vie can treat diseased combs 

 by so simple a plan as this, we can wipe 

 foul brood out of a yard with very little ex- 

 pense or trouble. Yes, by all means, Mr. 

 Weber, tell us the exact process by which 

 you succeed in disinfecting the combs above 

 mentioned. If you will furnish us the di- 

 rections, it will save you writing, perhaps, 

 hundreds of letters. 



FOUL-BROOD BILLS BEFORE THE VARIOUS 

 STATE LEGISLATURES. 



FouL-BROOD bills are now in the hoppers 

 of several of our States and Territories. 

 Our bee-keeping friends are hereby notified 

 that it will take an unusual amount of pres- 

 sure to get the bills through both Houses, 

 as there is always some Senator and Rep- 

 resentative who has some pet measure of 

 his own that he desires to have put for- 

 ward; and when there is a lot of such fel- 

 lows, each with a pet measure, a foul-brood 

 bill is liable to go by default simply be- 

 cause it is crowded out. A foul-brood bill 

 is now before the legislature of Texas which 

 requires the owners of bees to report in case 



of foul brood, or other contagious diseases, 

 to the State Entomologist. The measure is 

 weak, it seems to me, because it provides 

 no penalty on the owner of the bees for not 

 complying with the order. But the entomol- 

 ogist may burn the bees. 



There is another foul-brood bill before the 

 Maine and Illinois State Legislatures, and 

 one has lately passed in California, and is 

 now a law. Keep up the pressure all along 

 the line. 



CARPET GRASS, OR LIPPIA NODIFLORA. 



One of our correspondents, Mr. H. M. 

 Jameson, of Corona, Cal., calls our atten- 

 tion to the fact that Bulletin No. 45, issued 

 by the Agricultural Experiment Station of 

 Arizona, published at Tucson, has some- 

 thing to say about this wonderful honey- 

 plant; but, strangely enough, it says noth- 

 ing about the fact that it yields honey; but 

 it gives prominence to the fact of its making 

 a good binder to the soil; that it is found on 

 both hemispheres, and extends north from 

 the South American tropics to Central 

 America, Mexico, and into California, Tex- 

 as, and the South-Atlantic States. Prof. 

 Thornber, the writer, says, "Recent ob- 

 servations indicate that Lippia nodiflora 

 can maintain a continuous layer of green, 

 with a less amount of water, than any oth- 

 er desirable plant in our borders." It is 

 not a forage-plant, he explains, as " graz- 

 ing animals entertain a dislike for it;" and 

 for this reason it is all the more valuable 

 as a sand and soil binder. In sandy re- 

 gions, with a limited amount of water, or 

 in the case of embankments where it is de- 

 sired to hold them together, and not let the 

 water run over the banks, on cultivated 

 lands, it has no equal. It can be propa- 

 gated very readily from cuttings. 



In the region of Nicolaus, Cal., as I have 

 before explained, it is one of the most val- 

 uable honey-plants known. The gold-wash- 

 ings in that vicinity have destroyed the soil, 

 killing out alfalfa; but along the dikes or 

 embankments to prevent the further over- 

 flow of the river, destroying more land, this 

 beautiful carpet grass forms a soft, thick, 

 bedlike mat. It is spring}' to the feet; and 

 when one lies down on it he almost feels as 

 if he were buoyed up by a brand-new hair 

 mattress. I was fortunate enough to be 

 present when bees were working on it. 

 The tiny blossoms were covered by them. 

 Not only do bees work on it, but they carry 

 in large quantities of honey — tons of it — 

 yes, carloads of it — of a beautifully flavor- 

 ed thick white honey that will rank with 

 any mountain sage in any part of California. 



This carpet grass, or Lippia nodiflora, 

 would be a most wonderful acquisition to 

 Florida, if once introduced; and this leads 

 me to say that the Arizona Agricultural 

 Station, Tucson, "will endeavor to furnish 

 Lippia nodiflora in limited quantities to all 

 who may apply. When received it should 

 be planted immediately in rows one or two 

 feet apart, in well-watered and well-pre- 

 pared soil. " After the plant is once well 



