1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



429 



with the other work that is being carried on here. We shall 

 be glad to be of any service whenever it is possible, and some 

 time more attention may be given to your practical lines of 

 investigation. 



I am, however, glad to inform you that instruction in api- 

 culture is offered in the University, to be taught by Mr. W. 

 6. Johnson, who is a scientific entomologist, as well as a prac- 

 tical bee-keeper. Very truly yours, 



T. J. BuRRiLL, President Board of Direction. 



When we consider the enormous amounts of money ex- 

 pended in Illinois for all sorts of purposes — and many of them 

 utterly useless — it seems too bad that the bee-keepers of the 

 State cannot get the slightest recognition whatever. They 

 pay the taxes like others who get some favors, but experimen- 

 tal apiculture isn't considered worthy of any notice or atten- 

 tion. Some other States are better informed on the subject, 

 more fully comprehend the importance of bees to agriculture, 

 and so have recognized the industry sufficiently to give it a 

 prominent place at their experiment stations. Let us hope 

 that Illinois may soon "catch on," and at least keep up with 

 the procession even if she can't lead. 



Mrs. O. O. Poppleton, of Florida, died recently, I 

 noticed by Gleanings for June 15. Mr. Poppleton is well 

 know to the older readers of the Bee Journal, as he was at 

 one time a frequent contributor. Mr. H. W. Mitchell, of 

 Hawk's Park, Fla., who sent the sad news to Gleanings, writes 

 thus of the deceased : 



Mrs. Poppleton was a native of Indiana, having been born 

 in Maysville about 41 years ago. She will no doubt be re- 

 membered by a number of bee-keepers, having attended the 

 national convention at Cincinnati in 1882, and Toronto in 

 1883, besides other State conventions. She was a well-posted 

 and enthusiastic bee-keeper ; and ever since her marriage to 

 Friend Poppleton she has been his first assistant in the practi- 

 cal care of the apiary. 



Mrs. Poppleton has been a consistent and prominent 

 church member for 31 years, having joined the Methodist 

 church when 10 years old. Cheerful, kind-hearted, and a 

 lady in every sense of the word, to know her was to value her 

 highly ; and in her death, the community in which she lived 

 sustains a heavy loss. 



They did not have any idea her sickness would be fatal 

 until three hours before she passed away. She was taken 

 down with a complication of diseases, but the final cause of 

 death was heart failure. 



Bro. Poppleton will have the heartfelt sympathy of all in 

 his Dereavement. 



Sout)r)crx} DepartjTjej^t* 



DR. J. 



CONDUCTED BY 



P. II. BROWX^, A.UGUSTA, GA.. 



[Please send all questions relating to bee-keeping In the South direct 

 to Dr. Brown, and he will answer in this department.— Ed. 1 



Putting on Sections — Doubling Up Colonies- 

 Building Drone-Comb. 



1. Does it pay to put on sections as late as the last of 

 June in this territory ? If the season is about over, appar- 

 ently, what should I put in the upper story, if not new sec- 

 tions with foundation, when the full sections are removed? 



2. I don't want any more increase, and would be glad to 

 have advice as to the propriety of doubling up — and if desir- 

 able, when and how best to do it. 



3. I tried putting swarms on frames with 8-iuch starters, 

 and many of them built drone-comb the balance of the way. 

 Would you cut that out and put in worker-comb? 



N. G. O., South Carolina. 



Answers. — 1. Not with the expectation of getting them 

 filled with the spring flow of honey ; for by June 15 thespring 

 harvest is over. I should put new sections in place of the re- 

 moved ones, and allow them to remain until the fall flow. 



2. I would double up the weakest colonies, and always 



save the best queens. Do this after the fall flow of honey. 

 Make the union late in the evening ; smoke the colonies to Idb 

 united. Select the best oombs and alternate them in the hive. 

 Preserve the extra combs for use another season. 



3. Full sheets of foundation are preferable to starters. 

 Cut out the drone-comb and put in worker-comb. 



Failing Queen. 



Dr. Brown : — What is the matter with a leather-colored 

 Italian queen in my apiary ? The queen is one of an Ohio 

 breeder's dollar queens, introduced in June, 1894, is quite 

 prolific, and her bees have been good honey-gatherers. This 

 spring I noticed that there were from two to four eggs in 

 many cells. In a recent examination I find that very many 

 cells are occupied by two eggs each. She has an abundance 

 of room, having 40 frames in 4 hive-bodies, tiered up. The 

 frames are 2 inches shorter than the standard Langstroth, 

 depth the same as the Langstroth. This colony is very strong, 

 and has built an exceptional number of queen-cells, which 

 have been periodically removed. Is the queen failing, or can 

 you assign a reason why she is so economical in cells ? 



"Eastern Kentucky." 



Answer. — The queen is failing, and from the fact of the 

 bees constructing queen-cells, they are aware of the condition 

 of things, and desire to supersede her. The extra eggs may 

 slip into the cell from a slight paralysis of the sphincter 

 muscle of the ovipositor. 



Diseased Bees — Shipped <(ueens. 



Dr. Brown :— 1. What is the matter with my bees ? One 

 colony (old bees) have been dying for ten days, crawling out 

 at the entrance constantly, and dying in front on the ground. 

 I thought for some time it must be robbers getting themselves 

 stung to death, but they continue dying, night as well as day. 

 This morning I found the queen dead, or dying, in front of 

 the entrance. I immediately proceeded to examine the combs 

 one by one, and found 5 combs of eggs and brood in all stages. 

 I found about one-fifth of the brood in the three center combs 

 dead, most of which was sealed, or had been. The bees had 

 uncapped most of the dead ones, and they seem dry and hard, 

 some dry and moldy like " devil's dust ;" others half dried up, 

 having a white appearance. I inserted a broom-straw in the 

 dead brood— no ropy substance adhered to the straw. Two 

 other combs, one on each side of the three, contain some dead 

 brood, though not one-fifth so much. 



■ The bees are still a fair colony in numbers. I think X 

 shall brimstone them to-night (for fear it is foul brood), and 

 fasten the hive up tight, combs and all, and wait for you to 

 tell me what's the trouble with them. What is the remedy, 

 and what shall I do with the combs ? 



2. Do queens shipped from, say Ohio to Texas, do as well 

 as queens shipped from points in the same latitude? 



Hannibal, Tex. W. H. C. 



Answers. — 1. Your bees seem to be peculiarly affected; 

 and it is very difficult to give you advice without knowing 

 more of the surrounding conditions, as to whether any other 

 colonies in the apiary are similarly affected, etc. From your 

 description of the disease, I hardly think it is foul brood— it is 

 more like the effects of poisoned honey, and it might be well 

 for you to make inquiry as to the use of any arsenical insecti- 

 cides within range of your bees. 



Foul brood is a terrible scourge to the bee-keeper. It is a 

 disease to be dreaded, and it is best to give it no quarter. 

 With the colony in question, if I thought it was foul brood, I 

 should place the remaining bees on starvation diet for at least 

 36 hours, in a closed hive without combs, then put them into 

 a new hive on clean combs with a fertile queen, and feed 

 sugar syrup. The frames and combs in the foul hive I would 

 bury deep in the ground, and after scraping the hive, washing 

 it out with pearline, and giving it a coat of paint inside and 

 out, I would use it. 



2. Queens can be shipped to any point in the Union, and 

 will do as well as if only shipped to points in the same latitude. 



Some Tennessee Items. 



In 1888 and 1890 I had fine crops of comb honey. My 

 apiary was small then, however, and the aggregate was not 

 large. Since then I've been increasing bees and decreasing 

 revenue. When my dish was right side up the expected flow 



