1076 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 15 



ONLY ONE ENTRANCE. 



I have a friend whose veracity is so pro- 

 nounced that I once heard it said that, when 

 he said a thing was true, it was true, even if 

 it was not true. Of course, we all feel much 

 the same regarding such bee keepers as Dr. 

 Miller and Mr Holtermann; so when they 

 argue so strongly for more than one hive en- 

 trance to the hive we must wonder if we are 

 correct in believing that one is best. I ac- 

 knowledge that the fact that the bees are 

 wont to close all but one is not conclusive, 

 but it surely has weight. The instincts of 

 the bee must be in the main right. 1 have 

 often known the bees to propolize wholly the 

 second opening. 



Of course, I mean entrance, and not de- 

 vice for ventilation, which is not used at all 

 by the bees, and so is no entrance at all. It 

 may be well at times to ventilate the hive, 

 and in this case it may be well to raise the 

 upper story a little. I am not at all sure of 

 this, and feel very sure that, to give the 

 double opening in making the hive, wouid 

 be a mistake. In giving the two openings 

 there is chance for draft; and in case of se- 

 vere cold, brood may be chilled and much 

 harm done. In case of two real entrances, 

 both used by the bees, we must upon occa- 

 sion close one, and then there is likely to be 

 loss or confusion as the bees miss the regular 



exit. 



I believe that a single entrance, as usually 

 made, and so arranged that it may be regu- 

 lated to suit the season and size of the colo- 

 ny, is the best plan; and if we may judge by 

 the style of almost all of the hives made in 

 the country, I have many who think as I do. 

 I take it that very few of our hives are made 

 with two entrances. I would always plan 

 the entrance so that it could be much en- 

 larged in times of great heat when the bees 

 are very numerous and hard at work. I 

 would have an arrangement so I could slight- 

 ly raise the upper story to ventilate; but as 

 many will forget to close this, it should never 

 be a second entrance; and for the most bee- 

 keepers, it would better be omitted. The 

 cautious expert bee-keeper will use such ven- 

 tilation to good purpose. So I say again 

 that I believe the best hives will have only 

 one entrance. 



APICULTURE AT WASHINGTON. 



I am sure we may all rejoice in the present 

 personnel of the Bee Division of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. I have recently visited 

 the new heads of the Division, and am very 

 certain that splendid work will be done. I 

 believe more and more that in Dr. E. F. 



Phillips we have a very able man, and one 

 who has had tine training for his work. He 

 is a man of great energy, and one who will 

 work with his might to do the craft good. 

 In working to combat our bee diseases, and 

 to breed better bees, he has hit upon the very 

 best things to push bee-keeping to a higher 

 eminence. He now has a few bees at the 

 Department, close by the main building, 

 while the most are over at the farm at Ar- 

 lington. 



^^ 



DR. G. F. WHITE. 



I also had a very pleasant visit with Dr. 

 White. We may well feel proud of the work 

 that Dr. White has done for us. One of the 

 greatest discoveries yet made in the real sci- 

 ence that touches most deeply the interests 

 of bee-keepers is made by Dr. White. He 

 has cleared up many uncertainties that have 

 vexed bee-keepers, and now we know what 

 is what regarding the terrible disease of 

 ' ' foul brood, ' ' European ' ' foul brood, ' ' which 

 we may consider as the real foul brood, was 

 the one described in Europe, and which is 

 not the one that has been most in evidence 

 in America. This disease works earlier, 

 leaves many cells uncapped, leaves a looser 

 scale at the bottom of the cell, and has not 

 the elastic ropiness and rank odor of the dis- 

 ease that is most known to American bee- 

 keepers. It is thought to be more contagious 

 than the other, and is more likely to disap- 

 pear without treatment. Yet it is a scourge, 

 and is to be feai'ed. The specific bacillus 

 that produces this malady is easily cultivat- 

 ed on most culture media, and so can not be 

 mistaken by the expert bacteriologist for the 

 other, which, we will see, is very different. 

 Cheyne's Bacillus alvei is the species that 

 causes this European foul bi'ood, and the one 

 that has been known in America, principal- 

 ly in New York, as "black brood." 



The other disease, American foul brood, is 

 the one that the most of us have known in 

 the States. This is the well-known ropy, 

 ill-smelling, elastic, not so contagious, but 

 more pertinacious disease, so well known to 

 many of us in the United States. Indeed, it 

 is the only form in many of the bee-keeping 

 sections of our country. That this species, 

 which Dr. White calls Bacillus larvce, is 

 quite distinct, is certain, not only from the 

 differences suggested above, but it is much 

 more difiicult to grow, as it will not develop 

 on most of the common cultures that are 

 familiar to bacteriologists. Dr. White found 

 that it did grow well on a culture medium 

 made from crushed bee larvte. This led him 

 to give it its specific name. Dr. White has 

 now some more data of great interest to give 

 us which will soon appear in print. I saw 

 cultures of this bacillus which were rank in- 

 deed. This work of Dr. White has been 

 criticised by some of our writers, but it would 

 not be wei'e they competent workers in this 

 held, or were they fully informed in the mat- 

 ter. There can be no doubt of these conclu- 

 sions, and they are of great value to us. We 

 may well rejoice that we have one so com- 

 petent to work in this line, and may look 



