1883 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



171 



them to quit that (to me) very unpleasant occupa- 

 tion. I was expecting- from day to day that they 

 would gather enough to live on, iC not more, from 

 the fields, and so neglected feedinj^ as I ought; hut 

 in the future I can assure you I shall not be caught 

 so again, but shall feed right straight through a 

 season of dearth, and thus be on the safe side. 



Now. in the matter of killing drones I am sure, in 

 my own case, the cause was the bees being complete- 

 ly demoralized by the honey - dearth. The past 

 season was the poorest we have ever had here in 

 Maine, and I hope we may never have another such. 



James B. Mason. 



Mechanic Falls. Me., March, 1883. 



Thank you, friend M. Since you mention 

 it, I have seen a similar case, when a whole 

 apiary was thus demoralized by a prolonged 

 dearth of honey. I, too, am resolved to feed 

 hereafter, always, when the bees can fly, and 

 no honey is to be had. The great yields 

 that have been reported from apiaries fed 

 through the dearth of last season, ought to 

 satisfy us all of the great importance of feed- 

 ing when it is needed. 



POLL BROOD IN GERITIAIW. 



ALSO SOMETHING ABOUT FOUL BROOD IN OUR OWN 

 COUNTRY. 



/^»VNE of my German papers brings me the fol- 

 IIJj)) lowing, which may be of interest to you: 



— The German Reichstag has enacted a law 

 which is to be enforced on and from July 1, 1883, in- 

 flicting a fine of ICO marks ($25.00), or imprisonment 

 for one month, on any one who (1) gives away or 

 sells colonies, hives, frames, or combs, infected 

 with foul brood; (2) who expases knowingly, on his 

 stand or elsewhere, infected colonies, hives, frames, 

 or combs; (3) who does not remove out of reach of 

 bees, or disinfect completely all such infected hives, 

 frames, or combs, on discoverj\ 



France, Italy, and Germany have had for years 

 their severe trials and disappointments with foul 

 brood. From there it spread to our country. They 

 alwas's had industrious and intelligent bee-keepers 

 as well as able scientists to discover the nature of 

 the disease, and to apply curative remedies. They 

 differ materially with our friend Jones, who thinks 

 the starving process a suflQcient remedy. 



A PROPOSED TEST EXPERIMENT. 



You will please keep Prof. Cook reminded that I 

 shall send him a colony of bees infected with foul 

 brood as early in spring as I can get my stands 

 strong. If I have no foul brood myself, I shall know 

 where to get it, and infect a colony. You will re- 

 member that Prof. Cook agreed, at our Cincinnati 

 Convention, to cure a colony of foul brood by the 

 starving process, if he can, under directions of our 

 friend Jones. The wager of $50.00 between brother 

 Jones and me has a twofold benefit, as it will ad- 

 vance science, and be added to the Langstrothfund. 

 We could intrust the matter to no fairer nor better 

 hands than those of Mr. Cook. 



If our German brethren are correct, it is clear 

 that Mr. Bingham knew nothing about foul brood 

 when he explained that only by the introduction of 

 worker bees, and not by that of the queen, we could 

 introduce foul brood. Chas. F. Muth. 



Cincinnati, O., March 19, 1883. 



A COUPLE OF BEE - MEN IN TROUBIiE. 



DO THEY BELONG IN BL.ASTED HOPES? 



y FIND, on looking over last Gleanings, that the 

 Jfi|[ column for Blasted Hopes looks neglected. 



' Now, I have enough interest left in Gleanings 

 to wish to see all its various departments in a flour- 

 ishing condition. I never expected to be in Blasted 

 Hopes, but here I am. 



I began bee-keeping some six or seven years ago 

 with about a quart of bees for a start. My progress 

 was slow for some time; but when I saw the first 

 copy of Gleanings I got the bee-fever, and I pushed 

 matters pertaining to bee culture accordingly. I 

 now have forty colonies, and have always labored 

 to make my bees pay as I went along, in honey and 

 not in increase of swarms. My success in wintering 

 has been good, having never lost a swarm. But on 

 the 2d day of March of the present year my fever 

 burned out and left me shivering. Neighbor Thomp- 

 son, a brother bee-keeper, and myself went on said 

 day for a load of lumber for hives. The recent thaw 

 had made the roads somewhat muddy, and we each 

 put a team on the wagon so as to haul a good load. 

 All went well till, on our way home, about dusk we 

 arrived at Bureau Creek bridge, a structure 210 ft. 

 long, in three spans. The stream was much swollen 

 from the melting ice and snow, and resembled an 

 angry flood, roaring and tearing under the bridge 

 and over the banks below. As we were crossing 1 

 said to Thompson, " What a good thing it is to have 

 a good bridge like this, for no one could crogs such a 

 stream as that without." 



I had hardly said this when the middle spaa on 

 which we were gave way, and we with our four 

 horses and wagonload of lumber went crashing down 

 into the boiling and rushing torrent below. Friend 

 T. was thrown upon the horses, but managed to 

 scramble back on the load, which was buoyed up by 

 the water. I was thrown into the water, and went 

 down, down; but by vigorous paddling I reached the 

 top. T., who had the whip, held the lash out to me, 

 and as I took hold of it he drew me to the lumber, 

 and I climbed upon it. We now floated down the 

 current, and that, too, very rapidlj', crying loudly 

 for help. 



We could see our horses rolling over and over, 

 and vainly struggling in the seething water near us. 

 We floated down 40 or 50 rods, when friend T. struck 

 the roots of a tree lying in midstream ; but I went 

 some ten rods further with my part of the raft, 

 which then struck a snag, and 1 jumped upon it and 

 let the raft go. The snag stuck up out of water on- 

 ly a few inches, and was so small that I could sit 

 down only by putting my feet in the water. Here I 

 sat for over two long weary hours, momentai-ily ex- 

 pecting to be swept off by some huge cake of ice or 

 log of driftwood. My clothing was wet through and 

 through with ice water, and I was so cold that I had 

 to shut my jaws tight to keep my teeth from chat- 

 tering. 



Could you blame me for wishing that the bees 

 were at the bottom of the Red Sea, or at the mercy 

 of this raging torrent, which now threatened my 

 life? We were finally rescued by courageous men 

 in a boat, our wet clothing exchanged for dry, our 

 chilled and stiffened limbs rubbed and warmed, and 

 our drooping spirits gladdened by the joyous greet- 

 ings of our friends. Our horses were all drowned. 

 My team was a valuable one — my main stay in run- 



