THE AMERICANS BEE JOURNAL. 



599 



aratored plans, is because we are 

 obliged to put on just such an 

 amount of surplus room, or none. 

 This amount is generally too much on 

 the first start, and tends to discourage 

 the bees, rather than invite them into 

 the sections. With the wide frame 

 plan, as above, the amount of room 

 can be guaged to the want of the bees 

 every time, giving a range of from 5 

 to 65 pounds. 



For the past two years I have been 

 trying top-storing on the lateral plan, 

 instead of by tiering up, and 1 must 

 confess that so far I am very much 

 pleased with it — so much so that I am 

 thinking of giving up the side comb- 

 building part entirely. The plan of 

 working is to put on a small amount 

 of room at first, the most of which is 

 sections filled with comb. This with 

 the contraction system gets the bees 

 into the sections with the very first of 

 the honey-flow, and entirely prevents 

 the crowding of the queen with honey 

 in the brood-chamber. As soon as 

 the wide frames of sections first put 

 on are partly full, place more at both 

 sides of these, or enough room to last 

 until the first are finished. When 

 any are full, take out by the wide 

 frame, and bring the partly filled ones 

 to the centre, adding empty room at 

 the sides of the partly-filled sections. 

 In this way I have secured splendid 

 results with as little labor as any of 

 the known plans can boast of. 



Borodino,© N. Y. 



British Bee Journal. 



Foul Brood & Dead Brood— Difference. 



S. SIMMINS. 



Again and again this subject crops 

 up, and one hears of whole districts 

 plagued with the dreaded malady. 

 Dreaded, I say, because it is now, and 

 ever will be, a dark cloud hanging 

 over our industry, when we consider 

 what a number of bee-keepers there 

 are who cannot, or do not care to take 

 the trouble to put a stop to it. 



Was not Mr. Cheshire's remedy to 

 drive the scourge from all apiaries V 

 and did we not hail his discoveries 

 with rejoicing ? Yet why is it so few 

 have been able to cure by the phenol 

 treatment, and others report that it is 

 of no usey The present state of 

 things shows that either the treat- 

 ment is not carried out as Mr. 

 Cheshire has advised, or else that he 

 himself overlooked some factor which 

 gave him an advantage ; while his 

 followers have been unable to grasp 

 the entire subject in consequence of 

 this one point not being brought be- 

 fore their notice. The fact is, my 

 esteemed friend does appear to have 

 overlooked a matter of the greatest 

 importance which gave him a de- 

 cided advantage over those who 

 attempt to follow him. 



It will be remembered that Mr. 

 Cheshire had a very badly diseased 

 colony provided for experiment, and 

 it is in just such a state that many 

 allow their colonies to get before 

 they become aware of the trouble. 

 But note this : there were very few 



bees and no queen. And what did 

 Mr. Cheshire do ? He gave them a 

 young healthy queen and two frames 

 of clean brood. Why, reader, here 

 was health to start with, and then by 

 feeding constantly with medicated 

 syrup, the operator would have it all 

 his own way. 



The healthy bees would have little 

 trouble in removing the disinfected 

 foul brood, as I am aware from the 

 fact that under certain conditions the 

 original inhabitants will clear out the 

 filth without it bein^ disinfected. 

 During my own experience some ten 

 or twelve years since, I found that a 

 populous colony would throw out 

 every vestige of diseased brood, if 

 the queen were removed. I have also 

 found since, where any bees happened 

 to be brought having the disease, that 

 by removing the queen and inserting 

 a queen-cell (from a clean colony) on 

 the point of hatching, every particle 

 of the putrid matter has been re- 

 moved by the time the young queen 

 was ready to breed ; the disease again 

 appearing, but with less virulence, 

 until medicine was given. 



It will be readily seen, therefore, 

 that where a bad case will not give 

 way all the time, the original queen is 

 allowed to continue, a change to a 

 young and vigorous mother will im- 

 part energy and determination to the 

 workers, and then Mr. Cheshire's 

 remedy will never fail. 



Where the bees are so reduced as to 

 be unfit for brood-rearing, of course 

 they are not worth the addition of a 

 new queen and more bees or brood, 

 but should be immediately smoth- 

 ered, and the combs burned or re- 

 duced to wax. On the other hand, it 

 will probably be found that when a 

 colony is not very badly Infected, the 

 feeding of phenolated syrup, or its 

 Injection into the cells when the bees 

 will not take it, will be found effec- 

 tual without removing the queen. 

 Another point which appears to have 

 escaped notice is, that all sealed 

 honey must be uncapped and like- 

 wise disinfected, or the disease is 

 likely to reappear from time to time. 

 Where there is much sealed honey, 

 uncap a portion only at a time, and if 

 possible do not contaminate the ex- 

 tractor. 



What is done should be done thor- 

 oughly, and experiments left to be 

 carried out by those who can afford 

 the time, and have nothing to fear 

 from risk of infection. 



Mr. Ward, of Highgate, when visit- 

 ing my apiary, stated that he failed 

 to cure with "phenol until the original 

 queens were removed from his in- 

 fected hives, and others from a clean 

 colony inserted. Notwithstanding, 

 therefore, that Mr. Cheshire consid- 

 ered it a great disadvantage to have 

 received his diseased colony without 

 a queen, it was the one thing that en- 

 sured success, in that he gave a 

 healthy queen as well as clean brood. 



It would appear, therefore, that 

 when a queen is badly diseased, the 

 phenol treatment does not renovate 

 her impaired constitution. The 

 workers probably are cured by taking 

 the medicated food ; but just here Is 

 the point : Does the queen, or does 



she not, receive the phenol in the 

 food prepared for her by the workers? 

 Perhaps Mr. Cheshire will pursue his 

 investig:ations further, and benefit us 

 all by giving some definite informa- 

 tion upon this point. 



That phenol is a cure for foul brood 

 is certain ; that it gives health to the 

 workers appears equally true ; and 

 that in the future it will prove ef- 

 fectual in every case, I feel convinced, 

 if the queen is superseded when the 

 disease does not at first give way. 



DEAD BROOD. 



That foul brood is often confused 

 with simple dead brood, I am well 

 aware. The latter I have observed 

 occasionally, and have never allowed 

 it in any way to interfere with neces- 

 sary manipulations, such as uniting, 

 queen-rearing, etc., as I have no fear 

 of communicating disease. At pres- 

 ent I am unaware of any cause for 

 this, unless it be weakness of the 

 (jueen, as by inserting a fresh one, all 

 is cleared out, while no more is 

 found, and no medicine is necessary. 



How to distinguish between the 

 two : In some respects the two are 

 similar, much of the larvse turning 

 rotten, and of a dark color, while the 

 bees seem unable to remove such as 

 is in that state, until the weak queen 

 is taken away. Nevertheless, some 

 of the matter being placed under the 

 microscope, Mr. Cheshire was unable 

 to find the slightest trace of disease. 



But that every bee-keeper may de- 

 cide for himself without the aid of a . 

 microscope, which is the genuine foul 

 brood and which not, I will show how 

 I have always been able to detect the 

 difference. With simple dead brood, 

 while some may appear like the foul 

 disease, much of the older brood 

 dries up to a white cinder, in many 

 cases retaining its orginal form,which 

 I have never found to occur when 

 genuine foul brood is present. Chilled 

 brood can be distinguished from the 

 more serious malady in like manner. 



Rottingdean, England. 



For the American Bee JoumaL 



Making Honey-Vinesar. 



W. G. FISH. 



Editor Bee Journal.— You would 

 confer a favor on perhaps more than 

 one if you would publish all the really 

 practical articles and directions on 

 making " honey-vinegar." Get them 

 all in a condensed form In one issue. 



Ithaca,? N. Y., Sept. 6. 1887. 



[As requested, we have summarized 

 the matter on making honey-vinegar 

 and present it in a condensed form 

 below.— Ed.] 



THE MUTH SIETHOD. 



When making vinegar, one must 

 know that water will turn into vinegar 

 providing it contains the necessary 

 quantity of sugar, and is exposed to 

 fresh air and a warm temperature. 

 The warmer the temperature and the 

 better the circulation of air, the sooner 

 vinegar forms. A barrel is laid down. 



