AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



803 



that the spores of bacillus alvel were not 

 killed by an exposure of 2 minutes to 

 212^, but that they were killed by an 

 exposure of 4 minutes to that tempera- 

 ture," the experiments having been 

 conducted with moist heat, and quoting 

 the conclusion of Koch and Wolffhuegel, 

 that " bacillus spores require, for their 

 destruction in hot air, a temperature of 

 284^ F., maintained for 3 hours," Mr. 

 Corneil adds : 



" It is now clear that Mr. Dadant, and 

 others, who contend that a temperature 

 of 140oto 212° is sufficient to sterilize 

 wax, are mistaken." And further : 

 " From all that seems to be known at 

 present, wax kept at from 284=^ to 

 290O for 3 hours, might be sent out 

 without any qualms of conscience (italics 

 are mine) as to its being the means of 

 spreading foul-brood." 



In answer, I will say that Mr. Corneil 

 has made a great mistake in thinking 

 that wax melted with water, as we do, is 

 heated in hot air. During the melting, 

 and long before the boiling of the water, 

 we see the steam produced passing 

 through the melted wax. Our object in 

 melting wax with water, is to wet all 

 particles of extraneous matter, to get 

 rid of them. These particles, when 

 soaked with water, are heavier than 

 liquid wax, and even the smallest and 

 lightest substances sink to the bottom. 



Sometimes we find bits of paper, which, 

 soaked with wax, are so transparent 

 that it seems impossible to separate the 

 two substances, yet when our cakes of 

 wax are cold, we find the paper altogether 

 clear of wax. Suppose that, instead of 

 paper, we have a spore of foul-brood, 

 will this spore remain dryer than the 

 paper? Consequently, we are right 

 when we hold that all the spores of foul- 

 brood are killed by the temperature of 

 boiling water, since we maintain this 

 temperature in our boiler for more than 

 4 minutes. 



Besides, although we have certainly 

 worked wax from foul-broody combs by 

 the thousand pounds, and as our bees, 

 which have free access to our wax bins, 

 and to the barrels in which we put the 

 refuse of our meltings, have never been 

 affected with foul-brood, can we not, 

 without any qualms of conscience, con- 

 tinue to manufacture comb-foundation 

 by the same methods that we have used 

 so far ? 



In calling our attention to this preju- 

 dice, as it is entertained by some bee- 

 keepers, Mr. Corneil has done a service 

 to our community ; for it seems that I 

 have well demonstrated that foul-brood 



cannot be scattered by comb-foundation, 

 as the beeswax is sufficiently heated. 

 Chas. Dadant. 



Mr. M. H. Hunt sends us the following 

 in reply to Mr. Corneil : 



All of ray beeswax is now refined in a 

 wooden tank, and the steam goes directly 

 into it, which must raise the temperature 

 to a very high point — so much so, that 

 after shutting off the steam the wax will 

 remain liquid all night. It is necessary 

 to have the steam go directly into the 

 wax to heat it above the boiling point. 

 Water cannot be heated above the boiling 

 point, unless it is confined. This great 

 heat kept up through the day, and again 

 remelting the wax to sheet, must, 

 according to Mr. Corneil's own figuring, 

 be all that is necessary to destroy the 

 germs. M. H, Hunt. 



Mr. E. R. Root gives his views of the 

 matter, and replies to Mr. Corneil In 

 the following words : 



Mr. Corneil is, I think, magnifying a 

 mole hill into a mountain. All history 

 of foundation making, and its use, is 

 against his argument as above stated. 

 Permit me to say that I have tried the 

 experiment repeatedly, of putting foun- 

 dation, made from diseased combs, into 

 our hives, and I never noticed any 

 disease that ought to have developed 

 later, according to Mr. Corneil's argu- 

 ment. Has our Canadian friend tried 

 the experiment himself ? 



In the next to the last paragraph he 

 intimates that the wax should be kept at 

 a temperature of 284^ or 290° for three 

 hours, before running into foundation. 

 Does not Mr. Corneil know that this 

 would very nearly ruin wax for founda- 

 tion m'aking ? Experiments in our own 

 factory have shown that we could not go 

 much above the boiling point. If I am 

 correct, Mr. Corneil's remedy, then, is 

 beyond the reach of application. 



Our friend makes a distinction between 

 dry heat and moist heat for killing germs. 

 I have no doubt he is right ; but I some- 

 what question his grounds, that melted 

 wax has only a dry heat effect upon any 

 possible germs that may be present in it. 



I do not say that this is so — I simply 

 raise the question. If this is true, it 

 will not disprove the figures which Mr. 

 Corneil gives from the eminent scien- 

 tists whom he quotes, nor will it prove 

 that foundation may be the means of 

 propagating foul-brood; because, if 211o 

 is sufficient to sterilize wax at a moist 

 heat, then we apprehend no danger. 



