132 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW, 



transfer all the inmates of the diseased col- 

 ony to a healthy home without the germs of 

 foul-brood being present in their bodies at 

 the moment the transfer is made. 



The best time, perhaps, to begin the work 

 is when ihe bees are getting plenty of honey 

 from natural sources. This, however, as will 

 be obvious to experts, is not absolutely 

 necessary ; but, assuming that the bees are 

 daily at work collecting honey from natural 

 sources I proceed thus : — 



(1)— I get a tube made four or five inches 

 long and about one inch in diameter at ore 

 ead, and about three-eights of an inch at the 

 other, and solder thereto, at the larger end. 

 at right angles, a piece of tin about two 

 inches square, having a hole cut through the 

 center, of i)roper size, to match ihe hole in 

 the tube. I have as many tubes made as 

 there are hives of foul- brood to be treated. 

 The tubes I use are made of perforated tin 

 and they cost me about five cents each by the 

 dozen, but common plain tin will answer 

 about as well. 



(2) — Now bore an inch hole through the 

 front end of the diseased hive and fasten a 

 tube over it by tacks driven through the four 

 corners of the flange. I make this hole near 

 the top of the brood chamber, or a few inches 

 above the bottom entrance of the hive. 



(3) — I now cage the queen of the diseased 

 colony and lay the cage upon the frames. I 

 prefer to do this near sundown and after the 

 bees are done flying for the day. 



(4)— The following morning I go to some 

 healthy colony aud select a comb of sealed 

 brood, with or without the adhering bees, 

 and place it in an empty hive and then fill 

 the same with frames and foundation. 



(5) — I now close the entrance to the dis- 

 eased colony so that no bees can get in or 

 out except through the tin tube, and then 

 move this colony off its stand to one side so 

 as to be within two to six inches of the old 

 stand, and fronting the same direction. I 

 now place upon the old stand the prepared 

 hive. I do this work so gently aud quickly 

 that the bees in the diseased colony do not 

 fill their bodies with honey. 



(G) — Towards sundown of the same day, 

 and after the bees are done flying, 1 take the 

 caged queen away and let her run into the 

 entrance of the new hive. No bees found 

 feeding the queen, or clustered upon the 

 cage should be taken away. 



All the work necessary for a month or 

 more is now done. In from 30 to (>0 days, as 

 must be apparent, all the bees in the diseased 

 colony will from day to day be transferred 

 to the new hive. 



Should a queen hatch meantime she too 

 will find herself excluded from the diseased 

 home in case she should leave it to mate. 



As soon as all the bees are gone out of the 

 diseased hive I then remove the same to 

 some room from which no bees can get out, 

 or any get in, and destroy the combs by tire, 

 or by melting into wax. If they contain 

 much good honey 1 save it. Should I find 

 any bees, destroy them at once. 



(7) — I now scrape the diseased hive and 

 burn up the refuse ; then paint the inside 

 with kerosene and set on fire. I do this, of 

 course, out-doors, and by dropping a piece 

 of burning paper inside, with the top of the 

 hive open. I watch the burning so as to keep 

 the inside from being charred. The fire 

 may at any stage be smothered out by plac- 

 a board over the top, or by turning the hive 

 over if it has a tight bottom. I expose the 

 hive a few days to the air so as to remove 

 any smell of kerosene and then supply it 

 with healthy combs or frames of foundation. 

 The hive is now as safe, in my opinion, to 

 use again as when new, for both the fire and 

 kerosene are powerful disinfectants — as good 

 at least as boiling water. Some claim that 

 it is unnecessary to disinfect the hive and 

 this may be true ; but, in any event, the dis- 

 infecting can do no harm. 



To conclude, as the Review is published 

 for advanced bee-keepers I do not deem it 

 necessary to go into details to explain tvhy 

 certain steps, as described, should be taken, 

 nor will I at this time attempt to point out 

 some modifications that might safely be 

 adopted and put into practice ; these will be 

 discovered perhaps without any aid from 

 me. But the bee-keeper of limited expe- 

 rience would, perhaps, better adhere as near 

 as possible to the instructions as herein 

 given. 



About a year ago I treated two foul broody 

 colonies in my apiary substantially as herein 

 described and to-day (April 30, 1894) in over- 

 hauling the same I find them both in good 

 condition and no trace of the disease in 

 either of them. 



St. Ciiaut.es, Ills. 



April 30, 1SS»4. 



