THE BEE-KEEPRS' REVIEW. 



213 



foul brocKl, isn't there danger that bees 

 from our hives will "^rub away in these 

 old combs during each period scarcity? 

 I don't say that they a///, but there is 

 danger of it. Then, again, suppose that 

 the bees do get these oUl combs so well 

 cleaned up that there is no more tempta- 

 tion to grub in them, the next thing we 

 know is that some wandering swarm finds 

 this cavity and appropriates it. Then it 

 is the same old story over again. Bee- 

 trees containing combs infected with foul 

 brood, are a perpetual menace to the 

 apiaries in their vicinity. With such in- 

 fected trees in his vicinity, can a man get 

 rid of foul brood in his apiary, and hope 

 to keep it out? If so, how so? Mr. F. 

 L. Thompson, some time ago, recom- 

 mended the feeding of bees, in times of 

 scarcity, with honey or syrup that had 

 been medicated. The idea is that the 

 medicated honey would be mixed with 

 any infection that was brought in and 

 thus destroy it. There is no danger of bees 

 bringing home the infection during the 

 honey harvest; and thecjuestion is, can it 

 be successfully guardetl against in times 

 of scarcity ? Have there been any ex- 

 periments in this line? Of course, even 

 the exposure of ordinary food near the 

 apiary in times of scarcit\- would have a 

 tendency to keep the bees at home, but 

 it could not be depended upon entirely. 

 Who can tell us something definite about 

 this medicated feeding for the purpose 

 proposed ? 



KP*^*^***"*"^ 



BOILING FOUL HKOOnV HONEY. 



In Gleanings for June 15, its editor de- 

 fends his belief in the necessity for long 

 boiling of foul broody honey, by quoting 

 Mr. Cowan's view of the matter. I be- 

 lieve that Mr. Cowan and other scientists 

 have experimented with the spores of 

 foul brood by boiling them at 212°. So 

 far as I know, there have been no scien- 

 tific experiments made by boiling spores 

 in honey. I believe that Mr. Taylor was 

 the first one to call attention to the fact 

 that honey is a heavier licjuid than water. 



and requires a higher degree of heat to 

 bring it to the boiling point. Mr. Cowan 

 saj-s he thinks (italics mine) that Mr. 

 Root is justified in reconmiending a long 

 boiling of foul broody honey before feed- 

 ing it to the bees. I have great respect 

 for Mr. Cowan and his scientific abilities, 

 but I think that actual fads, like those re- 

 ported by Mr. Doolittle in this issue of the 

 Review, should be given preference over 

 the opiiiiojis even of scientists. For a 

 long time there has been an apparent 

 clash between scientists and the actual 

 facts regarding the length of time that it 

 was necessary to boil foul broody honey 

 to make it safe to feed it to bees. It 

 seems now as though one part of this 

 muddle was going to be cleared up. 

 Scientists have made their cultures from 

 foul brood, and then boiled them at 212°. 

 No one has seemed to think that honey 

 must be made hotter than water must be- 

 fore it will boil. This one fact may rec- 

 oncile the apparent inconsistency of the 

 whole affair. Scientists tell us that the 

 bees and the queen, and even the eggs 

 layed by a queen of a foul broody colony, 

 are infected; and I have seen with my 

 own eye a microscopic slide upon which 

 had been crushed an egg from a queen 

 taken from a foul broody colony, and it 

 showed traces of the desease. In spite of 

 all this, WiQ fact remains that by putting 

 the bees and queen of an infected colony 

 into a new hive and allowing them to 

 build their comb, no traces of the disease 

 appear. This apparent inconsistenc}- 

 may yet be explained as easily as the 

 boiling point has appa'-ently been ex- 

 plained. 



■«'«»^»»»^»* 



C.\TCH THE SI'IRIT OK TIIK TIMES. 



Perhaps I am a little peculiar. I am 

 quite given to following observation with 

 speculation, theorizing and moralizing 

 — to the drawing of lessons from very small 

 circumstances. If a man comes into this 

 town and staits in some business that is 

 really overdone, and actually proceeds to 

 take business right away from men who 



