36 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 



PKOVED." I would have given it a more fanciful 

 narae, but I was afraid some of tliese patent-right-men 

 uiljtht come down on me like a nighthawk on a June 

 bug, for damages, for they have got all the handsome 

 names, yon know, and I don't feel f(uite sure that I 

 haven't stuck my foot in it now. I'd write it in Greek, 

 Just to balk 'em, only 1 don't know how. Siib rasa, 

 I have every winter for five years past, got up an /»;- 

 proved hive, have got one on the stocks this winter. 



In the good old days of the scythe and snath, no 

 two would agree as to the hang of the thing. One 

 wanted Ms scythe to hang out, the other wanted it in, 

 nibs were too far apart or too near together, and so 

 On ; but when all the tinkering and fdiug was done, 

 the happy fellow cocked his snath on end, gave his 

 whetstone a clattering stroke on the scythe, which 

 mrant "you can't cut my corners," and away he went. 



The above hardly needs an application. The man 

 who succeeds and likes his hive, has got the best one. 

 let him keep it, alter and tinker it as much as he 

 pleases, and be hajjpy ! Now friend Novice, as r have 

 iound one kind of hive for which so many have been 

 looking, suppose you get some one to look up the 

 "non-swarmer" hive. I am willing to liclj) with my 

 ddvice and— and moral support, but wouldn't put any 

 money in it ! Suppose you get that fellow who can 

 •stand a ladder on end and lean it against nothing, 

 climb to the top and haul the ladder up after him— let 

 him bring along his seven leagued boots, he'll need 

 "em bad— give him carfc blanche and have him start at 

 Once You'll see him back the first day in April, I 

 reckon, looking thinner than the man who dieted 

 himself on the broth of cod-fishes' tails for a month. 

 There, I feel better, unanimously ! 



FRAMES. 



I have been cudgeling my brains to find out a way 

 Qf placing frames in the hive otherwise than by hang- 

 ing by ends of top bars. I want them without ears or 

 projectii ns of any luml—traitt them for end and top 

 gathering hives. Of course the frames will be open 

 and with the side to the entrance. I know of Mr. 

 Quinby'3 way, but can not something be devised bet- 

 ter? They should be so arranged that when top 

 boxes arc oil', the frames can be removed the same as 

 the hanging frames. Is there such a frame ? Who 

 <ian tell ? If there is not, some one ought to immor- 

 talize himself with Langstroth by inventing one. 

 Let us hear all about it through Gleanings. 



11. H. Mellen, Amboy, Ills., Jan. 9th, 1S77. 

 We have puzzled our brains over the same 

 problem in regard to frames, especially when 

 we wanted to take out the lower frames from 

 our chaff hive, without removing all the upper 

 Oues. There are ways of doing it, but all, so 

 far, are too complicated and expensive. 



[From the Biencn Zeitanf/, Ililbert, author.] 



THE CURE OF FOBJE R^iitttt BY MEANS 

 OF SAL,ICYL,IC ACID. 



IsrfJJ NCLOSE D is a translation of a German essay on 

 ./Oa'l j Srilicylic acid, which has made some stir in 

 European bee circles. I will send you another 

 goon, on milk syrup as a substitute for pollen in the 

 i?pring. I think your readers will like to know what 

 subjects are engaging attention over here. 



J. r. Jackson. 



Percy House, Tottenham, London, Jan. id, '77. 



The question which I shall consider in this essay is: 

 *-Oan any system of curing iulected stocks be sirapli- 

 licd without endangering its succoss ?" The mode of 

 treatment f advised at our last Congress was as fol- 



lows : Put 2 oz. of crystalized salicylic acid into a 

 bottle containing 1 lb. (8 times tlie amount by weight) 

 of spirits of wine and after shaking it well up, cork 

 the bottle and put this "salicylic-spirit" away for use 

 as required. Confine the stock to be operated upon 

 to very few frames, (joining several stocks, if they are 

 not strong) then spray tlie bees, combs and hive with 

 a solution of 28 drops of the salicylic-spirit to every 

 oiTnce of water, taking care that the water is warm, 

 (00—5)0° Fahrenheit) and the spirits well mixed with 

 it. Then go over the combs and dip to the bottom 

 of each diseased cell a very small wooden spoon, 

 filling it each time with a solution of spirit and warm 

 water in ecjual proportions. This proceeding should 

 be repeated every week, till a cure is effected, not 

 omitting now and then of an evening to spray all 

 alighting boards in the apiary with the weak solu- 

 tion. The stock should also be fed with disinfect- 

 ing honey or sugar syrup, in the proportion of 30— 50 

 drops of the spirit to each gill of syrup. 



I now recommend a simplified method, which I will 

 call the "hospital cure." By adoiiting it, the above 

 use of the spoon is no longer necessary, except in 

 such case as, the following instructions having been 

 adopted, the bees should leave single cells nn- 

 cleansed. This treatment liowever should only be 

 pursued in preference to the flrtt when the stocks 

 to be operated upon are strong in bees. 



Take all the brood combs, with sufficient young 

 bees to cover and nurture the brood, from the in- 

 fecteil stocks, and place in an empty hive ; it will 

 take the brood of 3 to 6 stocks to fill one of these 

 "hospital hives.'' The latter and also the original 

 stocks should now be thoroughly sprayed with the 

 weak solution and they should be fed with the dis- . 

 infecting syrup. If the original stocks contain combs 

 of honey, they should be removed and after being well 

 disinfected may safely be given to healthy hives. 

 The spraying to be repeated at least every 3 days 

 and the food administered daily. As these hospital 

 hives do not possess a queen, the bees have not a 

 constant fresh growth of brood to attend to, but the 

 thousands of young bees, which daily emerge have 

 only to care for the original brood and to clean out 

 the infected cells. This cleansing of the cells may 

 be quietly waited for and only if after about a week, 

 single capped foid-broody cells are to be seen here 

 and there, should the bees be assisted witli the 

 spoon after the manner already detailed. 



V>'hen the brood is at last quite liealthy again, 

 that is to say, when no more foul-broody cells ap- 

 pear, it can be left to tlie bee-master whether he 

 will give the hospital hive a queen, will let it swarm, 

 or will give back the brood that is not yet emerged, 

 to the original stocks. 



It has occurred within my experience that the 

 queen of a foul-broody hive, from being fed with 

 the juices of dead larv:e has become so permeated 

 with the virus, that even her eggs have contained 

 micrococci, the germs of the disease. In such a case 

 the best course to pursue is to destroy the queen 

 and replace her by a healthy one. 



It will save considerable fatigue if you obtain at a 

 chemist's a spray-difl'user fitted with an India-rub- 

 ber ball which on being i)ressed supplies the wind, 

 which would otherwise have to be produced by the 

 lungs. 



Thymol in tlic proportion of 31 drops of the spirit 

 to 2 oz. of warm water may be used externally in 

 place of salicylic acid, but it must on no account 

 bo given internally. 



1 have also tried carbolic acid, but fmd il 'a of no 



