182 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REV IE ^ 



able to have sacrificed all the brood and had 

 the treatment performed at the opening of 

 the honey flow. 



These colonies have been kept distinct 

 from the other colonies of the apiary and 

 carefully watched for evidence for or against 

 the effectiveness of the plan of treatment 

 used. The result so far is that all are entire- 

 ly free of the disease at this writing, May 

 25th, 18i)(>, unless one be excepted, in which 

 were found two cells of dead brood which 

 bore some resemblance to that affected with 

 the disease and which it is barely 'possible 

 may yet prove to be an incipient stage of 

 of foul brood, but should this be the case so 

 much time has elapsed since the treatment 

 it is extremely improbable that it had its 

 source in the case of the disease with which 

 the colony was afflicted before treatment. 

 For a full description of the disease and the 

 above method of cure I must refer to my 

 report for the year ending May aist, 1894, 

 ( see Review for Feb 18114. ) 



Other methods of cure have been, or are 

 still, recommended. The fasting cure, so- 

 called from its requirement that the bees 

 be shut up in a box till the hooey carried 

 with them is consumed and individual bees 

 begin to drop from hunger, I experimented 

 with extensively at one time and found that 

 while it has no advantage in any particular 

 over the method I now recommend it is sub- 

 ject to several weighty objections. The 

 method of cure by the adminstration of 

 drugs once recommended by high authority 

 is not practical even if it ever really effected 

 a cure and yet drugs have a place in the 

 management of the disease. To prevent 

 the spread of the infection when opening 

 the hives and handling the combs of col- 

 onies having the disease, Benton recom- 

 mends a solution of one-eighth ounce of 

 corrosive sublimate in one gallon of water 

 to be used to wash thoroughly the hands 

 and all tools used about the hive before open- 

 ing another hive. If for any reason the 

 treatment of a colony must be delayed I 

 have found a preparation of I4 oz. of salicyl- 

 ic acid disolved in one oz. of alcohol and 

 well mixed in one pint of water and this 

 added to rather thin syrup or honey for 

 feeding at the rate of one pint to four quarts 

 &nd then given freely to the colony has a 

 surprising effect upon the disease and the 

 bees in thoroughly checking — not curing — 

 the former and increasing the prosperity of 

 the latter. One part of carbolic acid or 



phenol bo about six hundred parts of such 

 food, syrup or honey is recommended for 

 the same purpose. It is reasonable to sup- 

 pose that if this sort of feeding prevents the 

 increase of the disease within the hive, as it 

 certainly does, it would certainly prevent its 

 spread to other colonies — a very desirable 

 thing. 



It is of the highest importance that every 

 one who keeps bees should become thorough- 

 ly acquainted with the characteristics of the 

 disease under consideration in so far as that 

 acquaintance may be had from the descrip- 

 tions of those who have had experience with 

 it, that he may recognize it at once if it 

 should invade his domain. Prompt efforts 

 on its first appearance would be by far the 

 most effective. Especially should every col- 

 ony lacking in activity or any other sign of 

 waning prosperity be carefully examined. 

 On the first appearance of the scourge, be- 

 fore the honey containing the spores is scat- 

 tered through the apiary by robbing or 

 careless handling, it should be stamped out 

 by the most thorough measures. This will 

 be found the cheapest course. Burning 

 utterly every affected colony at this stage, 

 hive, combs, and bees, letting no bee escape, 

 will in the end be more profitable than a 

 good crop of honey with traces of the dis- 

 ease retained. In connection the antiseptic 

 food preparation hereinbefore described 

 should be adminstered freely to every colony 

 and every attention given to the destruction 

 of every particle of the virus. If by ignor- 

 ance, robbing, or carelessness, many colo- 

 nies have become affected, then curative 

 measures would probably be preferable, but 

 no less care in mastering directions and in- 

 telligence and energy in applying them 

 should be exercised than though there were 

 a prospect of the immediate eradication of 

 the disease by more drastic measures. 



Lapeeb, Mich. May 26. 189C. 



The Dealers' Right to be. 



E. T. ABBOTT. 



T is popular just now to write learnedly ( ? ) 

 and vigorously of the " useless middle- 

 men, " the "non-producers, " the class who 

 get their living without effort off of the 

 "real producer." So much has been said 

 along this Une that a thoughtful dealer 

 is sometimes led to stop and ask him- 



