ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



21 



and they will draw out the foundation 

 and store the diseased honey which 

 they took with them from the old 

 combs'; on the fourth evening remove 

 the new combs made out of the start- 

 ers and give the bees full sheets of 

 comb foundation and feed plenty of 

 sugar syrup each evening until every 

 colony is in first-class order. Make 

 . the syrup out of granulated sugar, put- 

 ting one pound of water to every pound 

 of sugar, and bring it 'to a boil. As 

 previously stated, all the old comb 

 must be ■ burned or made into wax 

 and so must all new combs made dur- 

 ing the four days. No ool'ony is cured 

 of foul t)rood by the use of any drug." 



A. I. Root, of Medina, Ohio, says: 

 "The starvation plan in connection 

 with bumdng the comibs and frames 

 and boiling the hives has worked the 

 best in treatfng foul brood. It never 

 appeared after such 'treatment, though 

 it did in some cases w^here hives were 

 honey-stained and not boiled, thus con- 

 firming the theory or fact of spores." 



All the difference from the McEvoy 

 treatment that I practice is this: I 

 dig a deep pit on level ground near 

 t'he diseased apiary, and after getting 

 a fire in the pit such diseased combs, 

 frames, etc., as are to be burned are 

 iburned in this pit in the evening, and 

 then the fresh earth from the pit re- 

 turned to cover all from sight. Often 

 I use some kerosene oil, a little at a 

 time being poured on old brood- combs 

 or those having much honey in, as 

 they are hard to burn. If diseased 

 combs w^ith honey in are burned on 

 the surface of the soil there is great 

 danger; the honey when heated a lit- 

 tle will run like water on the soil, and 

 in the morning the robber -bees will 

 be busy taking home the diseased 

 honey that was not heated enough to 

 kill germs of foul brood. 



I also cage the queen while the bees 

 are on the five or six strips of founda- 

 tion. It helps to keep the colony from 

 deserting the hive and going to other 

 colonies. 



R. L. Taylor, Michigan University 

 experimental apiary, reports. "The 

 plans that the colony be shaken out 

 into another hive after being allowed 

 to build! comb for four days, I have 

 proven in 100 cases to be unnecessary." 

 / In Wisconsin, I, too, have cured sev- 

 eral cases by the one transferring, 

 ' when honey was not coming in very 

 freely, but it is better, and a great 

 saving of time to both bees and own- 



er, to exchange in three or four days 

 those foundation starters, for full 

 sheets of foundation. Diseased brood- 

 com'bs, and those with honey in, if 

 melted in a sun or solar extractor, 

 the wax, honey or residue is not hot 

 enough to kill germs of foul brood. 

 This I have proven by several exper- 

 ments. It must be boiled and well 

 stirred while boiling to be safe. 



I do not believe in, or practice, burn- 

 ing any property, such as ihives, bees, 

 beeswax or honey that can be safely 

 treated and saved. Many times it is 

 poor economy to save all, and as so 

 many bee-keepers are not so situated 

 as to keep all diseased material from 

 robber-bees while taking care of it, the 

 best and only safe way is to -burn the 

 diseased combs and frames. 



Utah. 



Utah has county inspectors, and 

 from one who has remarkable success 

 I copy the report of his method of 

 treatment: 



"Wherever found, it should be dealt 

 with earnestly and with dispatch. If 

 the colony is weak, I recommend 

 smothering the bees, and in order to 

 do this without letting a bee escape 

 take a tablespoonful of sulphur and 

 place it in the hive entrance of the 

 hives; if there is any breeze, turn the 

 hive so it will ,blow in the entrance. 

 Then fire the sulphur and it will soon 

 kill the bees. This should be done 

 early in the morning before any of the 

 bees are flying, as one bee escaping 

 from the hive might carry the disease 

 to any colony with which it may take 

 up its abode. If the colony is a strong 

 one, I would keep the entrance partly 

 closed so as to prevent any other bees 

 from getting in. Then as soon as fruit 

 blossoms come out so the bees can ob- 

 tain honey I treat them. I procure an 

 empty box of any kind so it is clean, 

 then find the queen, put her in a screen 

 wire cage which is easily made. Take 

 a small piece of screen, roll it up and 

 tie a string around either end, cork up 

 one • end, then place the queen and a 

 few workers for company in the cage 

 and place in the other end cork. Put 

 same in this ibox and shake all the bees 

 out of their hive into this box. This 

 must be done in the evening when no 

 bees are flyii^. Keep the queen in 

 this ibox 24 to 48 hours, allowing the 

 bees to fly in and out as they please. 

 Next take a clean .hive with good 

 healthy combs oi? foundation and shake 



