ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



45 



any of that. In regard to brushingr 

 them, I don^t like to brush them ofH 

 the outside; you are liable to scatter 

 something on the ground. That is why 

 I like to shake them in their own hive; 

 the same beesi will get it back and 

 clean it up; if you shake them on the 

 outside, you are liable to shake some of 

 that stuff where some other bees will 

 get it; keep the bees in the hive until 

 everything is consumed. 



, Mr. Bowen — I would advise not to 

 shake them at all, but to brush them. 



President Kildow^ — To brush them I 

 like better; do it towards the close of 

 the evening, when the bees are rather 

 quiet and in their own hives. 



Mr. Stone — In answer to one thing 

 Mr. Bowen has named, when our foul 

 brood inspector was in, the first year 

 of service, I think it was, we went to 

 the expense of preparing boxes for bees 

 to be treated in, using formaldehyde, 

 and he said that was recommended by 

 some university or experiment sta- 

 tion, I won't be certain which, but it 

 never materialized; it didn't work out 

 for some reason, and I never asked 

 Mr. Smith why. 



Mr. Bowen — If there is a little some- 

 thing in the comb, it might destroy it. 



Mr. Stone — That is for treating 

 combs and hives. 



Mr. Bowen — ^I asked the question, in 

 using empty combs, I have always been 

 afraid to try it; that is the reason I 

 asked the question. 



Mr. Moore — ^In regard to the treat- 

 ment of formaldehyde, from what I 

 know of it, it is very doubtful if you 

 meet with success in its use unless you 

 have a special apparatus; and some- 

 thing that will keep the fumes in close- 

 ly; otherwise, it is doubtful if it will 

 have much effect. You take the spores 

 of foul brood — in a comb where they 

 are protected by honey — the formalin 

 gas won't penetrate that honey enough 

 to kill that spore. As I understand it, 

 this spore is not a germ; it is of vege- 

 table nature; it is not an animal or- 

 ganism. It takes different means to de- 

 stroy it; extreme cold does not affect 

 it. I don't think the formalin gas 

 would have a great deal of effect on 

 them, especially in combs where the 

 scale is dried down and adheres to the 

 wall. I don't believe formalin gas will 

 penetrate enough to kill those spores, 

 and if there is any honey in there that 

 will dissolve, the spores will grow up 



in the hohey and be fed. If you take 

 an upper story of combs that have 

 been used for extracting, never had 

 any brood in them at all; if they are 

 cleaned out perfectly dry and clean, 

 no honey left in them, the formalde- 

 hyde treatment might work, by putting 

 them in an air-tight box; it must be 

 an air-tight box, and give them several 

 hours of formalin gas, it might make 

 them safe, but the expense and trouble 

 would be all the combs would be 

 worth. 



Mr. Dadant — The European bee- 

 keepers had a great deal of experience 

 with foul brood before we did on this 

 side of the water. They used chemical 

 antiseptics, not generally to cure the 

 disease, but to prevent it. I heard one 

 gentleman here say you never can tell 

 when it will appear; it comes from 

 somewhere. Their aim, when they 

 have done away with the disease, is to 

 try to keep it from coming back, and 

 when they feed in the spring, 

 they put some antiseptics in the 

 food. It seems to be a common 

 custom to put chemicals in the honey 

 to feed to the bees. There is not any 

 doubt that the most of the disease 

 cojnes through the honey, although Mr. 

 Cheshire says he could not find the 

 bacilli in the honey. 



European foul brood has been de- 

 scribed in Europe, while American foul 

 brood has been described by Dr. White 

 at Washington; the only difference be- 

 tween the two is that one can be pro- 

 duced with beef broth, while the other 

 can only be produced by larvae of the 

 bees; that is what is called Bacillus 

 Larvae; Dr. White said it could not be 

 produced in any other way. 



The disease described by Cheshire 

 was found in the body of the bees as 

 well as in the combs, and they did not 

 find it in the honey. This disease, we 

 think, is what is now described as 

 European foul brood. The disease that 

 Dr. Miller had among his bees is Euro- 

 pean foul brood, and in spite of what 

 Cheshire might say, is evidently* trans- 

 mitted by the honey. 



Some say that it is not necessary to 

 disinfect the hives; this makes me feel 

 that something was left undone. If 

 you should not disinfect your hives, 

 then why wash your hands? I think 

 it is of some importance that we disin- 

 fect the hive. The method I recom- 

 mend is to use the blow-lamp; that 



