Texas Beekeeping. 125 



tinguished by the dense smoke that accumulates immediately, they 

 are left to go through a heating process, which increases the efficiency 

 of the treatment of the hives. All other apparatus, frames, tools, etc., 

 which may have come in contact with diseased colonies, or their hives, 

 should be carefully and thoroughly boiled in a solution of bichloride 

 of mercury, one part in one thousand parts of water. The hands of 

 the operator, and the tools *ised by him, should be washed in a like 

 solution. This solution is very poisonous, and must be used with 

 great care. It will corrode any metal with which it comes in contact, 

 and if used for washing such, it should be done quickly, and thor- 

 oughly rinsed ofiE with clean water at once. 



In apiaries where foul brood exists, starters of foundation are used 

 in preference to full sheets where the combs are repeatedly destroyed. 

 Any dried combs from diseased colonies may be rendered into bees- 

 wax in the usual manner, being careful at all times not to allow a 

 single bee to have access to them. Before such wax *s used for mak- 

 ing foundation, it should be subjected to continuous boiling, or to 

 live steam if such is handy, in order to kiU all spores of the disease, 

 which may otherwise be introduced into healthy colonies. Water, in 

 which diseased combs or wax have been soaked, should never be thrown 

 out without first thoroughly boiling the same, or killing the germs and 

 spores by adding bichloride of mercury, or the bees may gather up 

 the sweetened water and carry home the disease. 



A modified method of treatment from the one given may be fol- 

 lowed, in which case the combs of brood are not burned, but stacked 

 up in hive bodies by themselves and the brood allowed to emerge. 

 Only enough bees to "properly keep the brood warm are left in these 

 bodies, and all cracks and crevices are closed bee tight, and the en- 

 trance is reduced to only one bee space so that there may be no dan- 

 ger from robbing. This is one of the drawbacks of the method and, 

 therefore, is not advised, since the danger of spreading the disease 

 to other colonies by robber bees is too great, by far greater than the 

 little saving of brood that may be contained in the diseased brood 

 combs. In all cases where only a few colonies are concerned, the 

 best and surest method of eradicating the disease from the apiary is 

 to destroy the hives with their contents, combs and even the bees 

 themselves, in order not to run any risk of not stamping out the trou- 

 ble. This will remove all chance of further spread, and the fussing 

 and bother connected with the ordinary method will be obviated. 

 Since it does not pay to tamper with this disease, the most drastic 

 measures will give the best results in the end. 



OTHER DISEASES. 



Pickled Brood. This disease is far less destructive than, and not 

 as contagious as, foul brood, and is caused by a fungus growth, in- 

 stead of bacteria. The diseased larvae, sunken to the base of the cells, 

 are surrounded by a light colored viscid fluid which pickles them, 

 and seems to prevent most of them from becoming dark colored, al- 

 though some larvae become dark in color. Sometimes the disease 

 shows slightly in a colony and remains for a long time without any 



