304 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 



stronger — I mean eact individual bee is stronger — when well 

 wintered outdoors than when wintered in the usual close cel- 

 lar, and I think there will be that same strength when wintered 

 in a cellar with a furnace and a full supply of outdoor air. 



EUROPEAN FOUL BROOD. 



, In the year 1907 a number of cells of dead brood were 

 found in colony No. 13. I cannot now be certain of it, but I 

 think a few such dead brood had been seen a year or two pre- 

 viously. A large cherry orchard in easy range of my bees had 

 been sprayed before the blossoms had fallen, and it was easy 

 to believe that the poison sprayed on these blossoms was ac- 

 countable for the dead brood. Nothing was done about it, and 

 No. 13 turned out to be one of the best in the apiary. In 1908 

 I think some cells of dead brood were found in two colonies. 

 The season was good, and no attention was paid to it, the idea 

 still being that the poisonous spray was the cause of the 

 trouble. 



Beginning with the year 1909 I decided to give up the 

 last out-apiary (the Wilson), and keep all colonies in the home 

 apiary. When I found out later what was before me I was 

 thankful that all were in a single apiary. Diseased brood was 

 found to such an extent and in so many colonies that I sent a 

 sample to Dr. E. F. Phillips at Washington. Back came the 

 report that European foul brood was the thing I had to deal 

 with. I do not know how many colonies were diseased at the 

 opening of the season, but I do KHow that we had been doing 

 our very best to spread the disease throughout the whole 

 apiary by indiscriminate exchanging of combs of brood. 



It was fairly along in the season when I got the word 

 from Washington, and here is what I had to face : A season of 

 dearth, there being a dead failure of the early honey floM' ; 

 bees in about 150 hives, counting nuclei and all, and only 22 of 

 them that showed no sign of disease throughout the whole 

 season; with a disease that at that time was said to be ten 

 times worse than American foul brood. I felt like giving up, 

 but for only a little whUe. If others had fought the disease, 

 why couldn't I ? Besides, I could now have some live experience 

 with a thing I had only previously read about. 



I started in to use the McEvoy treatment, brushing thq 



