FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 305 



diseased colonies upon foundation, after doing some breaking 

 up and doubling. In all, however, only 56 colonies were ac- 

 tually brushed upon foundation. When I came to look how 

 they were building up, I found, out of those first treated, that 

 nine had left, bag and baggage, leaving empty hives. That 

 was probably from starvation, so after that I gave to each 

 shaken colony one or more sections of honey taken from dis- 

 eased colonies. So far as I know, this did not in any case 

 convey the disease. Later, to make more sure against deser- 

 tion, one of the diseased combs was left in the hive, and 

 beside it two empty frames — not even a starter in the two 

 frames, and the rest of the hive empty. When the bees made 

 a start at building in the empty frames, the old comb was 

 taken away, and the hive was filled up with full sheets of 

 foundation. Sometimes the comb the bees had built in the 

 empty frames was taken away after a good start was made 

 on the foundation, and sometimes not. The outcome seemed 

 to be all right either way. 



Partly to please Editor E. R. Root, toward the latter part 

 of the summer I tried the Alexander treatment. The gist of 

 that treatment is to remove the queen and in 20 days give the 

 colony a ripe queen-cell of best Italian stock, or else a vei-y 

 young virgin. Previous to the treatment, however, an impor- 

 tant requisite is to make the colony strong. 



I varied from the regular treatment by giving hybrid 

 virgins instead of Italians, as my bees were mostly hybrids. 

 It may be a question whether hybrids are not as good as Ital- 

 ians in carrying out the treatment, provided the hybrids are 

 of equal vigor. 



I made the inexcusable blunder of understanding that Mr. 

 Alexander had given a laying queen at the end of 20 days of 

 queenlessness, instead of giving a virgin. So I gave a young 

 virgin after ten days of queenlessness, so that there would be 

 a laying queen present in about 20 days from the removal of 

 the queen. I now think that the blunder was a fortunate one, 

 since there is a gain of 8 or 10 days in the time of the treat- 

 ment, always provided that continued trial of the plan by 

 myself and others should prove it to be reliable. 



There were some cases of failure, but in each gf these 



