-)5 MEETING OF ENSPEOTORS OF APIARIES. 



which they are introduced. If this occurs in one-third of the cases 

 or one-tenth, it will pay to requeen in every case, mile— you have an 

 especially valuable queen you want to save, in which case it may pay 

 to experiment. For t lint reason I now practice requeening every 

 colony treated 1'or American foul brood. 



My experience witli drugs ha- been unsatisfactory in every case. 

 I have tried carbolic, rosemary, Bingham's sulphur plan (as outlined 

 in Gleanings in Bee Culture, April L5, L902), the formaldehyde spray 

 plan (Gleanings in Bee Culture, December 1. L903 ).an<l uaphthol, but 

 while all these drugs have the effect of checking the disease and pre- 

 venting it- spread over the combs as long as used, none of them cure- 

 it. regardless of the duration or persistence of its application. 



I have not tried the formalin-gas plan, nor do I intend to try it. or 

 any other drug treatment, so long as the shaking treatment will (aire. 

 While destruction of frames and comb- is expensive, it is to my mind 

 cheaper in the end than experimenting with every new cure that is 

 exploited in the bee journals. After trying these you are forced to 

 resort to the shaking treatment to make the cure complete, so why 

 not use it at first and save the trouble and expense ( So long as honey 

 contains spores, so long will drugs fail, because they can not reach 

 and destroy the spores. Even if a temporary cure could be effected 

 the disease would reappear when the bees began feeding the larva 

 this germ-laden honey. Nothing short of removing all the combs 

 will make the cure permanent. 



As an apiarist I have had experience in many infected apiaries, 

 and in every yard where the disease has ever been, with one excep- 

 tion, a few cases cfevelop every season, and will continue to do so 

 until these old combs are retired. If a whole apiary is to be 

 treated, it pays to save the wax and honey, but I do not believe in 

 bothering with them if onlv a few hives are to be treated: it does 

 not pay to take the trouble. Of course progress i- desirable, and I 

 would not discourage anyone who wants to experiment with drug 

 treatments, but I believe if any good is ever derived therefrom, it 

 will come from the work of experiment station- or trained scientists, 

 who have the means and time to devote to it and do not have to 

 depend on apiculture for a living. 



American foul brood seems to act differently here than in most 

 places. The question may arise, N it American foul brood? It 

 has the sunken, perforated cappings and the foul, glue-like odor, 

 and it rope- from one-eighth to several inches. I have seen many 

 cases where the brood chamber was badly affected with foul brood, 

 but when a honey (low came, the queen moved up and not one cell 

 <>f disease appeared. I have known these bee- to cast strong -warm-, 

 which proved to be entirely healthy. 



Again, I have known American foul brood to disappear without 



