Plant Sanitation. 



411 



[May, 1910. 



(9.) The damage to trees may be very 

 largely overcome by breaking and scrap- 

 ing off the bunches and scattered sprouts 

 of mistletoe every year or two. If the 

 parasite is attached to small branches 

 these may be pruned off a few inches 

 below the mistletoe, and thus the in- 

 fection be wholly removed at that point. 



(10.) Infection upon old branches and 

 upon the trunk is very difficult to get 

 rid of , because the cortical roots spiead 

 freely in the soft bark and any piece left 

 there may give rise to new mistletoe 

 sprouts. Since the cortical roots do not 

 extend into the wood (of course sinkers 

 do), the removal of the hard and soft 

 bark clean to the wood about an infected 

 spot should exterminate the parasite 

 at that point. The objection to this 

 method is that it necessitates large 

 wounded surfaces. Such wounds should 

 always be disinfected and afterwards 

 coated with tar. 



(11,) In some cases mistletoe has been 

 killed from old branches by the appli- 

 cation of chemicals, which is made more 

 effective by subsequently wrapping the 

 limp with burlap. Thus carbolineum 

 alone, and asphalt paint with burlap 

 wrapping, were found to eliminate the 

 infection. 



(12.) It is suggested that a combination 

 of the above methods would be effective, 

 First, remove with gouge or chisel the 

 exposed shoots or buds of mistletoe 



down to the wood without making large 

 wounds ; fill the larger wound holes 

 with tar, and paint the whole surface 

 with carbolineum or with asphalt paint. 

 When asphalt paint is usedwiap after- 

 wards with burlap. 



(13.) The cutting off of large branches 

 in order to get rid of mistletoe is to be 

 discouraged. It is apt to injure a tree 

 more than the mistletoe would, parti- 

 cularly if the latter be broken or scraped 

 off every few years. 



(14.) Every wound on a tree, e.g., those 

 caused by digging out mistletoe or by 

 cutting off branches, is a point of attack 

 for disease-causing germs. Such wounds 

 should always be disinfected and painted 

 with tar or some similar waterproofing 

 coating. 



(15.) The mistletoe question resolves 

 itself largely into the question of the 

 care of trees. The spoiling or killing of 

 trees by mistletoe is due chiefly to 

 neglect. A well-organised movement in 

 behalf of civic improvement would help 

 to remedy this defect. City and county 

 officials who have charge of streets and 

 parks and public highways should be 

 required to see that trees on public 

 ground are kept free from mistletoe. 



(16.) The use of the mistletoe in 

 Christmas decorations gives it a com- 

 mercial status which has some bearing 

 on the question of its control and 

 extermination. 



APICULTURE. 



CONVERSATIONS WITH 

 DOOLITTLE. 



Differences in Colonies. 



(From Gleanings in Bee Culture, Vol. 

 XXXVII., No. 1, January 1, 1909.) 

 ''Mr. Doohttle, I believe I have the 

 poorest strain of bees in the world, and 

 I want you to tell me how to get rid of 

 them and to get some that are first-class. 

 Can you do this ?" 



"Certainly. Kill those you have and 

 purchase such as you would like." 



"But that is not just the answer I 

 wanted. I know that such a course 

 would be all-right ; but is there no way 

 of changing from the poor strain to one 

 which is first-class without killing those 

 I now have ?" 



" Yes, But why do you say you have 

 the poorest strain of bees in the world ? 

 Have you tried all the different strains 



which now exist? Have you tried all 

 that exist in the United States, even ?" 



"No, I have tried none but those I 

 now have, which came from a colony 

 I purchased at an auction three years 

 ago. Perhaps I was rash in my expres- 

 sion ; but the larger part of my colonies 

 do very little, while one, especially, has 

 given me good returns the past two 

 years. Now, if I could only have all my 

 colonies equal to this good one I should 

 feel quite proud." 



" But the good one must have come 

 from the original colony you purchased 

 at the auction, and this shows that 

 there is a marked difference in bees as 

 to their working qualities. But it seems 

 to me that your trouble is a case of 

 selection rather than the adoption of an 

 entirely different strain of bees." 



" But why should this colony show 

 such a marked difference from the other 

 four ? I have only five colonies in all, 



