October, 1909.] 



323 



Plant Sanitation. 



leaves ; one of them, Gloeosporium mangi- 

 jerae,P. Henu., was found on the young 

 leaves of a mango tree in the Berlin 

 Botanical Garden, while the other, which 

 rejoices in the name Gloeosporium Raci- 

 borskii, P. Henn., was found on young 

 mango leaves in Java, These differ in the 

 colour of their spore masses, and slightly 

 in the size of their spores ; but since it 

 is known that Glceosporium spores are 

 variable, and that the colour of the 

 spore mass in species of this kind may 

 vary according to the substauce on 

 which they are grown, it is highly pro- 

 bable that the fungus is the same in all 

 cases, in spite of the three names. 

 Investigation of the mango leaves has 

 not yet been undertaken in the present 

 instance ; the spots cavised on them by 

 these fungi are brown or blackish brown, 

 becoming grey, and dry, after the 

 fashion of " Grey Blight " spots. 



If the fungus lives on the leaves, it 

 would be necessary to spray the tree in 

 order to get rid of it. But the specimens 

 appear to show that it cannot make 

 much impression on the growing fruits, 

 although it easily effects an entrance 

 through the stalk after they have been 

 gathered. In that case it would pro- 

 bably be sufficient to treat the fruits, 



after gathering, with a weak fungicide. 

 Recent experiments in England and the 

 West Indies have proved that the 

 decay of ripe fruits can be prevented for 

 some time by dipping them in a solution 

 of Formalin. A three per cent, solution 

 of commercial Formalin is used, i.e., 

 three parts of Formalin in one hundred 

 parts of water, and the fruits are 

 immersed in this for ten minutes, In 

 the case of soft fruits, such as straw- 

 berries, the whole of which is eaten, 

 they are afterwards rinsed in water, 

 but this is unnecessary with fruits which 

 possess an inedible rind. They are then 

 placed on wire netting, or a wooden 

 frame, to drain and dry. This method 

 should be followed in the case of 

 mangoes, when the crop is attacked by 

 this disease. 



It is not clear why mangoes should be 

 closely packed to ripen, instead of being 

 merely placed on shelves, as is done with 

 apples. Where the disease occurs regu- 

 larly, it would be as well to bake the 

 packing material before using it. Of 

 course, rotten fruits should be disposed 

 of in such a way that they do not afford 

 a crop of spores for further infection ; 

 probably the easiest way would be to 

 bury them. 



APICULTURE. 



PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR 

 BEGINNERS. 



The Conditions under which Bees 

 Buii,d Straight Worker Combs 

 from Starters. 



By E. D. Townsend. 



(From the Gleanings in Bee Culture, Vol. 

 XXXVII., August 1, 1909, No. 15.) 



Although we use and recommend full 

 sheets of foundation in wired frames, it 

 may be well to consider how and when 

 one can get along with starters only in 

 brood-frames, as some may not want to 

 use full sheets. 



Bees build two sizes of cells in their 

 comb-building. The larger size run 

 about four to the inch, and are used for 

 rearing drones and sometimes for storing 

 honey. The smaller cells run about five 

 to the inch, and are used for rearing 

 workers and for storage. The bee-keeper 

 should strive to get all- worker combs 



built ; for, in spite of all the care that 

 can be taken, more than enough drone 

 comb usually appears. Of course, in 

 case of an extra-fine colony that one 

 desires to breed from, a solid drone comb 

 can be given in order that there may be 

 plenty of diones of this desirable stock 

 in the yard. 



It is a fact that bees under certain condi- 

 tions build almost all worker comb ; and 

 it is also true that, under other con- 

 ditions, a great deal of undesirable drone 

 comb is built. For instance, a new 

 medium-sized swarm, placed in a hive of 

 a size that may be filled with combs and 

 brood in about 23 days or less, ought to 

 build worker comb mainly, although 

 some of the last combs built may contain 

 a few drone cells. The secret seems to 

 be in having just the right number of 

 workers and just the right amount of 

 honey coming in, so that the bees will 

 draw out the combs no faster than the 

 queen can occupy them with brood. As 

 long as this condition lasts we should 

 expect the bees to build worker combs. 

 From this we see that, in order to get 

 good results in comb-building from a 

 natural swarm, this swarm should be of 

 just the right size, and there should be 



