12 
THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
It has always been supposed to be a disease 
confined to the brood and not effecting the 
bees or the queen, but the investigations of 
these gentlemen show it to be a germ disease, 
affecting all the inhabitants of the hive and 
rapidly destroying all the brood. It is due 
to the presence of a germ known as Bacillus, 
and they have named this particular one the 
Bacillus Alvei (from Alveus — a Beehive.) 
This disease then may be now regarded 
as specific germ disease like the well known 
and dreaded silkworm disease, and instead of 
its being a disease originating in and confined 
to the brood, it is communicated to it by the 
bees themselves, and indeed the very eggs 
deposited by the queen are found to be infected 
with these germs. 
But what most practically concerns the 
beekeeper is the cure which Mr. Cheshire has 
discovered for this hitherto incurable disease 
— it is simply to feed the infected bees on 
Syrup in which one part by weight of absolute 
phenol is added to 500 parts of syrup. This 
food is poured over the combs affected so that 
it runs into the cells. Mr. Cheshire states that 
the very worst cases were cured in this way, 
except where the Queen herself had become 
badly diseased. 
Queries and Replies. 
Query No 1. — Would some of your corres- 
pondents state what is the latest dates at 
which swarms may be expected in this part 
of Australia, and also if after swarms have 
ever been known to issue after sunset in 
Victoria. JERL. 
Query No. 2. — Have any Victorian bee- 
keepers been troubled with moth, if so, at 
what time of year? J.B. 
Query No. 3. — The yellow flowering weed 
known in England as Catloclc or Iveltock is 
pretty plentiful among some of the grain 
crops this year. Can any of our correspon- 
dents give information as to whether bees 
work on it here as freely as in the old 
country. O. M. 
Query No. 4. — In some of my Italian stocks 
I find quite a number of small bees among the 
young ones, very much smaller and blacker 
than the others, many of which are killed or 
carried away by the others. Can any of 
your readers explain the presence of these 
apparently dwarf bees ? T. J. 
Query No. 5. — Would you kindly inform 
me what is the best bee-book to get for a 
beginner, what is the cost, and where can it 
be obtained? J. G. E. 
Query No. 6 — Can you help me in my 
trouble ? I made two Nucleus swarms as I 
wanted to have a couple of queens on hand 
during the honey season to introduce after 
swarming, or should anything happen to any 
of my queens. I gave them a sheet of brood, 
and in due course the queens were hatched. 
I examined them each day and found them 
progressing well, but on about the fifth day I 
found in both cases that the bees all left, the 
only way that I can explain it is, that the 
bees went out with the queen on her virgin 
flight. Curious to relate about a wrnek after 
they left I was surprised to find one evening 
one of them hanging on a tree close to their 
old location. puzzled. 
Replies to Queries. 
No. 6. — It is very often the case that bees 
do swarm out with the queen when she goes 
for her flight, but it can be prevented by 
giving them a comb of unsealed brood when 
the young queen has hatched out, the bees 
seldom leaving when this is done. It is a 
curious fact that after swarming out in this 
manner bees often return to their old locality 
should they not be able to find a suitable 
place as a new home. Ed. 
NOTES AND NEWS. 
Sizes of Langstrotil a x d Simplicity 
Hives and Frames. 
The Langstrotil and Simplicity hives are now 
made of the same internal dimensions, viz. 
Brood chamber 1 Skin . long, 11 (in. broad, and 
10in. high, and the rabbett for ends of frames 
to rest on are fin. high and fin. wide. The 
box for a half-story is of the same size as the 
brood box, but 5in. instead of lOin. high. The 
roof has generally been made as a separate 
piece, but in the Simplicity hives the roof and 
half-story are in one piece. The frames are 
of the following size, outside measure, namely : 
— I7fin. long, and 9Jin. deep. The top bar is 
either 19in. or 19fcin. long, so as to give pro- 
jections for hanging either jin . or full 5-16 in. 
Frames are usually made of pine laths fin. 
wide and fin. wide. Frames to be wired may 
be made with top bar jin. thick, and the rest 
Jin. thick. 
Pure Mating of Queens. — I see Mr. Alky, 
the well-known and successful queen breeder 
of America, experiences no difficulty in pure 
mating of his Italian queens, although he may 
have a hundred black stocks in his apiary. 
Before allowing his young queens to fly he puts 
one of his drone traps on to each hive whose 
drones he wishes to keep indoors, and keeps 
them on till the queens commence to lay. He 
says he succeeds in nineteen cases out of 
twenty, and can also get rid of all useless 
drones by taking them out of the traps and 
killing them. 
Fbrciusson and Mitchell, Printers, Collins Street YV est, Melbourne. 
