THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
5 
maining broo 1 is hatched, I shall remove the 
box from below the swarm, and use the comb 
for starting frames, &c. In this way I think I 
shall secure soma good sections. What say yon 
to this plan, Mr. Editor. I am yours very 
truly, * H. Navean. 
Hamilton, 19th Nov., 1889. 
To the Editor of the Australian Beekeepers’ 
Journal. 
Dear Sir, — Judging from all reports to hand 
the present has been a most trying season to the 
bulk of Victorian Beekeepers. The mild and 
early spring gave promise of good things ; 
queens rapidly filled their hives with bees in 
August, but from that time forward it has been 
a hard struggle for a bare living with most bee- 
keepers in the country districts, and in many 
places the loss from starvation has been heavy, 
while that from its attendant evil, foul brood, 
has been greater. 
At the date of writing I have many reports to 
hand from various parts of the colony stating 
that although blooms are abundant no honey is 
forthcoming. This state of things will probably 
be improved upon as the weather becomes 
warmer causing a secretion of honey. 
Foul brood has wrought havoc in many 
apiaries chiefly as the result of want of experience 
on the part of the apiarist, who, in the slack of 
the season must learn dearly to understand the 
symptoms he undervalued when things were rosy 
last season. No man need aspire to be an 
apiarist in Victoria until he has he has learned 
by dear experience what foul brood is and how to 
deal with it. 
For handling and cleaning up diseased colonies 
I find one of the best things in use is a large 
sand boiler of about 40 gallons capacity, fitted 
with a large steam extractor made upon the 
principles of the “ Jones Wax Extractor " as 
shown in the A.B.C. With this all combs may 
be quickly reduced, frames and fittings 
thoroughly scalded, and the work done in the 
evening when no bees are about. 
There is no time so suitable as the swarming 
season for cleaning up any infected colonies. A 
week after the first swarm has left all queen cells ! 
being cut out and the operation being respected 
at the expiry of a second week (the bees being 
by that process rendered perfectly queenless) in 
which condition they may remain for a third 
week, thus allowing time for all sound brood to 
hatch out. The bees may then be clustered in a 
box with a caged queen, while the combs, hive, 
&c., may be thoroughly cleaned up. The bees 
being then returned to the hive supplied with 
lin. starters, the queen still being kept caged 
until work has been begun when she may be 
liberated. If no honey is coming they should be 
fed. In any case perhaps it would be as well to 
feed a little, adding IB grains of salycilic acid 
to each quart of syrup given. 
While on the subject of feeding, I beg to 
endorse what friend Abrams said in the last 
issue. There is little necessity to feed bees if 
care is taken in breeding. Of this fact anyone 
who has had experience with blacks and Italians 
in the same apiary will be quite sure. It will 
generally be found that the Italians will hold 
their own and often store honey when blacks are 
starving. Only so late as the present season I 
have had experience of this fact in several 
places. The pure blooded Italians always show- 
ing to the fore. The same result might be pro- 
duced from the black stock if the same care was 
expressed in selection as in the yellow stock, but 
taking the generality of black colonies they 
are not worth keeping. — -Yours faithfully, 
L. J. Chambers. 
To the Editor of the Australian Beekeepers’ 
Journal. 
Sir, — With your permission I wish to ask you 
an important question with reference to foul 
brood among bees. I arrived in Victoria last 
Fall, bringing with me a hive of Italian bees 
with an imported queen. Having located myself 
at Warragul, I made inquiries of several 
prominent gentlemen in the district about the 
welfare of our little friends iu this part with the 
result that there appeared to them to be some 
mysterious cause of the bees dying off. Having 
been a beekeeper for 17 years I was, naturally 
enough, on the look out for the unknown 
trouble when this season opened up. The result 
of my investigations is, that of the two miles 
radius of country, which I may say I think I 
have examined thoroughly. I have examined 
the hives (all gin cases) of twenty-three bee- 
keepers, in every case of which, without excep- 
tion, foul brood exists. My own of five hives 
are also infected, and I have put them under 
treatment in clean hives, and burnt the old gear. 
My twenty-three new acquaintances (I beg 
pardon, I should say twenty-two of them) have 
met me very favourably, and promised under 
my direction to clean all up thoroughly, as they 
unfortunately know little or nothing about bees. 
Having given you an outline it has brought 
me to my question, viz. : The twenty-third man 
is a Chinaman named Jimmy Ah How, who 
refuses point blank to have anything to do with 
cleaning up or permit me to do it for him, 
although I have offered to do it free of cost. I 
have also offered to pay him the price he gave 
for the hive, and then to burn it in his presence, 
but he is obdurate, and insists on being left 
alone in his filth. Can he be compelled by law 
or otherwise to rid his premises of the disease. 
He lives scarcely a quarter of a mile from me, 
and as I desire to let my cured bees take their 
flight on the 14th inst., it is necessary that he be 
dealt with by that time. Every one in the 
district will wait anxiously for your reply, which 
you will please kindly forward to — Yours truly, 
E. Webb, 
Warragul. 
Warragul, Nov. 8, 1889. 
