564 
JOUR^^AL  OR  ffORTlCVLTUnR  Ant>  COTTAGR  OARlomm. 
December  9,  189?. 
grey,  becoming  nearly  black  as  it  decomposes,  and  if  the  colony  is  a 
strong  one  the  bees  will  remove  the  dead  larvae  from  the  cells. 
In  the  early  stages  of  foul  brood  the  larva  is  white,  changing  to 
yellow,  afterwards  turning  to  a  coffee-coloured  brown.  In  some 
instances  the  larva  is  healthy  to  all  appearance  until  the  cells  have 
been  capped  over,  afterwards  succumbing  to  the  disease.  When  in 
this  condition  the  cappings  become  perforated,  many  of  them  being 
slightly  indented,  and  if  the  capping  is  removed  the  disease  may  be  at 
once  detected,  owing  to  the  unpleasant  smell  arising  from  it,  by  anyone 
who  has  not  previously  had  experience  with  foul  brood.  The  well- 
known  -whiteness  of  the  brood  in  a  healthy  stock  need  never  be 
confounded  with  either  chilled  or  foul  brood. 
How  Four.  Brood  is  Spread. 
One  of  the  chief  causes  of  the  spread  of  foul  brood  is  leaving  hives 
in  which  the  bees  have  died  exposed  on  the  stands,  so  that  the  bees 
from  other  colonies  in  the  neighbourhood  have  access  to  the  combs. 
This  they  readily  tat<e  advantage  of,  and  the  first  bright  day  that 
comes  commence  to  clear  out  the  stores  that  remain  in  the  hive.  Thus 
disease  is  carried  from  one  to  the  other,  and  the  whole  district  soon 
becomes  a  hotbed  of  foul  brood.  This  is  no  imagination,  as  I  know  of 
several  instatices  where  this  has  hajtpened,  though  fortunately  not  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  my  apiary. 
Another  common  mistake  is  to  use  hives  again  without  properly 
disinfecting  them,  also  the  combs  and  frames,  which  should  have 
been  destroyed.  This  is  mismanagement,  and  may  be  easily  remedied 
by  using  a  little  forethought.  Carelessness  in  this  respect  may  do  a 
great  amount  of  injury  to  bee-keepers  who  are  unable  to  help 
themselves. 
But  if  bee-keepers  would  only  take  the  matter  in  hand  foul  brood 
and  its  ravages  might  soon  be  stamped  out  of  the  country.  The  chief 
difiBculty  is  to  get  those  bee-keepers  who  are  either  careless  or  ignorant 
to  realise  the  harm  that  is  being  done  in  some  districts  owing  to  the 
improper  handling  of  diseased  stocks  suffering  from  foul  brood. 
Treatment  of  Affected  Bees. 
It  is  well  to  remember  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  destroy  the  hives 
in  which  diseased  bees  have  been  ;  but  alt  frames,  combs,  quilts,  and 
whatever  has  come  in  contact  with  the  bees  should  be  committed  to 
the  flames.  The  combs  maybe  melted  down  for  the  wax  if  necessary; 
but  it  is  better  to  be  on  the  safe  side  and  destroy  all  bodily,  as  the 
frames  can  now  be  bought  at  such  a  cheap  rate  (if  they  are  not  made 
at  home)  that  it  is  unwise  to  run  any  risk. 
If  the  bees  are  weak  and  few  in  number,  which  they  in  all  proba¬ 
bility  will  be,  join  several  colonies  together,  and  make  an  artificial 
swarm  of  them;  place  them  in  a  clean  straw  skep,  and  allow  them  to 
remain  for  twenty- four  hours  without  food.  Many  of  the  diseased  bees 
will  then  have  died,  and  the  remainder  may  be  shaken  into  another 
clean  skep.  The  bees  must  now  be  fed  with  syrup  made  in  the  usual 
manner,  to  which  has  been  added  a  small  quantity  of  naphthol  beta. 
They  may  be  fed  from  a  bottle  feeder  placed  over  the  hole  on  the  top 
of  the  skep. 
Sixty  hours  afterwards  the  bees  are  placed  in  a  frame  hive  on  full 
sheets  of  foundation  and  fed  as  before,  and  in  all  probability  the 
offspring  from  this  colony  will  show  no  signs  of  disease.  The  reason 
the  bees  are  not  placed  in  the  frame  hive  directly  they  are  removed 
from  the  diseased  stock,  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  by  placing  them  in 
quarantine  in  an  empty  straw  skep  they  consume  all  the  honey  they 
brought  in  their  sac  before  using  the  medicated  syrup.  The  hives 
must  be  well  washed  with  boiling  water  and  soap,  afterwards  painting 
them  inside  with  pure  carbolic  acid,  working  it  carefully  into  all 
the  crevices.  The  outside  of  the  hive  should  have  a  couple  of  coats 
ot  white  lead  paint.  It  will  then  be  ready  for  use  again  as  soon  as 
the  smell  arising  from  the  use  of  tlie  carbolic  has  passed  away. 
Hives  alter  being  treated  in  this  manner  should  be  exposed  in  the 
open  air  for  a  week  or  two,  as  the  smell  will  pass  away  much  more 
readily  if  the  sun  and  wind  have  access  to  them. — An  English 
Bee-keeper. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
W.  Fell  &  Co.,  Hexham. — Forest  Trees. 
Vilmorin,  Andrieux  et  Cie.,  4,  Quai  de  la  Megisserie,  Paris. — I'ree  and 
Shrub  Seeds. 
GARDENERS’  CHARITABLE  AND  PROVIDENT 
INSTITUTIONS. 
The  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution. — Secretary, 
Mr.  G.  J.  Ingram,  50,  Parliament  Street,  London,  W.C. 
United  Horticultural  Benefit  and  Provident  Society. — 
Secretary,  Mr.  W.  Collins,  9,  Martindale  Road,  Balham,  London,  S.W. 
Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund. — Secretary,  Mr.  A,  F,  Barron, 
The  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund,  Cniswick,  W. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should,  until 
further  notice,  be  directed  to  “  The  Editor,”  8.  Rose  Hill  Road, 
Wandsworth,  Iiondon,  S.W.,  and  HOT  to  Fleet  Street.  It 
is  requested  that  no  one  will  write  privately  to  any  of  our  corre¬ 
spondents,  seeking  information  on  matteis  discussed  in  this 
Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to  unjustifiable  trouble  and 
e.xpense,  and  departmental  writers  are  not  expected  to  answer 
any  letters  they  may  receive  on  Gardening  and  Bee  subjects 
through  the  post.  If  information  be  desired  on  any  particular 
subject  from  any  particular  authority  who  may  be  named, 
endeavour  will  be  made  to  obtain  it  by  the  Editor. 
Correspondents  should  not  mix  up  on  the  same  sheet  questions  relating 
to  Gardening  and  those  on  Bee  subjects,  and  should  never  send 
more  than  two  or  three  questions  at  once.  All  articles  intended 
for  insertion  should  be  written  on  one  side  of  the  paper  only;  and 
the  name  and  address  of  each  writer  must  be  known  by  the 
Editor,  though  not  necessarily  for  insertion.  We  cannot,  as  a 
rule,  reply  to  questions  through  the  post,  and  we  do  not  under¬ 
take  to  return  communications  which,  for  any  reason,  cannot 
be  inserted. 
Pears  on  Quince  Diseased  (_Young  Hand). — Your  specimen  will  be 
examined  and  reported  on  in  an  early  number  of  the  Journal. 
Bone  Ash  as  a  Manure  {Constant  Eeader). — Certainly  you  may  use 
bone  ash  as  a  food  of  plants.  It  is  a  permanent  manure— that  is,  it  lasts 
longer  than  the  year  in  which  it  is  supplied,  and  is  more  calculated  to 
promote  a  sturdy  floriferous  or  fruitful  habit  and  a  fibrous  root  formation 
than  free  growth  ;  but  this  can  be  induced  by  supplying  nitrates  of  potash 
or  soda,  or  sulphate  of  ammonia  when  the  plants  or  trees  are  starting  into 
growth,  about  one-fourth  of  one  of  these  substances  being  sufficient  to 
mix  with  the  bone  ash  for  plants  in  pots,  also  for  Vines,  Roses,  or 
vegetables.  Alone  it  should  only  be  given  at  intervals  during  the  growth 
of  plants  and  crops. 
Slugs  (  W.  (S'.). — The  specimen  is  the  garden  slug,  Limax  hortensis, 
said  to  be  a  hybrid  between  the  field  or  milky  slug  (L.  agrestis)  and 
the  black  slug  (L.  afer),  or,  according  to  some,  Arion  ater.  Thejhybrid 
rests  on  nothing  but  mere  conjecture,  and  the  habit  to  which  yo 
allude  shows  you  to  be  a  careful  observer.  The  garden  slug  varies 
extremely  in  colour,  but  this  does  not  imply  a  hybridism,  being  some¬ 
times  brownish,  yellowish,  or  even  greenish,  but  commonly  grey  or 
black,  often  neither  one  nor  the  other,  but  some  of  both.  It  is  rather 
longer  than  the  field  slug,  and  more  tapering.  The  Fern  is  Asplenium 
caudatum,  a  form  of  A.  falcatum. 
Soluble  Phenol  {Phenyle). — Mr.  Abbey  says  the  article  is  not  soluble 
phenyle,  which  is  not  of  the  “colour  of  weak  tea,”  but  a  thick  dark  brown 
or  nearly  blacit  syrupy  liquid,  and  when  placed  in  water  forms  a  milk-like 
solution.  This  is  the  genuine  article,  having  the  formula,  CeH^,  and  is  a 
proprietary  preparation,  known  as  Little’s  Soluble  Phenyle.  The  aqueous 
solution  of  phenol,  with  which  you  appear  to  have  been  supplied,  has  the 
formula  CgH^OH,  and  hence  not  far  removed  from  carbolic  acid,  some¬ 
times  called  “  phenol,”  the  crude  article  in  solution  not  being  unlike  “  weak 
tea.”  It  has  the  formula  OgHgO,  and  has  not  been  recommended  for 
destroying  mites  or  eelworms  at  the  roots  of  plants. 
Tar  and  Clay  Mixture  for  Peach  Trees  {H.  G.). — The  mixture  would 
hardly  be  suitable  for  dressing  Peach  trees  infested’with  brown  scale ;  but 
we  have  known  it  used  without  doing  any  injury,  and  in  other  cases 
almost  kill  the  trees,  likewise  Vines,  the  gas  tar  sinking  into  the  bark  and 
causing  it  to  become  bark-bound — that  is,  dried.  This  may  have  been 
due  to  the  mixing  and  the  excessive  application.  We  also  have  known 
neat’s-foot  oil  applied  pure  for  killing  American  blight,  and  also  boiled 
linseed  oil  for  destroying  scale  on  Apple  trees,  and  both  with  and  without 
injury  to  the  bark.  We  have  not  found  paraffin  dangerous  in  any 
case  as  a  winter  dressing  at  a  strength  of  a  wineglassful  to  a  gallon  of 
water  ;  but  it  will  not  mix  with  water,  so  that  some  parts  get  all  oil  and 
others  all  water.  If  you  put  eight  wineglassfuls  of  water  into  a  pan  and 
one  wineglassful  of  softsoap,  heat  to  boiling,  and  then  add  a  wineglassful 
of  paraffin  oil  immediately  on  removing  from  the  fire  to  the  solution,  and 
stir  briskly,  tbe  oil  will  mix  with  it  and  form^an  emulsion  ;  then  you  can 
add  boiling  water  to  make  up  a  gallon  of  solution,  and  use  it  at  a  tempe¬ 
rature  of  130°  to  140°  for  dressing  the  trees,  applying  with  a  brush,  taking 
care  not  to  dislocate  the  buds.  That  is  soluble  petroleum,  easily  made 
and  effective  against  most  hybernating  pests,  whether  in  the  egg  or  other¬ 
wise.  Another  plan,  and  certainly  as  good,  if  not  better,  is  to  dissolve 
1  oz.  each  of  caustic  soda  (98  per  cent,  purity)  and  1  oz.  commercial 
potash  or  pearlash  in  a  gallon  of  hot  water,  and  apply  with  a  clean  half- 
worn  painter’s  sash  tool  carefully,  suffice  that  every  part  be  wetted.  If 
the  wood  be  sappy  the  mixture  must  be  used  weaker,  diluting  to  1:^  gallon. 
We  find  water  at  140°  to  160°  kills  scale,  even  the  eggs  and  all  hybernating 
pests  ;  but  unless  the  wood  be  ripe  there  is  danger  of  scalding.  The 
trees  in  every  case  must  be  quite  dormant. 
