5 



generally leave it with a small perforation in the centre until quite dry, then the 

 capping is removed, and in time honey may be stored in the cells containing the 

 scales of disease. The millions of disease spores then float out into the honey, 

 which becomes a medium for carrying the disease to other healthy larvae by 

 robbing, in the same or some other apiary. Some of the honey is also carried into 

 the supers, to make room for alterations in the brood nest, and is marketed in the 

 form of bottled or section honey. It goes into many homes especially in towns 

 and cities. The wooden sides of the sections, and many of the empty bottles, or 

 washings from them, are thrown out by housekeepers and cleaned up by bees of the 

 neighborhood, and the disease is carried home to their healthy brood. This is 

 why our inspectors find more disease in the apiaries around towns and cities than 

 elsewhere. 



Fig. 2. — American Foul Brood: a, &, /, normal sealed cells; c, ;, sunken cappings, show- 

 ing perforations; g, sunken capping not perforated; h, I, m, n, q, r, larvae affected 

 by disease; e, i, p, s, scales formed from dried-down larvae; d, o, pupee affected by 

 disease. Three times natural size. (U.S. Dept. Ag. Far. Bui. 442.) 



The Treatment. 



Now, to be cured of this disease a colony must be freed from all this infected 

 brood, comb and honey. To do this we simply take it away. But in the operation 

 some precautions are necessary. We must see that the colony will get healthy food 

 as soon as the unhealthy food is taken away, and have means for building new 

 comb at once. So the operation should be performed during a honey flow, and to 

 make it perfectly sure it is a good plan to insert a division board feeder of sugar 

 syrup. We must take precautions against starting robbing, or causing the treated 

 colony to scatter to other hives or swarm out, be lost, and carry infection to other 

 places. So the operation should be performed in the evening, when the bees are 

 settling down for the night, and the entrance should be covered with queen-exclud- 



