24() Journal of the Department op Agriculture. 



the disease was really European foul-brood v.as correct. The reply 

 received removed any room for doubting the identification. 



When on his long- tour of inspection, Mr. Attridpre took specimens 

 Irom most of tlie colonies in. which he found evidence of disease, 

 lakino- full frames of l)rood in many instances and he sent these 

 l»]omptly \o Pretoria. The material thus olitained was subjected to 

 close study by Dr. C. K. Brain, of the Division, and by the writei. 

 Ill the course of the laboratory work hundreds of stained smeais wen' 

 examined, and a larg-e number of bouillon cultures made of orpranisms 

 found in dead and dying- brood'. The particular organism. Bacillus 

 pluton, which, after a most painstaking and prolonged investigation, 

 officers of the TT.S.A. Bureau of Entomology concluded was 

 responsible for foul-brood, was nearly always demonstrated when the 

 general appearances were indicative of the disease; and. as described 

 to l)e characteristic by the American investigators, Bacilhis alvei was 

 generally found in the association. The former organism does not 

 iidmit of cultivation in oidinary culture media and its recognition 

 depended entirely on the " miscroscopic picture," while the deter- 

 mination of the organism acce])ted as B. alvei was confirmed by 

 culture tests. Subsequently a score or more of prepared smears, 

 representative of specimens from various localities, were sent to the 

 TT.S.A. Bureau of Entomology for the favour of examination l)y its 

 bee-disease specialists, and abundant authorilative confirmation of the 

 identifications was thus obtained. 



Organisms other than B. pluton and B. alvei found at Washing- 

 ton to occur in the smears included Bacillus Tulgatus, Bacilhis 

 orplieus, and Streptococcus apis. What was suspected to be Bacilhts 

 vieseytrtericus was also found. 



SUBSIDKNCE OF BeRG RivER-HoPEFIELD OUTBREAK. 



The outbreak of the disease in the Berg Tiiver-Hopefield area 

 practically died out with the 1917-18 honey season. Under instruc- 

 tions, Mr. Attridge spent nearly a week during December, 1918, in 

 making an inspection of the principal stands. He found the great 

 majority of colonies to be strong and working Avell, and without 

 obvious signs of disease. Only in very exceptional colonies did he 

 find much dead brood. He sent full frames from seven such diseased 

 colonies, at as many places, to Pretoria for study, and only in speci- 

 mens from two of the places were the typical European foul-brood 

 organisms demonstrated. In all the other cases there were found 

 only organisms that are believed to be saprophytic, and it is conjec- 

 tured that the biood died owing to beinq- subiected to bad bee- 

 keeping conditions. Colonies having ceased to die out and the pro- 

 duction of honey having again become satisfactory, without the 

 application of measures to suppress foul-brood. T think that the heavy 

 losses in 1915-17 must have been due far more to unfavourable seasons 

 in association with negligent bee-keeping than due to foul-brood. 

 The bee-keepers concerned may resent the imputation that their 

 methods are faulty; and perhaps in fairness I should add that, for 

 all I know, their careless ways may be more efficient in the long run 

 than would be the much closer attention to details that good bee- 

 keeping demands. The bees in the normal year, under the prevailing 

 climatic and plant conditions, seem to be quite capablp of looking 



