8 Nov., 1907.] /•'(-'/// Brood of Bees. 665 



matter is the principal means of identifying tlie disease, and should be 

 looked for whenever the- unhealthy appearance of the grubs or the sunken 

 or perforated cappings of sealed brood cells gives rise to suspicion. I 

 should like, however, to point out that some of these symptoms, or all of 

 them excepting the ropiness, may be present and yet the case may not be 

 one of foul brood but one of starved, chilled or overheated brood which' 

 with the disappearance of the cause will right itself. The brood of a 

 colony of bees which from any one of these causes is in an abnormal con- 

 dition is, on the other hand, verv liable to infection should the germ of the 

 disease {hactllus alvei) be introduced intO' the hive, and it is therefore 

 well to watch for developments and occasionallv to examine it bv probing 

 any sunken, suspicious looking cells. 



Black bees are more predisposed to foul brood than Italians or 

 Cyprians ; at any rate, from some cause or other they contract it fre- 

 quently whilst, on the same spot and under the same conditions, Italians 

 keep free from it. This fact is probably due to the lesser inclination of 

 black bees, as compared with Italians and Cyprians, to remove foreign 

 matter, dead larvae, and intruders from the hive. As an illustration of 

 this a brood comb from a colonv of black bees infested with the grubs of 

 the wax moth, when given to a colonv of Italians, will be promptly cleaned 

 of the wax moth grubs. 



Foul brood is now pretty well distributed all over Australia, with the 

 exception, perhaps, of Queensland, or portion of that State. It is more 

 or less virulent in different localities according to the different conditions 

 of season and food suppl\- or the hereditarv constitutional vigour of the 

 race and strain of bees. Practically, the rules which apply to animal life 

 in general in connexion with diseases, also apply to bees. Where con- 

 stitutional weakness, semi-starvation, unsuitable food or abnormal condi- 

 tions of temperature exist, it only requires the introduction of the germ to 

 cause a,n outbreak of disease; and in combating foul brood it is necessary 

 to bear these factors in }nind, otherwise success in treatment will be merely 

 a matter of accident and cannot be expected with anv degree of certaintv. 



Treatment. 

 There are three methods of dealing with foul brood, viz. — 



1. Destruction. 



2. Elimination of the disease. 



3. Chemical treatment. 



1. The destruction of bees, combs, hive and fittings is of course an 

 effective method and where only one or two hives are affected and the 

 disease is of a malignant type it is perhaps the quickest and best method 

 to adopt. It is, however, wasteful, as the bees, wax, hive and frames 

 destroved have a value of from los. to 30s., and the utter destruction of 

 the diseased colonies is no guarantee against the appearance of the disease 

 in other and new hives even though all hives, healthy as well as diseased, 

 are destroyed. Destruction, usuallv brought about by burning the hive, 

 bees and all, after all the bees have returned for the night, is therefore 

 not to be commended, except for an odd case of a virulent nature. 



2. The elimination of the disease is effected by removing the bees from 

 the infected hive and combs. Put them in a temporary hive placed on the 

 spot occupied by the old one previously, and leave them without food for 

 24 to /^8 hours but with the exception of the queen allow them 



