McLAIN, 1887. 35 



paper, because his description of the larvae dead of the disease in the 

 sample which Cheshire gave to him as foul brood was quite good for 

 European foul brood and not good for American foul brood; because 

 Bacillus alvei was found in sufficiently largo numbers to load these 

 men to suspect that the organism was tlio cause of the disorder; and 

 because no other species was mentioned as being present in numbers 

 sufhcient to cause suspicion of a casual relation. All must agree that 

 if Clieyne did not work with a sample of European foul brood in the 

 preparation of his paper, his work can not be given the credit which 

 it seems to deserve. 



McLain, 1887. 



A paper by N. W. McLain,* containing a discussion of bee diseases, 

 was written in the form of a report on some work done by him. The 

 first disorder which he considers is referred to as the ''quaking 

 disease." It was thought by McLain that bees w^ould visit milkweed 

 and mullein to obtain from the sap of these plants certain salts as 

 food, if such salts could not be obtained from the ordinary sources. 

 In so doing, thousands of bees lost their lives before, as well as after, 

 reaching the hives. By examining such bees under a microscope, 

 many were found to be entangled in filaments derived from the sap 

 of the plants visited, and with empty stomachs. The peculiar nerv- 

 ous motions made by these starved and weakened bees in their effort 

 to disentangle themselves from the meshes of the fibers is one mani- 

 festation of the condition known as the "quaking disease." Another 

 form of this disease was supposed to be of hereditary origin, since it 

 was believed that by removing the queen from an affected colony and 

 introducing a young, vigorous one the trouble would disappear. A 

 third form of the disease mentioned had been reported to l)e due to 

 the use of poisonous nectar from such plants as foxglove (Digitalis). 



McLain therefore placed at least three distinct abnormal condi- 

 tions under the name '^quakmg disease." He writes definitely con- 

 cerning the cause of the first condition only. The second condition is 

 probably that which is now known as paralysis, and the third condition, 

 that of poisoning, is occasionally reported by bee keepers as a cause 

 of trouble in the apiaiy. Veiy little is definitely known at present 

 concerning any of these disorders. In the treatment of the first 

 condition mentioned he used a drug and reported success. 



McLam also made a report on foul brood. Having spoken of the 

 gravity of the disease he writes that he had during the year given 

 much attention to the study of the disease and to experiments for its 

 prevention and cure. That the disease was contagious appeared to 



I McLain, N.W., 1887. Report on experiments in apiculture. Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture 

 for 1886, pp. 583-591. Washington: Government Printing OlDce. 



