HOWARD, MARCH 1, 1894. 41 



The greatest mistake made by Mackenzie in his work was of course 

 that ho assumed that Bacillus alvei had been demonstrated to be the 

 cause of foul brood. 



The work which Mackenzie began was to have been continued the 

 followhig summer, but, in a report ^ of the Apicultural Committee 

 of the Ontario Agricultural and Experimental Union one notes that 

 Mackenzie, who had the preceding year given his services in connec- 

 tion with foul brood, for the want of time had not continued his 

 stu<lies. 



Howard, March 1, 1894. 



In 1S94 there appeared from the pen of William R. Howard, ^ of 

 Fort Worth, Tex., a small publication on foul brood. He makes 

 clear in his preface that there is yet much to be learned upon the sub- 

 ject, and that his communication is to be written in such a manner, 

 and such terms are to be used in it, as will be readily understood by 

 the general reader. 



In his brief reference to the history of foul brood, Howard writes: 



Later the researches of Preuss and Schonfeld, of Germany, were first to establish the 

 fact that the disease was due to pathogenic micro-organisms. 



Howard, therefore, in the beginning entertained an erroneous 

 conception concerning the real work accomplished by Preuss (p. 15) 

 and Schonfeld (p. 16). 



The description given of Bacillus alvei was taken, as he says, from 

 " Eisenburg's Bacteriological Diagnosis. " The description of Bacillus 

 alvei by Eisenburg was compiled from the jomt publication by Chesh- 

 ire and Che^me (p. 25). Howard made some determinations con- 

 cerning the ability of the species to produce gas and the ease with 

 which it grows in the presence or absence of ox5^gen. He reports 

 that the cultures, when grown under anaerobic condition, produce 

 an odor resembling foul brood. Eisenburg does not include in his 

 description any mention as to the oxygen requirements of Bacillus 

 alvei. The only difference^ it seems, between the description which 

 Cheshire and Chejaie made of Bacillus alvei and the conception which 

 Howard had of it, is in the fact that Howard thought that it grows 

 better under anaerobic conditions, while Cheshire and Cheyne ob- 

 tained very satisfactory growth on the surface of media exposed to 

 the air. 



Propositions are stated by Howard in his paper, and his own inter- 

 pretations of them are given. Some of his views can be accepted 

 as good, others can not. 



I Uoltermann, R. F., Monteith, S. N., Husband, E. M., 1893. Report of Apicultural Committee. 

 Fifteenth Annual Report of the Ontario Agricultural and Experimental Union. Pp. 230-231. Contained 

 in Xineteenth Annual Report of the Ontario Agricultural College and Experimental Farm. 



- Howard, Wm. R., M.D., March 1, 1S94. Foul brood; its natural history and rational treatment, with 

 a review of the work of others. Chicago, 111. Pp. 47. 



