58 HISTORICAL NOTES ON BEE DISEASES. 



him. It is to be regretted if the duties in liis new position Hmit his 

 activity in this hne of research. 



Moore and White, January 15, 1903. 



In the spring of 1902 Moore, assisted by one of the writers of this 

 bulletin, began the investigation of the bee diseases that were present 

 in the State of New York. Neither was familiar with the manifesta- 

 tions of the different diseases attacking bees, further than the infor- 

 mation which could be obtained from the publications of Cheshire and 

 Cheyne, Howard, Harrison, and data obtained directly from the four 

 inspectors of apiaries of that State — Messrs. West, Stevens, Stewart, 

 and Wright. The samples of brood examined were received from 

 these inspectors with the diagonsis of each sample already made. 

 The first report ^ which was made to the commissioner of agriculture 

 of that State on the investigation gives a brief account of the exami- 

 nation of 10 samples labeled "black brood," 7 samples labeled "foul 

 brood," and 5 samples labeled "pickled brood." 



William R. Howard, it will be remembered (p. 44), received samples 

 of diseased brood from N. D. West, of New York, He examined them 

 and reported the disease as new, naming it "New York State bee 

 disease" or "black brood." He ascribed the cause of the disease to 

 a bacillus, to which he gave the name Bacillus milii. The 10 samples 

 labeled "black brood," and examined by the authors of the paper 

 under consideration, were aU from New York State and 7 of them 

 were diagnosed by Mr. West. 



The bacterial findings recorded by Moore and White show that 

 Bacillus alvei was present in all the samples, while there is no record 

 of Bacillus milii in any of them. Other bacteria, which appeared in 

 most instances to be micrococci, were occasionally associated with 

 Bacillus alvei. The absence of any bacillus corresponding to the 

 description of Bacillus milii in these samples of so-caUed "black 

 brood" was strong evidence that such a species was not the cause of 

 the disorder. 



The question naturally arose as to whether this trouble was a new 

 disease, as Howard had led the people to believe. In forming an 

 opinion as to whether a new disease existed, the work of Howard and 

 others was considered. Cheshire and Cheyne (p. 25) had described 

 the symptoms of "foul brood" and had apparently found Bacillus 

 alvei present in sufficient numbers to suspect this species as the cause 

 of the disease. Harrison (p. 48) had found a species in "foul brood" 

 which he had identified as Bacillus alvei. Lambotte (p. 53) had done 



1 Moore, Veranus A.,M. D.,and G. Franklin White, B. S., January 15,1903. A preliminary investigation 

 into the cause of the infectious bee disease prevailing in the State of New York. State of New York, Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, Tenth Annual Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, for the year 1902, pp. 

 255-260, two plates. 



