IL.LJNOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



45 



President Baxter — As far as you 

 have traveled? 



Mr. Pyles — My work has been large- 

 ly in European foul brood districts; 

 I have found more European than 

 American. There are some places 

 where you do not find European but 

 all American and some places where 

 it is all European and no American. 



President Baxter — Mr. Dadant, what 

 can you tell us about your experience, 

 in your correspondence in the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal? 



Mr. Dadant — Our own personal ex- 

 perience is it is both; however, I am 

 of the opinion that the one is ac- 

 quired; that is to say, in order to have 

 American foul brood you have to get 

 it from somewhere, while I believe 

 European foul brood is epidemic; you 

 have to fight it and get over it; it 

 comes without being brought by any 

 particular action on the part of the 

 bee-keeper; that is the feeling I have; 

 we are very much in the dark about 

 this disease as yet. I think, with re- 

 gard to the two, one is more contagi- 

 ous, the other more epidemic. As to 

 our information through the Journal, 

 we have not very much concerning 

 these diseases within the last two or 

 three years. I must say I kept bees 

 forty odd years before I ever saw a 

 case of foul brood. I saw the first 

 case in Colorado, but in the last twelve 

 years I have seen quite a good many 

 cases; in the last two years we have 

 seen none; one or two years. 



President Baxter — Any ^ other ques- 

 tions ? 



Mr. Williams — Mr. Chairman, right 

 along that line I would like to ask a 

 question: Last year I sent ofE and 

 got what I considered a good queen; 

 the swarm made me about 60 pounds 

 of comb honey; this spring, when they 

 were opened up I found some evidence 

 of foul brood; I don't know whether it 

 was American or European; it does not 

 make any difference which it was, it 

 was there. The swarm was strong. I 

 didn't treat it; the swarm made me 

 120 pounds of honey this year, as nice 

 comb honey as you ever saw, and when 

 I got through I looked for foul brood 

 and could not find any. What became 

 of it? 



Dr. Baxter — It was not foul brood. 



Mr. Pyles — It was not foul brood, 

 you did not have any foul brood. Evi- 



dently it was not European, if it was 

 that bad that time in the spring. 



Mr. Root — In our experience, we find 

 there are a great many cases of sack 

 brood, sometimes called European or 

 American. The one distinctive feature 

 is that the sack brood disappears 

 while the European will continue as 

 long as that queen is in the hive and 

 may continue afterwards. 



Mr. Williams — I know nothing about 

 this business; I went by the American 

 Bee Journal writer's theory, you must 

 stick a tooothpick in and if it comes 

 out ropy and brown it was foul brood; 

 that is what I did; I have catarrh, I 

 cannot tell about the odor. 



Mr. Root — It will come back next 

 year if it is American. 



Mr. Dadant — Years ago I learned a 

 description of American foul brood 

 from James A. Green ; I think it was 

 the best description I have ever heard. 

 There are three symptoms: That 

 ropy condition, stringing out 1% inch 

 out of the cell; the brown, coffee color 

 of the rotten brood; and glue pot smell. 

 If you can't smell it yourself, get 

 somebody else; tht three must be to- 

 gether; then you have American foul 

 brood. 



I don't think it has ever failed. 

 James A. Green described that thirty 

 years ago I think. I thought iv was 

 the most positive description; these 

 three symptoms. You can have other 

 symptoms that accompany it, but if 

 those three are not present you are 

 not sure it is American foul brood. 

 They are not all three in European. 

 There is a little ropiness, sometimes. 

 In sack brood the larva is as in a 

 sack; you can lift it out with a tooth- 

 pick, watery inside; when it gets dry 

 it can be shaken out. With Ameri- 

 can foul brood, you have to shake the 

 cells down to get it out. 



Mr. Root — It has been our experi- 

 ence, that American foul brood will 

 disappear after a fine honey flow, and 

 come back again six months after- 

 ward or next spring. If you had 

 several cells of comb with that ropy 

 condition I would be inclined to think 

 you had American foul brood and, if 

 I am not mistaken, you will have it 

 come back. 



Mr. Heinzel — I have known Ameri- 

 can foul brood to disappear that had 

 four out of five cells; often one out 



