40 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW, 



take out one or two more to look at. 

 If the colony is weak, many of the 

 affected, cells retain a fraction, or the 

 whole, of their cappings, but, in any 

 case, there are many with no capping. 

 If the colony has been afflicted with 

 bowel trouble, one, on a careless ex- 

 amination, might take the scales to be 

 dried excrement, once half liquid, but 

 we look carefully and see that they 

 are always in the same position, and 

 of the same size and shape, which 

 would, not be the case if they were ex- 

 crement. We will now return to the 

 colony but little affected, and take out 

 and examine, one after anotlier, the 

 combs in which brood, has been reared 

 during the past season. Now Ave see 

 the scales at a glance. There may be 

 but half a dozen in some of the combs, 

 and in some none at all. It is safe for 

 us to pronounce the colony diseased, 

 and to treat it accordingly, but this 

 test is not quite so certain as one we 

 shall be able to apply when brood 

 rearing has been under way for some 

 time, and settled warm weather has 

 come. I say it is not quite as certain, 

 for the sole reason that in one or two 

 cases I have known the scales of brood 

 dead from other causes than foul 

 brood, though, in those cases, I think 

 tlie scales were all finally removed by 

 the bees. 



We will now go forward to apple 

 bloom, or to the opening of white clov- 

 er. If the colonies Ave visited earlier 

 haA^e been left undisturbed, we Avill 

 examine them again in the same order 

 as before. Providing ourselves with 

 some toothpicks, or bits of straw, we 

 go to the sicker hive of the two for its 

 thorougli examination, and proceed 

 with the greatest deliberation, for we 

 are trying to learn to distinguish foul 

 brood with absolute certainty. Having 

 an eye out continually for the apponr- 

 ance of robbers, which must be taken 

 as a signal for closing the hive, and 



postponing further examination, we 

 raise the cover. If Ave are on the lee- 

 Avard side of the hive we may catch 

 a faint wliift' of the ill odor that pro- 

 ceeds from the diseased brood, as the 

 cover is raised, but we make sure of 

 it by bending over the hive with face 

 near the top of the combs, but we do 

 not unnecessarilj' prolong this part of 

 the examination, for the scent is by no 

 means pleasant—not AA'orse than that 

 of colonies badly affected with diar- 

 rhoea perhaps; not so bad, but quite 

 different— sometliing like that of a poor 

 quality of glue as it is warming for 

 use, or like that of a dead animal af- 

 ter it has lain and decayed and dried 

 for Aveeks in the open air. With a 

 little practice we shall not be liable to 

 mistake the odor, and Ave shall find 

 it of considerable assistance in discoA-- 

 ering the disease to the extent that 

 often the necessity of lifting combs 

 AA'ill be precluded. 



NoAV Ave Avill take out tAvo or three 

 combs from the center of the brood- 

 nest, and look for the peculiarities in 

 their appearance or contents. At the 

 first glance, one who takes delight in 

 seeing his bees prospering would have 

 a feeling of depression come over him 

 Avithout realizing the reason for it. 

 But Ave easily discover tlie reason. 

 There is plainly a general appearance 

 of shiftlessness, slovenliness and 

 sciualor. The combs are too dark, and 

 Avithout the natural, clean look. The 

 lieos do not cling Avell to the brood, 

 but slink aAvay; the cappings of the 

 brood do not have the pretty, clean, 

 sliglitly couA'ex appearance, bxit some 

 are flat or cA^en concaAe; many are 

 perforated, some slightly, others in a 

 greater degree and are more or less 

 rngged. Noav we Avill look into the 

 cells. Some, not capped, contain lar- 

 A'ae of a clear pearly luster, others 

 have nicely rounded capings — all tJiese 

 are as yet healthy. In the cells with 



