54 



February, 1913 



Journal 



it with me, and snapped several views 

 of the yard. As I had never had my 

 hand on a camera before, and was as 

 "green as a cucumber" on all matters 

 pertaining to photography, I was agree- 

 ably surprised to find that all films de- 

 veloped fairly well, although in the 



process of development one film curled 

 up, and it will be noticed the fluid 

 streaked the negative in the picture en- 

 titled, "Asleep," Never mind, better 

 luck next time, and may be with per- 

 severance I will yet be able to take 

 pictures worth looking at. 



Southern 



Beedom^ 



Conducted by Louis H. Scholl. New Braunfels. Te.x. 



This Department Editor's Holidays 



During that time of the old year 

 when " all the world rejoices and makes 

 merry," this poor scribe was confined 

 to his bed with a cold to begin with, 

 followed with a case of that which is 

 spelled "m-u-m-p-s" (something that 

 he had escaped from as a boy). On top 

 of this a severe case of "grippe " got a 

 grip on me, or I got a grip on the 

 "grippe," and to still make matters 

 worse, our family physician told us 

 that I was on the verge of a case of 

 pneumonia. Making a strenuous effort 

 to keep away from any more trouble, 

 however, with a lot of careful nursing 

 on the part of the bee-keeper's better- 

 half, I am nearly well again and able to 

 do some more scribbling. 



I rejoiced during the holidays, al- 

 though ill. If the Old Year was a good 

 one, and crops were bountiful and the 

 harvest profitable, we can not help but 

 rejoice. If this were not the case, and 

 we had suffered hardships, it is at this 

 time we begin to cheer up because we 

 have at hand a New Year with better 

 promises in store than in the Old Year. 

 And it is to be hoped that the year 1913 

 will be a bountiful one, for prospects 

 (are already very promising. However, 

 it is a long time until harvest, and 



many a change may take place to make 

 the --.utcome different from our expec- 

 tations, yet we hope for the best. 



Honey and Good Health 



Speaking about my recent illness, it 

 seems to me that it does not matter 

 how well we care for ourselves and our 

 bodies in the selection of foods, and 

 the way we live regarding the con- 

 tracting of diseases, often the most 

 common ones. I have had first one 

 thing and then another for the last 

 several years. During my boyhood 

 days I was always a robust and healthy 

 fellow, with very few ills to complain 

 about. 



I bring this subject up because a 

 number of persons have put great 

 stress on using honey as a health food 

 and a preventive of diseases. I have 

 been a strong advocate, for many years, 

 of a plentiful use of this sweet of Na- 

 ture. We consume a large amount of 

 honey in our family; but the judicious 

 use of it in our food has not given 

 much proof of what we have claimed 

 for it. 



However, there are exceptions to all 

 rules, and honey in the daily diet is a 

 delicious addition to the variety. 



Contributed ^ Articles^ 



European Foul Brood 



BY L. HARRIS. 



Seeing in your November issue of 

 the American Bee Journal reference 

 was made regarding the odor of Euro- 

 pean foul brood, I cannot resist the 

 temptation to chip in when I see an 

 old acquaintance called into question. 



I have kept bees for more than 40 

 years, and my first acquaintance with 

 foul brood was made over 30 years ago, 

 when I kept bees in England, and the 

 greater part of my experience was in 

 fighting European foul brood. 



I have the highest respect and admir- 



ation for Dr. Phillips, in the work he 

 is doing in trying to stamp out this dis- 

 ease, but when he states that European 

 foul brood has little or no odor, I en- 

 tirely disagree with him. I have han- 

 dled scores of hives infected with foul 

 brood, and I do not remember ever 

 having dealt with a case that did not 

 have the oft'ensive odor "in a more or 

 less degree," according to the time the 

 colony had been diseased. Often when 

 in an advanced stage it was exceed- 

 ingly offensive, almost unbearable. It 

 is often compared to the smell of a 

 glue-pot. I say tht poorest quality of 

 glue is quite fragrant in comparison 

 with an advanced case of European 



foul brood. It can often be smelled 

 several yards away from the infected 

 hive, and if one gets closedown to the 

 entrance, and can exercise his olfactory 

 powers, it can be detected even if there 

 are only a few cells diseased. 



During the last three years I have 

 been acting for the Government of the 

 Province of British Columbia as Foul 

 Brood Inspector, and I have discov- 

 ered a few cases of foul brood. The 

 first case had been imported "directly " 

 from eastern Canada by a settler. I 

 was requested to examine these bees, 

 and I immediately recognized in it my 

 old acquaintance, BacillKn pluton, alias 

 Bacillus alvei, I suppose I ought to say. 

 There was no mistaking the odor; 

 furthermore, there was the slight ropi- 

 ness characteristic of European foul 

 brood. 



The next case was different. The 

 outward appearance was very much 

 the same as the European type, except 

 that the diseased cells presented a 

 greasy appearance. I was rather puz- 

 zled because any odor was impercepti- 

 ble ; it was the first case I had ever 

 met which was not accompanied by 

 the offensive smell. 



It had the other characteristic always 

 found in foul brood, the ropiness in a 

 very marked degree. When the test- 

 ing stick was applied the decayed mass 

 would invariably stretch out, from one 

 inch to an inch and a half before 

 breaking. 



The diseased larvs which were not 

 actually dried down were in the 

 stringy condition, there was not the 

 combination of different forms of dis- 

 eased larvK in the cells in this type of 

 foul brood that we have seen in the 

 European type, and we now know that 

 this was the case of American foul 

 brood, or Bacillus larv.-e. 



The European type is nearly always 

 evidenced by different forms of dis- 

 eased larvs, one cell may contain a 

 dead larva which is almost black and 

 dried, retaining something of its origi- 

 nal form, and being loose in the cell, 

 can be readily shaken out. We have 

 seen many of these dried-up larvae out- 

 side the hive, having been carried out 

 by the bees (black brood). Another 

 cell will contain a dead larva which 

 has turned brown or grey in color, 

 and is of a soft, gluey substance, and if 

 we attempt to remove it, will pull out 

 in strings more or less. These are 

 the cells which give off the offensive 

 odor; another larva is of a pap-like or 

 jelly-like appearance, and is encased in 

 an extremely thin and tough skin, 

 pickled brood, yet another may contain 

 a hard cement-like substance adhering 

 to the bottom-side of the cell, which is 

 absolutely impossible to remove with- 

 out destroying the cell (pickled brood, 

 dried). 



In another cell will be found dried 

 scales, usually at the base of the cell ; 

 these have the appearance of little 

 pieces of dried skin or scurf, and can 

 be removed with the point of the 

 needle. This is European foul brood 

 in its most dangerous stages, and is 

 easily carried from one colony to an- 



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BY 



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