1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



a more detailed study of this bacillus for the 

 purpose of applying knowledge of this germ 

 to practical treatment.* He has also been at 

 work on European foul brood, or "black 

 brood," as it is sometimes called. It will be 

 remembered by many of our readers that, 

 at the Detroit meeting of the National Bee- 

 keepers' Association, Dr. White mentioned 

 another bacillus which he suspected might 

 prove to be the cause of this disorder. This 

 nas not been fully proven yet. 



During the summer of 1909 the Bureau ask- 

 ed for samples of diseased brood from all 

 parts of the United States through the bee 

 journals. Thousands of circulars were also 

 sent out to correspondents, asking for sam- 

 ples where diseases existed. As a result, 

 over 600 samples of brood were examined 

 bacteriologically, bringing the total number 

 which are recorded to more than 1000. At 

 the Sioux City meeting of the National Bee- 

 keepers' Association, Dr. PhiUips showed 

 two maps of the United States, giving the 

 distribution of American foul brood and 

 European foul brood as shown by these sam- 

 ples. These indicated that the two diseases 

 are much more widespread than is usually 

 supposed, and fully justify the position of 

 the Bureau that there is no more important 

 work to be done for American bee-keepers 

 than an investigation of brood diseases. This 

 information concerning the distribution of 

 diseases is being usea to send circulars to 

 bee-keepers in infected regions as far as the 

 limited office force will permit, but is of spe- 

 cial value for use before legislatures which 

 are being asked to pass foul-brood laws. We 

 understand that the Bureau does not expect 

 to publish this material, at least for another 

 season, in order to make it more nearly com- 

 plete; but we are sure that any committees 

 which are to present foul-brood bills to their 

 legislatures this year can obtain the available 

 data for their own States by writing to the 

 Bureau. 



It is difficult for bee-keepers not trained 

 in bacteriological work to reconcile the con- 

 flicting statements of various writers on this 

 subject, or to understand what claims are 

 fully proven. To help clear up this state of 

 affairs Drs. White and Phillips have been at 

 work on a paper in which all the important 

 papers on the causes of bee diseases are re- 

 viewed and analyzed, and the claims examin- 

 ed in the light of our present knowledge of 

 these subjects. We understand that this pa- 

 per is to be completed within a short time, 

 and we hope that it will clear up the present 

 unfortunate confusion. 



The bee-keepers of Massachusetts, Penn- 

 sylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Kentucky, 

 Alabama, Illinois, and Oregon are anxious to 

 have foul-brood laws passed, and, as far as 



Possible, in all these cases the Department 

 as aided the bee-keepers in their efforts. 

 In several cases the proposed bills have been 

 partially or entirely drafted by the Bureau. 



* There is some reason in support of the belief that 

 this is what is called Bacillus Brandenbursiensis, or Ba- 

 cillus Burri, in Europe. See Gleanings, page 684, 

 July 1, 1908. 



In asking for such laws the maps showing 

 the spread of the two diseases are of much 

 value, and this information is always given 

 by the Bureau in such cases. 



We understand that the Bureau makes it a 

 rule not to write letters to State legislators 

 urging them to pass such bills; and this is 

 perhaps as well, for there might be a feeling 

 on the part of some of these men that the 

 federal Department was trying to dictate 

 what they should do. If the Department 

 furnished all the information which it has at 

 hand to the committee of bee-keepers who 

 are urging such bills, no more can be asked. 



It will not do, however, for bee-keepers to 

 rely entirely on foul-brood laws to' control 

 diseases. An educational campaign to in- 

 form the thousands of bee-keepers over the 

 country is badly needed. The Bureau of 

 Entomology is trying to do its share in this 

 work. When a sample of diseased brood is 

 received, a request is sent for names of oth- 

 er bee-keepers near at hand, and they are 

 also sent a circular on brood diseases. 

 Over 10,000 postmasters were also requested 

 to send in the names of bee-keepers in their 

 vicinities during the summer of 1909, and, as 

 far as possible, circulars were sent to the 

 persons whose names were received. The 

 present appropriation of the Bureau for bee 

 culture will not permit of the hiring of an of- 

 fice force large enough to carry on this work 

 very extensively, but the force is used in 

 this way as far as possible. 



In the matter of treatment, the Bureau, we 

 are advised, has not seen fit to change its 

 recommendation of the shaking treatment. 

 Experiments on the effects of various disin- 

 fectants on Bacillus larvae have been per- 

 formed, and the effects of various drugs in 

 syrup fed to diseased colonies have been 

 studied. The results of some of these ex- 

 periments are, we understand, to be publish- 

 ed this winter. So far the results have not 

 shown that the drug treatments, so much 

 advocated in Europe, are of any value in 

 practical work. 



This result will not be a surprise to Amer- 

 ican bee-keepers. In a paper read before 

 the National Bee-keepers' Association at 

 Sioux City, Dr. Phillips outlined what is now 

 known and what is not known about the 

 treatment of bee diseases. He pointed out 

 the necessity of a thorough knowledge of the 

 causes of the brood diseases before any great 

 advance can be made in treatment. This is, 



Eerhaps, a point which many do not reahze; 

 ut it is evident that experiments based on 

 such knowledge will give better results than 

 the haphazard recommendations on drug 

 treatments which have so often been made 

 without a basis of facts. 



Dr. PhiUips announced at Sioux City that, 

 during the season of 1910, the Bureau ex- 

 pects to continue the work on the distribu- 

 tion of the two diseases on a still larger scale. 

 We hope that our readers will co-operate by 

 sending in samples when the time comes to 

 aid in this work which will prove so impor- 

 tant to our industry. Let us see if we can 

 not swamp the bacteriologist. 



