September, 1915. 



313 



American Hae Journal 



from the cell wall. 



" fi. The brood is irregular. 



" Both diseases are a light form of 

 foulbrood and often disappear of them- 

 selves under favorable circumstances. 

 The lighter form is 'Sauerbrut,' which 

 can readily turn into 'Stinkende' (Eu- 

 ropean) foulbrood, and finally into 

 American foulbrood, since bacillus 

 larva;, which comes forth more abund- 

 antly than one thinks, crowds out the 

 other bacteria." 



When we first came into contact 

 with European foulbrood, we were at a 

 loss to understand how some beekeep- 

 ers could maintain that it was a " stink- 

 ing " disease, nor could we ever find 

 any traces of slight ropiness such as 

 we were led to believe existed by 

 prominent writers. Later experiences 

 have shown us, however, that under 

 some circumstances the ropiness ex- 

 ists, although in the light cases we 

 have had, no smell was noticeable. In 

 one or two instances the color and 

 ropiness were so pronounced as to lead 

 us into believing that the colony was 

 aflfected with American foulbrood. 



This, I believe, will explain why au- 

 thorities disagree so thorou hly as to 

 the smell of European foulbrood. 

 Some have had one stage of the disease 

 described in the pamphlet as "Sauer- 

 brut " while the others have had the 

 the worse form described as " stink- 

 ende." 



Our experience has been almost 

 wholly with the mild form of European 

 foulbrood (Sauerbrut), while we have 

 had only a few cases of the more virile 

 form (Stinkende), and have seen both 

 forms in the same colony. 



The New York authorities, as I re- 

 member, state that European foulbrood 

 exists in the State, in some cases being 

 much more virulent than in others. 

 Sometimes it gets so bad that it is 

 deemed advisable to shake the colony, 

 as in American foulbrood, so as to 

 weaken the strength of the disease. 



Hamilton, 111. 



A Remarkable Tree for Avenue 

 Planting 



BY TARLTON R.\V.\IENT. 



CALIFORNIA has taken the euca- 

 lypts to its bosom, so to speak, 

 especially the blue gum (E. globu- 

 lus). (When the Australian advocates 

 of forest preservation desire to stir up 

 a neglectful public to the urgency of 

 conserving the indigenous timber, they 

 always cite the possibility of our re- 

 ceiving blue gum sleepers from Cali- 

 fornia ) However, there are many 

 other wonderful trees in this common- 

 wealth eminently suited for cultivation 

 in America. 



While many species of the eucalypts 

 are extensively grown in the United 

 States, and are highly prized, the tim- 

 ber from these trees is entirely desti- 

 tute of "figured" grain characteristic 

 of some other Australian botanical or- 

 ders. The tree — details of which are 

 shown in the illustrations — known to 

 Queenslanders as "silky oak" (6'rei'tl- 

 lea yobiista), is indeed a remarkable 

 one. In its northeastern habitat, the 

 glorious feathery blossom provides an 

 unforgetful floral harmony during 



November and December — hot weather 

 in Australia. 



During this period of florescence, 

 the unique cadmium orange colored 

 flowers completely eclipse the soft, sil- 

 very green foliage. (Where a dark 

 background, such as pines, is provided, 

 the flaming bloom makes a lovely 

 artistic contrast) Everything is so 

 " feathery." floral gossamer, in compo- 

 sition. The clusters of florets ; the 

 urgent sheen of the leaves; the large 

 sparkling drops of nectar so abund- 

 antly secreted — when a spray is plucked 

 the hand is drenched with the limpid 

 fluid — the droning of contentious bees 

 busily salvaging the sweetness from 

 the depredations of the honey-eaters, 

 all go to make the " silky oaks " be- 

 loved by all nature students who come 

 in contact with them. The species 

 grows rather quickly, and with artistic 



symmetry, making it an ideal every- 

 green for avenue planting. 



Inset in the picture, is a detached 

 floret displaying the large globule of 

 nectar which forms at the base of the 

 aborted petals. Close to the nectaiy 

 are two crimson splashes. The amount 

 of sweet liquid offering in each tiny 

 floret is beyond the capacity of a honey 

 bee, and when it is remembered that 

 many dozen florets are in a single 

 spray, the nectariferous production ex- 

 cites our wonder. The pistils assume 

 a curvilinear sweep, and this gives the 

 sprays an uncommon " looped " appear- 

 ance. The foliage is suggestive of the 

 classical acanthus, and is delicately 

 pale on the underside. (I have en- 

 deavored to portray this feature in the 

 smaller drawing, where the curious 

 arrangement of ihe seed pods is also 

 shown.) As the capsules dry, they 



SPIN'EBILL HONJEV K.ATER RIFLING THE RICH .NECTAR OK THE SILKY 



OAK BLOSSO.MS 



