May, 1912. 



American l^ae Journal 



quent on the rousing up ami movement 

 of muscles, and to do this they partake 

 of pollen. This works evil in early 

 spring, as it leads to bowel distension 

 when no flight can be safely under- 

 taken to secure outside cleansing. 

 Hence, we liave dysentery, spotting of 

 the combs, and fouling of the hive- 

 front and flight-board. 



Upward ventilation, allowing the es- 

 cape of foul gases tlirough the porous 

 covering, and also the steady percola- 

 tion upward of the watery vapor, with 

 its subse(|uent dissipation in the upper 

 air, insures a warm, dry interior with 

 a supply of fresh, sweet air enveloping 

 the cluster. Away back about 40 years 

 ago, open, porous coverings were al- 

 most universally used in .America, 

 while on this side the " crown-board " 

 was the favorite device. We then 

 adopted the (|uilt, which at once " caught 

 on," and from then until now this sys- 

 tem of overhead covering has firmly 

 held its place as the prime favorite. If 

 I read the signs of the times aright, 

 evohition is slowly but surely working 

 its way in favor of warm, porous cov- 

 erings above the brood-nest all over 

 the American continent. 



Banff, Scotland. 



Brood Diseases— Live Question 



By C. p. UAD.\NT. 



It is of extreme importance to the 

 bee-keepers of the country to be able 

 to recognize at a glance the differences 

 between the so-called American and 

 European foul brood as well as the 

 difi'erence between the latter and pick- 

 led brood, which can not be called a 

 disease, if we are to rely on our best 

 authorities. 



For some time past, most of us have 

 become acquainted with the peculiar 

 diagnosis of American foul brood, the 

 true malignant foul brood, which, for 

 that matter, is as common in Europe 

 as it is in America. The ro/'iiiess, the 

 coffee-color, the f>lue pot smell, when 

 these are present together, the danger- 

 ousness of the disease can not be 

 doubted, and the starvation method is 

 the only practical remedy. Both the 

 disease and its cure have been de- 

 scribed often enough to satisfy every 

 one that the transmission of it is in 

 the honey, and that all infected combs 

 must be removed, as explained in the 

 McEvoy-France method. 



But when the ropiness is absent, as 

 well as the glue-pot smell, how are we 

 to decide at first glance whether the 

 disease is black brood (European foul 

 brood) or only pickled brood ? I asked 

 this question of several of our leading 

 men. Dr. Phillips said it could not be 

 readily distinguished, except by an ex- 

 pert. But the experts have no infalli- 

 ble signs as yet, since they have so far 

 failed to find the bacillus of black 

 brood. Yet is not this an important 

 matter to every one of us ? 



With this question in view, I re- 

 solved to make enquiries that might 

 lead us to more positive knowledge. 



The following letters will explain 

 themselves. I have great faith in the 

 opinions of McEvoy, not only because 

 he has a very extensive experience in 

 foul-brood matters, having been an in- 



spector of bees in the Province of On- 

 tario for lil years, but also because 

 even some of his opponents in other 

 matters acknowledge that he is the 

 best posted man in all questions con- 

 cerning brood - diseases. I quote 

 France, because he also is one of the 

 most positive and e.xperienced authori- 

 ties, with long experience in foul brood. 

 I quote Dr. (.'. C. .Miller, because his 

 trials and success in the eradication of 

 European foul brood are quite recent. 

 Finally. 1 quote Mr. Kildow and his 

 lieutenant, Pyles, because botli of these 

 men have scoured a nimiber of Illinois 

 counties, and have met all sorts of con- 

 ditions : 



Hh KT.Ki) Bkood Should Bk Called 

 "Starved Brood." 



When the weatlier conditions are favor- 

 able bees gather a jrood deal of honey all 

 through fruit-bloom, and while they are 

 bringing in honey daily the brood-chambers 

 will be kept well supplied with umeiiled 

 honey, and as long as the uusfaled Iwnt-y 

 (which is the first used) lasts, all the brood 

 will be extra-well fed. But in some springs, 

 when the bees are working well in fruit- 

 bloom, and going into brood-rearing on a 

 large scale, wet weather sets in. and shuts 

 off honey-gathering for days. Just as soon 

 as this occurs the bees quickly feed the //«- 

 .><■.//(•(/ honey to the brood, and when this is 

 gone they do not uncap the sealed stores 

 fast enough to keep pace with all the brood 

 that requires feeding, and the result is more 

 or less starved brood. Some of the brood 

 that dies of starvation, while in the coil 

 \oxvc\. turns <t little yclUrw at first, and later to a 

 dark brini'n. and dries Uinvn in its skin. 



All brood that dies of starvation when the 

 bees have it about ready for capping, will 

 be found on the lower side-wall of the cell, 

 with the end turned up a little, and will 

 have a dark and tough skin on, and like all 

 starved brood it dries dozen in its skin, and 

 turns to a dark, dry crust on the bottom and 

 lower side-wall of the cells: and after that 

 it can be easily cleaned out by the bees. 



Bees always feed the brood much better 

 when they have plenty of unsealed stores, 

 but wtien the colonies run out of unsealed 

 honey for days at a time between fruit- 

 bloom and clover, it is then that the bees 

 fail to get all the brood fed. and the result is 

 starved brood. When a bee-keeper exam- 

 ines his colonies then and finds starved 

 brood, he. like others, will say that his colo- 

 nies have "pickled brood." 



On the night of May 28. i88u, we had a kill- 

 ing frost all over the Province of Ontario, 

 followed by several days of wet weather, 

 shutting off all honey-gathering for some 

 time. This awfully sudden check coming 

 after one of the most favorable springs for 

 bees that I ever saw, and so near the honey 

 season, caught all colonies very full of 

 brood. I knew that the unsealed honey would 

 soon be fed. and to help the bees to keep 

 feeding the brood just as much as if nothing 

 had happened. I fed warm syrup to all col- 

 onies every evening for sometime, and often 

 was surprised when I examined the combs 

 to see how much syrup it took to feed all the 

 brood well when the bees were not bringing 

 in any honey. My colonies gave a mucli 

 larger average yield of clover and basswood 

 honey that season than any that I heard of. 



BLAt K Brood. 



This is a disease that breaks out among 

 black bees and their crosses. The most of 

 the brood dies of this disease when in the coil 

 form, and at ter death turns yellow, then broken, 

 and dies dinvn into a black crust on the bottom and 

 /(mrr side-wall of the cells, and when real 

 dry can be removed from the cells by the 

 bees. When the rotten matter is sinking 

 down '^ome of it has a melted appearance. 



Black brood can be easily headed off by 

 going ahead of it and requeening every col- 

 ony with pure Italian queens. 



In the Canadian Bee Journal for July. igog. 

 page 252. you will see an article of mine, 

 headed. " Korty Thousand Italian Queens 

 Needed." I claimed that it would take 40.- 

 000 Italian queens each year for 5 years to 

 bring the apiaries of our Province up to 

 where they should be. 



Koul brood— the real serpent itself— can 

 never be headed off by any breed of bees, 

 but otlier colonies can be prevented from 

 getting it by the inspectors going to work 

 early in the spring, before any robbing sets 

 in. and where foul brood colonies are found 



near valuableapiaries. have the diseased col 

 onies moved away in the c-oeninK to where 

 they will be a safe distance from all apiar- 

 ies, and leave them there until cured. Many 

 bee-keepers have lost hundreds of dollars 

 through their bees robbing foul-broody colo- 

 nies in the spring that were kept by other 

 men I got the disease kept out of some of 

 the best apiaries in our Province by getting 

 some men to move their foul-broody colonies 

 away before robbing sets in. 



W.\i. McEvOY. 

 Woodburn, Ont., Canada. 



The Opinion of Mr. Pvi.es. 



Mr. C. p. Dadant:— I am glad of the privi- 

 lege of adding my mite to this discussion. 

 My observations have been that European 

 foul brood differs radically from pickled 

 brood. European foul brood begins dying 

 as early as the secondilay. and in most cases 

 turns yellow, decidedly so, and while it set- 

 tles down in a somewhat shapeless mass it 

 yet stays within its own skin, and. when dry, 

 can often be shaken out of the cell. 



Pickled brood does not begin dying until 

 the pollen-feeding stage, and is never yel- 

 low. Most of the deaths occur. I should say. 

 on the bth or 7th day. while I believe most 

 European foul brood deaths occur earlier. 



In conversation with Mr. Kildow yester- 

 day, he agrees with this. I. E. PvLES. 



Putnam. 111. 



The Opinion of Dr. Miller. 



Frienli Dadant —I don t know pickled 

 brood, but did not suppose it had the dis- 

 tinctively yellow color of the dead European 

 foul brood. 



It isn't easy to be exact on little points 

 about foul brood without having the thing 

 before you. I think, however, that in Euro- 

 pean foul brood the dead larva dries down 

 without the skin breaking. Miss Wilson, 

 however, says it has a sort of melted-dozon 

 look. I remember one day seeing a number 

 of dead larvae that had been thrown out on 

 the hive-entrance. It had been quite rainy, 

 and the larva; had swelled up to more than 

 life-size. Certainly there had been no break- 

 ing of the skin in that case. 



McEvoy says European foul brood is a dis- 

 ease of the blacks. My Italians had it. 



Marengo, 111. C. C. Miller. 



A letter written by me to Mr, France 

 brought the reply from him that he 

 would meet meat Madison, at the State 

 bee-keepers' meeting where I intended 

 to be present. At this meeting, held 

 Feb. 20, 11112, the matter was fully dis- 

 cussed, and the following symptoms 

 were practically agreed upon under the 

 leadership of Mr. France: 



" European foul brood, or black brood, 

 dies mainly during the first stages of the life 

 of the larvae; becomes of a pronounced vel- 

 lino color, and rarely becomes sealed before 

 death. It melts dozen to a shapeless mass, but 

 the skin rarely breaks. 



"Pickled brood dies later, especially at 

 the time when the larva is extended longi- 

 tudinally or (//-lA/icrf /« the cell: looks bnnon- 

 ishwith grav streaks. &n& mAt be lifted right 

 out. Held up to the window, it assumes a 

 baf.''like appearance, as if full of zoater. and 

 turns dark. The skin never breaks, and it 

 dries down so as often to be easily shaken 

 out of the cell. If sealed, both kinds may 

 have perforated cappings. but both may be 

 easily cleaned out by the bees. Pickled 

 brood is not in any way contagious, and if 

 combs containing it are given to healthy 

 colonies, it will be cleaned out readily. ' 



The above statements being referred 

 to Mr. McEvoy for comments, he re- 

 plies as follows : 



Further Opinion of Mr. McEvov. 



Friend Dadant:— Your letter is received. 

 Many thanks to you for sending me the de- 

 scriptions given by France. Dr. Miller, Kil- 

 dow. and Pyles. of the different kinds of 

 dead brood. 



I am pleased to say that I fully agree with 

 them when they claim that " European foul 

 brood dies during the first stages of the life 

 of the larva, mostly. It turns yellow, rarely 

 becomes sealed before it dies, melts down 

 to a shapeless mass, but the skin rarely 

 breaks." Where these men use the words 

 "dies during the first stages of the life of 

 the larva." I said "dies when in the coil 

 form." which shows very plainly that we all 

 agree— "melts down to a shapeless mass, 

 but the skin rarely breaks." Although it 



