MARCH 15, 1913 



171 



Referring to the candy sold in shops, the 

 writer says that of 250 samples bought for 

 examination by government chemists '' not 

 one was found to be pure, and nearly all 

 had either aniline or coal-tar colors, glu- 

 cose or terra alba in them, while many had 

 all of these valuable(?) food elements. 

 Even if all candy were pure — that is, if it 

 were composed wholly of sugar, mixed or 

 coated with other edible constituents — it 

 would be unsafe for the average child to 

 gorge himself with it." 



Some sound advice is given along the 

 line of allowing children to gratify their 

 natural craving for sugar by eating such 

 foods as dates, fig's, prunes, etc. ; and we 

 wish that honej^ had been included; for it 

 is a fact that, perhaps, no scientific man 

 W'ill deny that honey, being an invert sugar 

 — that is, gi'ape sugar — does not have the 

 deleterious effect on the health that cane 

 sugar does, whether made of the sugar cane, 

 sugar beet, or mai:)le sap. 



SACBROOD AN OLD BROOD DISEASE UNDER A 

 NEW NAME. 



For man}' years back there has been rec- 

 ognized a form of dead brood under the 

 name of pickled brood that is neither Eu- 

 ropean nor American foul brood. It comes 

 and goes at certain seasons, but is never 

 a destructive agent like either one of the 

 old foul-brood diseases. Sometimes it has 

 the api^earance of foul brood so far as color 

 is concerned; but it is never ropy like the 

 American type; and while similar to the 

 European type it seldom gets very much 

 headway in a colony. For some years back. 

 Dr. G. F. White, Expert in Bacteriology in 

 the Bureau of Entomology, under Dr. E. F. 

 Pliillips, has been studying this peculiar 

 disease; and the result of Ins investigations 

 as given in Circular No. 169, Bureau of 

 Entomology, show that it is not a fungous 

 disease, as was supposed by Dr. Wm. 0. 

 Howard, of Texas, but is due to some other 

 cause. It will be remembered that Dr. 

 Howard attributed the cause to a fungiis, to 

 which he gave the name Aspergillus pollini. 

 He then suggested the name " pickled 

 brood," wliich was adopted. 



It is mildl}' contagious, and the infected 

 larvae turn yellow and then brown. Some- 

 times the color is grsiy- The dead speci- 

 mens may be in unsealed cells, but are 

 generally in the sealed ones. The dead lar- 

 vae, says Dr. White, are " almost always 

 extended lengthwise in the cells, and lying 

 with the dorsal side against the lower wall. 

 .... The form of the larvae dead of this 

 disease changes much less than it does in 



foul brood. The body wall is not easily 

 broken, as a rule, and on tins account often 

 the entire larva can be removed from the 

 cell intact." ..." When removed they 

 have the appearance of a small closed sac. 

 This suggests the name of sacbrood." 



The only objection we find to the name 

 is that it may be often confused with black 

 brood, which is still veiy largely used, es- 

 pecially by those in possession of the older 

 literature on bee diseases. In ordinary dis- 

 cussions in convention the word sacbrood 

 can be veiy easily confused with black 

 brood; and our own stenographers have re- 

 peatedly in our letter-writing confused the 

 terms and substituted the wrong one.* 

 However, this is a matter that will correct 

 itself as time goes on. 



CAUSE OF sacbrood. 



So far no microbe or fungus has been 

 discovered as the cause of the disease. 

 Whatever it is, it is so very small that it 

 will pass through a Berkfield filter. Sick 

 and dead laiTaB of sacbrood have been ma- 

 cerated and diluted with sterile water. The 

 product was then passed through a Berk- 

 field filter ; but it was found that the filtrate 

 would transmit the disease to a healthy 

 colony. Colonies fed with tliis filtrate would 

 again give the disease to other colonies. It 

 is evident that the disease is contagious. 

 Dr. White concludes " that sacbrood is an 

 infectious disease of the brood of bees caus- 

 ed by an infecting agent that is so small 

 or of such a nature that it will pass through 

 the pores of a Berkfield filter." 



This led us to the conclusion that the 

 foul-brood inspectors of the countiy might 

 be compelled to quarantine an apiary where 

 sacbrood might be found; but in talking 

 with Dr. E. F. Phillips, of the Bureau, 

 afterward, he said he did not think that tins 

 would be necessary. The disease at its 

 worst is not veiy destructive; and when it 

 does make its appearance it affects so few 

 lam^ce in a colony that it need cause no 

 great alarm on the part of the beekeeper. 

 W^hile he would advise treating or isolating 

 colonies, he did not believe it would be nec- 

 essaiy to quarantine an apiary where it was 

 found. 



We are informed that tins circular wil.'. 

 be followed by a bulletin in which the dis- 

 ease will be treated more fully. Copies of 

 this circular can be obtained by applying 

 to the Superintendent of Documents. Goa'- 

 ernment Piinting-office, Washington, D. C, 

 and inclosing five cents per copy. Ask for 

 Circular 169, Bureau of Entomology. 



* Indeed, our oldest stenographer got the names 

 ■wrong in taliing down this very editorial. The ear 

 scarcely catches the difference. 



