CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF BEES. 669 



Diseases of Bees Bees are perhaps less subject to disease 

 than any other class of animated creation, and this is well, since it 

 would be difficult to minister to their physical infirmities and their 

 life-span is so short that there is no room in it for sickness. If a 

 bee is injured or maimed it is at once killed and put out of the way 

 by its fellow- workers, and as hundreds and thousands are daily added 

 to the family circle, the numbers that are lost by accident or wear 

 out by work is a matter of little moment. The only cause of 

 apprehension is when anything goes wrong with the health of the 

 brood or young hatching bees. There is but one such disease and 

 it is known as " Foul Brood." 



FOUL, BROOD This is a disease of the sealed brood. The symp- 

 toms are a dwindling down of the colony because the brood fails to 

 hatch. When this is suspected an examination will easily determine 

 if that cause be at work. The capping of each cell containing the 

 young bee will be found to be sunken, instead of slightly con vexed as 

 it ought to be, and if the matter in the cell be moved with the point 

 of a penknife, it will emit a sickening odor. When the malady has 

 assumed a dangerous form this odor may be detected in passing the 

 hives. This disease is apt to spread and be communicated to other 

 stocks by simply carrying the honey from an infected hive. There 

 is really no cure for this disease when it has made much progress, 

 and the only plan is to destroy both infected hive and its bees, by 

 burning or burying. If discovered in time, the bees should be 

 shaken from the comb and put into a new hive, the old hive and 

 comb being destroyed. They must be confined twenty -four or forty - 

 eight hours, till every particle of honey in their honey sacs is con- 

 sumed in fact nearly starved when they may be allowed to build 

 new comb. The Germans use salicylic acid for this disease. In 

 this case, the caps of every diseased brood-cell should be opened and 

 the solution of salicylic acid thoroughly applied with a spray-inf user. 

 Muth, the celebrated apiarist of Cincinnati, uses one-quarter ounce 

 each of borax and salicylic acid in a pint of pure soft water. 



DYSENTERY The other disease to which bees are liable is dysen- 

 tery. When this prevails you will find the door-steps, alighting- 

 boards and entrances to hives covered with a yellowish, disagreeable- 

 looking excrement. If the weather becomes warm and pleasant, 

 they will generally get over it after they have had a full flight. If 

 on the contrary the symptoms show themselves before warm weather 

 and they get no opportunity to fly, they may get so bad as to cover 

 their combs with this substance and finally die in a damp, filthy- 

 looking mass. This disease is usually due to bad food, coupled with 

 an open, cold hive and an insufficient quantity of bees; honey from 

 rotten fruit, cider from cider mills, of which bees are very fond, and 

 sorghum sirup or burnt candy or sugar, is almost sure to produce 

 dysentery. The preventive measures are to have the walls of the 

 hives of some warm porous material, that will absorb moisture and 

 dry out readily. In winter feeding honey gathered in the middle of 



