578 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Sept. Id, 



I have recommended, with successful results, placing the bees 

 on full sheets of foundation, confining them for three days 

 (giving thera plenty of water) in order to consume all of the 

 infected material, that none of it might be deposited in the 

 new combs to be covered with new pollen or honey. The dis- 

 ease is infectious and may be carried by robbers having access 

 to infected combs. 



Pollen is a favorable medium, and the warm, damp, dark 

 cellars, in which bees are wintered, in the Northarn climate, 

 give the proper conditions for the growth, and moldy combs 

 result. 



When pollen is added to the liquid food, which occurs late 

 in larval life, there being a sweet semi-liquid mixture, the 

 proper medium is present for the growth of the fungus, which 

 at once starts a ferment in the alimentary canal of the larva, 

 breaking through and permeating the entire liquids of the 

 body, giving an acid reaction {chemical analysis proves the 

 presence of acetic acid, or vinegar). This growth takes place 

 generally within three days, the brood dies slowly, keeping up 

 for some time a wriggling motion. 



When no more food (sweets) is taken, the medium is soon 

 exhausted and the fungus ceases to grow; the acid condition 

 of the brood prevents the growth of putrefactive germs from 

 the air, so that decomposition does not take place, hence no 

 foul odor, the brood is pickled in its own liquids. 



It has been the earnest endeavor of the writer to throw as 

 much light on the natural history of this disease as possible 

 with the facts before him ; and to give it in plain language so 

 that all may understand that read; hoping that those who are 

 in trouble may devise some practical means of escape. 



Mr. J. W. Stahmann, of Weaver, Minn., has just sent 

 combs containing specimens of this disease, from which the 

 drawings (Figs. 3 and 4) were made. He has been asked to 

 contribute his experience with this disease to the readers of 

 the American Bee Journal. 



Below will be found the differential diagnosis of this dis- 

 ease and that of " foul brood :" 



FOUL BROOD— CAUSE, BacHlus Alvei. 



" Introduced from without to the healthy brood ; the food 

 provided by the nurse-bees, being a nutrient medium (proper 

 soil for growth,) active growth at once takes place; poisonous 

 compounds result, and death of the brood may result from 

 these, the germs themselves, or their combined action." 

 (Author's "Foul Brood," page 10.) 



Symptoms and Course. — Brood is attacked at all ages 

 from two or three days up to after being sealed. McEvoy 

 says, "More brood dies of foul brood at the ages of 6, 7, 8 

 and 9 days than at any other age." (Author's "Foul Brood," 

 page 46.) As much brood dies before the feeding of pollen 

 begins as afterward. The dead brood is attacked by the 

 putrefactive germs from the atmosphere, causing rapid 

 decomposition, producing a ropy, brownish-black mass, and 

 giving off a very foul odor. The cap in sealed brood is nearly 

 always ruptured near the center (Fig. 6, b, c) by the accumu- 

 lation of the foul gases generated within the cell; the rotten 

 brood lies in a shapeless mass at the lower side of the cell. 

 (Fig. 5, b.) When the mass dries it becomes harder and 

 tougher than the wax (Prop.' IV, Author's "Foul Brood," page 

 18), and cannot be detached, without injury to the comb. 



When baeillus alvei (Fig. 1, o, b, c) is planted on nutrient 

 gelatine, or a cooked potato, and placed in a moist chamber, 

 growth at once takes place, forming a viscid, ropy liquid, 

 slightly alkaline in reaction, giving off an offensive odor 

 resembling that of " foul brood," and when exposed to the air, 

 putrefactive germs attack the culture and soon over-run it. 



WHITE FUNGUS — AsTpergilltis Polllni. 

 A mold introduced to a healthy colony from moldy combs 

 or pollen (Fig. 3), which when mixed with the liquid food 



composed mostly of honey and water, a ferment takes place 

 and vinegar is formed in the stomach of the bee, the combined 

 action of the mold and the ferment destroys the life, as above 

 mentioned. 



Symptoms and Couese. — Brood is attacked only after 

 the pollen is mixed with the liquid food, and dies just before 

 arriving at the pupa stage, generally; sometimes passes iuto 

 this stage and is sealed. No brood dies before the age of feed- 

 ing mixed food arrives. The dead brood being in an acid or 

 pickled condition, it is not attacked by the putrefactive germs 

 from the atmosphere. No decomposition takes place, there is 

 a watery (not ropy) condition of the brood when broken up, 

 sometimes of a light-brown color, generally white, giving off 

 710 oc?oc. The cap in sealed brood is not ruptured (Fig 6, a). 

 The dead brood has a swollen appearance (Fig. 5, a), and 

 when dry does not stick to the comb or cell, and often does not 

 lose its shape. 



When Aspergillus pollini (Figs. 3 and 4) is planted with 

 the combs in water, or the brood on plates partially submerged 

 in sweetened water mixed with starch or wheat-bran, placed 

 in a moist chamber in a dark room, growth at once takes 

 place, and in 3 to 4 days covers the medium, converting it 

 into an acid solution. When exposed to the air putrefactive 

 germs do not attack the culture. Ft. Worth, Tex. 



[Dr. Howard's book on "Foul Brood" we mail for 25 

 cents, or club It with the Bee Journal for a year — both to- 

 gether, for $1.10. Every bee-keeper ought to have that little , 

 book. 



For further reference to " Pickled Brood," see editorial 

 on page 584. — Editor.] 



Shipping Comb Honey Safely by Freight. 



BY- W. Z. HUTCHINSON. 



The season for the shipping of comb honey is upon us, 

 and great is the sorrow when the honey reaches the market in 

 a broken condition. Much can be done by the shipper to 

 avert this dreaded catastrophe. The advice given in the 

 following editorial copied from the Pacific Bee Journal, is 

 most excellent : 



"The loss of our beautiful comb honey by breakage in 

 shipment and the ruined condition of the home market caused 

 by the damaged condition of our honey-packages has led me 

 to try to better the method of handling this tender article, 

 comb honey. I have often witnessed the forced sale of dam- 

 aged honey, and in almost every store that I visited last sum- 

 mer I found a quantity of this leaky, case-daubed comb honey. 



" Brother bee-keepers, arouse yourselves and put up your 

 honey right. The first step is to produce the article in correct 

 shape by having the combs built solid to all four sides of the 

 section, and to do this to a certainty, two strips of starters 

 must be used. One large strip at the top of the section and a 

 small one at the bottom, perfectly fastened to the section, and 

 there to stay. The Daisy foundation fastener is the best 

 machine tor fastening foundation in sections that has yet 

 come to ray notice. 



" Secondly, to get evenly built combs, we should use the 

 slotted-wood sawed separators, and then the cappings of the 

 honey will not scrape off in shipping. I hope that there is no 

 such thing as the packing of broken honey, but I am ofttimes 

 tempted to think there is, for the reason that there is so much 

 damaged honey on the market. 



" Extreme care should be exercised in packing, to see that 

 the honey is all of a thick, ripe grade, in perfect condition, 

 and strongly built. If there is any unfit to ship long dis- 

 tances, use it at home, put it back in the hive, or dispose of 

 it in the home market. Don't allow it to get mixed with the 

 long-distance honey, for this damaged honey means low prices 

 for all, and the ultimate refusal of the dealers to handle it. 



"To gain the best results in shipping comb honey, it 

 should be well cured, and to gain this end it may be kept in a 

 very warm, dry, well-ventilated room for at least four weeks. 

 The temperature nearest lOO^^ will do the best curing. 



" Shipping-crates should be made to hold four or five 20- 

 pound cases to insure the most care in handling by freight- 

 men. The practice of shipping comb honey in single 24- 



