372 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



June 14 1900 



ach and intestines, comes from the sug-ar that is eaten, the 

 difficulty being- that the cane-sugar must be changed after it 

 is eaten, but honey does not need the same change, hence is 

 a more wholesome article. Children have an intense love 

 for honey, and it is for their health that such craving be 

 satisfied. Give them bread and honey : unless wrongly 

 trained, they do not care for butter with it. Honey is much 

 cheaper than butter, better for them. 



Some say, " Honey never agrees with me." Neither 

 would many another article agree with you if you should 

 make a pig of yourself and eat a lot of it after taking a full 

 meal. Let honey be eaten in moderation as part of the 

 regular meal, and you will easily become accustomed to it. 

 In Germany it is not an infrequent thing to hear of people 

 of great age attributing their long life to the use of honey. 



McHenry Co., III. 



Some Difficulties in Connection with Foul Brood 



Written/or Vie California Utate Bee-Keepm-s^ Convention, 

 BY THOS. WM. COWAN. 



THOSE who have had very much to do with foul brood 

 will readily admit that, for the average bee-keeper, 

 there are many and seriou=. difficulties in connection 

 with this disease which baffle him, and can be overcome 

 only by an intelligent mastery of the subject. The disease 

 is allowed in many cases to break out and spread, without 

 the slightest precaution being taken, sometimes thru ignor- 

 ance, carelessness, or indifference on the part of the bee- 

 keeper, to the detriment of others keeping bees in the 

 vicinity. In consequence of this it is no wonder that foul 

 brood is spreading, and that there is a demand among in- 

 telligent bee-keepers in all countries for legislation to pre- 

 vent the industry from being destroyed. To be brief and 

 concise, I will mention only some of the difficulties we have 

 to encounter to make people understand the conditions un- 

 der which the disease exists, or to study its etiology. 



1. That foul brood is terribly contagious, and that as 

 great care should be exercised in dealing with it as with 

 smallpox or cholera. What these diseases are to man, foul 

 brood is to bees. 



2. That foul brood is a germ disease, and is produced by 

 the presence of a minute organism called Bacillus alvei. 

 which exists in two different forms. In the earliest stages 

 of its existence it is in the form of a rod, and is usually 

 then termed bacillus, to distinguish it from the latter stage, 

 or spore, as it is then commonly called. 



3. That there is a great difference between these two 

 stages, and as both may exist in the hive at the same time, 

 the treatment that would destroy the one would have no 

 effect upon the other. 



4. That Bacillus alvci is in form rod-shaped ; and each 

 rod, as it attains full growth, splits in t%To, each of these 

 taking up an independent existence, and going thru the 

 same process ; and as two generations can be reared within 

 one hour, the same rate of progression being kept up by 

 each individual, it is not astonishing that foul brood spreads 

 so rapidly. 



5. That under certain conditions bacilli have the power 

 of forming spores which are analogous to seeds or plants, 

 and are endowed with wonderful vitality, being able to en- 

 dure adverse influences of various kinds, without injury so 

 far as their germinating powers are concerned. Boiling 

 water and freezing will kill bacilli, but not their spores. In 

 the same way chemical reagents which readily destroy 

 bacilli have no effect upon the spores, unless given in such 

 strong doses as would kill the bees. (It is extremely difficult 

 to make people understand this great difference in the 

 vitality of bacilli and their spores, and it is here that the 

 great danger arises.) 



6. That spores coming in contact with suitable nutrient 

 material have the power to germinate into bacilli, after the 

 lapse of long periods ; and according to Dr. Klein, one of 

 our best authorities, there is no reason to assume that these 

 periods have any limit. That is why the disease sometimes 

 breaks out in districts where bees have not been kept for 

 years. 



7. That experience has shown with foul brood, as in all 

 epidemic diseases, the weak, sickly, and badly nourisht are 

 attackt and become centers of infection to others ; and so 

 rapidly does the disease spread by contagion that, unless 

 precautions are taken, a whole neighborhood may become 

 affected in a short time. 



8. That colonies suffering from foul brood are usually 

 weak, and this induces bees from other hives to rob them of 



their honey, and thus carry off the germs of the disease 

 along with their ill-gotten gains. 



9. That combs which have contained foul brood retain 

 the spores. The queen lays eggs in the cells, and the work- 

 ers deposit their honey and pollen in them. Both honey 

 and pollen in this way become vehicles for the transport of 

 the disease to the larva; in the process of feeding by the 

 nurse-bees. The workers, in endeavoring to clean the 

 combs, scatter the spores, which may also be driven out of 

 the hive by the current of air produced by the fanners at 

 the entrance in their endeavor to rid the hive of foul odors. 



10. That, if on examining the combs, to all appearance 

 healthy, with brood compact and larvae bright and plump, 

 we find here and there a cell with young larva? moving un- 

 easily, or extended horizontally instead of being curled up, 

 and changing to a pale yellow color, we at once detect the 

 first symptoms of foul brood. The germ at this stage be- 

 ing only in the rod form, the further progress ot the disease 

 can be arrested by feeding the bees with syrup, to which a 

 suitable antiseptic drug is added. The bees then generally 

 remove the dead larva;. 



11. That apart, however, from experienced bee-keepers 

 or trained experts, very few are fortunate enough to detect 

 the disease at such an early stage, or effect a cure so easily. 



12. That when the combs have irregular patches of 

 brood, with sunken and perforated cappings to the cells 

 containing the putrid, coffee-colored, ropy mass inside, the 

 treatment should be : 



a. If the colony be weak, destruction of bees, combs, 

 frames, and quilts, together with thoro disinfection of 

 hives, is by far the best course to pursue. We thus destroy 

 the spores, and so remove the source of infection. 



b. If, on the contrary, the colony be still strong, the 

 bees may be preserved bj' making an artificial swarm of 

 them, and feeding them on medicated syrup for 48 hours, 

 after which time they can be placed in a clean hive furnisht 

 with sheets of foundation, and fed with medicated syrup for 

 a few days longer. The combs, frames, and quilts are 

 burned, and the hive disinfected by being either steamed or 

 scrubbed with boiling water and soap, and then painted 

 over with a solution of carbolic acid ; and when the smell 

 has disappeared, the hive is ready for use. (The bees are 

 allowed to remain 48 hours in the empty hive, for by that 

 time the honey that they maj' have taken with them, and 

 which might contain spores, will have been consumed, and 

 the diseased bees will have died off.) 



13. That in his endeavors to rid his apiary of foul brood, 

 the bee-keeper must also raise to its proper standard the 

 lowered vitality of the bees which enabled the disease to get 

 a footing. This he must do by keeping his bees strong 

 with young and prolific queens, good wholesome food, 

 cleanliness, and proper ventilation. 



14. That the bee-keeper may himself be a cause of 

 spreading foul brood by indiscriminatel3' manipulating, 

 first diseased and then healthy hives, without taking the 

 precaution to disinfect himself or his appliances. Clothes, 

 appliances, and hands should be washt with carbolic soap, 

 and other articles disinfected by spraying with some suit- 

 able disinfectant. 



These are only a few of the many difficulties, and only 

 the fringe of the subject has been toucht upon ; but suffi- 

 cient has been said to show that, unless great precautions 

 are taken, it is very difficult to get rid of the disease. It 

 thus becomes obvious that those who fail to realize the 

 danger of infection, and who will not take proper means of 

 ridding their apiaries of foul brood, or of preventing its in- 

 troduction, are a real danger to the industry. 



Relieving' the Pressure on the Queens. 



BY HARRY LATHROP. 



I PRESUME a good many bee-keepers are engaged these 

 days in doing the same work that I am, that is, relieving 

 the pressure on the queens, by giving them more room. 

 A year ago at this time bees were destitute of stores in this 

 locality, and the combs became dry and devoid of honey or 

 brood. Now the problem is. How to prevent restricting of 

 the queens by reason of there being so much honej' and pol- 

 len in the combs. 



To-day I have been going over one of my yards, adding 

 extra stores in all cases where it seems necessary, adhering 

 to my rule not to take from strong colonies in order to build 

 up the weaker, but giving them plenty of room and allow- 

 ing them to become as strong as they may. 



I do not always pursue the same course in giving extra 



