196 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Foul Brood. 



BEAD BEFORE THE MICH. CONVENTION. 



Foul brood has been a terror to bee-keep- 

 ers, wlierever it has appeared. Tiie greatest 

 care ufteii ainoimts to but little. Apiaries 

 die out, and tlie labor of years results truit- 

 lessly. Our best scientists are wrangling 

 as to its origin. Tlie fact, however, is es- 

 tablished tliat foul brood can be cured with- 

 out the loss of the comb, and in the most 

 simple manner. , .^ , - 



Mr. Hilbert. one of the most thouglitful oi 

 German bee-keepers, was tlie first who by 

 tlie use of salicylic acid effected a radical 

 cure of foul brood in his apiary in Prussia. 

 His recipe is: .50 grains of crystalized sali- 

 cylic acid, dissolved in 400 grains of pure 

 spirits. One drop of this solution in a grain 

 ot distilled water is the mixture to be 

 applied. It is to be used luRewarm in 

 order to have it effective. . 



Foul brood is a vegetable growth, and is 

 destroyed entirely as soon as it comes in 

 contact with salicylic acid, while the latter 

 is entirely harmless to all animal life— even 

 to the tender larvte of a bee. Spirits, how- 

 ever, will destroy this life, if not used with 

 proper care. 1 liad two foul brood hives in 

 1875, and in the fall of that year considered 

 them cured. One of them 1 lost in the fol- 

 lowing spring, and the other sliowed signs 

 of foul brood again after the honey harvest 

 of 1876. There was a good honey harvest, 

 and previous to this there were no signs ot 

 foulljrood; but at the end of August this 

 hive had not 20 per cent, of a healthy brood. 

 In most of the cells was a bad-smelling, 

 brownish, ropy substance. Some of the 

 cells had a healthy appearance, but on 

 opening them the brood, in most cases, 

 were dead and decaying. 



1 showed Mr. llilbert's recipe to our drug- 

 gist, who proposed to improve it by adding 

 borax. One part of this solution to 18 parts 

 of distilled water was my medicine, i or a 

 quart bottle-full of the mixture I paid .Wc. 

 It can be used in any temperature but 

 ought not to be cold enough to chill the 

 bees. I used this with one of Atkinson's 

 atomizers, which cost $1.50. I took the foul 

 brood hive, set it off the stand, and put a 

 new hive in its place. Comb after comb 

 was taken hold of, and every capped brood- 

 cell was uncapped. I then proceeded to 

 cover both sides, bees and all, with a fine 

 spray of salicylic acid and borax. The bot- 

 tom "of every cell became wet; and the 

 bees adhering to the combs got a good 

 drenching. After this treatment, each 

 comb was liung in the new hive in the 

 usual rotation. Two combs in the hive had 

 very healthy-looking capped brood, which 1 

 thought not necessary to disturb. Three 

 days afterwards I did not iind a sign of foul 

 brood in the hive. Every cell containing 

 the nasty matter was nicely cleaned out, 

 excepting those few combs which I had left 

 uncapped. They were now as bad as the 

 others had been. I then subjected them to 

 a vaporizing with the other combs in the 

 hive, with the bees adhering to the ccmibs. 

 The cure was complete. When Avinter 

 commenced, this hive had a great deal ot 

 healthy brood and young bees, and is now 

 one of the best 1 have. 



Salicylic acid and borax can be purchased, 

 already mixetl, in any drug store. My 

 druggist thinks that my success is due to 



the borax. While, in my case, a single 

 treatment effected a complete cure, Mr. 

 Hubert's plan (as given in the German bee 

 papers) is a rather laborious one. , 

 Cincinnati, O. C. F. Muth. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Western Illinois B. K. Association. 



TABULAR STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS. 



Note.- Cel. for cellar; B, blacks; O. D., out- 

 doors; M., medium; G., good; B., in honey 

 column, box honey. 



Do not know the number of stocks Mr. Hol- 

 lingsworth wintered, but think about Sc, 



HARDIN Hainjes, Sec. 



