HOW TO DETECT FOUL BROOD. 95 



the pupa was ready to change to a more perfect state of exist- 

 ence at the time of its death, giving rise to a doubt as to the 

 cause producing it. Being apparently the first case to occiir in 

 the hive, may it not have resulted from chill in the winter ? 

 If such is the fact, the effluvia arising from these decaying 

 bodies, in my opinion would, under certain circumstances, poi- 

 son the young larvae in adjoining cells before being sealed up ; 

 the disease thus engendered proving fatal after the larva has 

 reached the pupa state, and while in the act of forming its 

 cocoon. 



H. W. HABKNESS. 

 SACRAMENTO, June 12th, 1860. 



Chilled brood may be a cause, amongst a combina- 

 tion, to produce the disease, yet I have never seen a 

 case (although I have had chilled brood under almost 

 every conceivable circumstance) that would go to 

 prove such a result. 



HOW TO DETECT FOUL BROOD. 



To detect foul brood, observe the capping of the 

 cells : while those containing healthy brood are of a 

 yellow color and appear regular, those containing 

 dead are of a dark color and are slightly sunken ; 

 (chilled brood has the capping of the cells raised 

 almost invariably) on opening them, their condition is 

 easily seen. The living pupa is nearly white, till it 

 attains the form of the perfect bee ; it then gradu- 

 ally turns to a brown or grayish color. When death 

 has resulted from disease, and is recent, the pupa 

 will be found discolored, being a dull brown color ; 

 but if dead some time, a portion of ropy matter will 



