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FOUL BROOD. 



Springs Care of Bees — How to 

 Distiii&iiUli Foul Brood. 



Writtc^i for the American Bee Journal 



BY RANDOLPH GRADEN. 



As the winter has been very mild 

 and pleasant for bees, so far they have 

 wintered well ; but as the most trying 

 time is yet to come, it is necessary to 

 see that they have plenty of stores, for 

 if the warm weather should continue 

 througli February, the bees will start 

 breeding early, and consume consid- 

 erable honey. 



As March and April are very trying 

 months for bees, too much care can 

 hardly be given them, so that the 

 brood does not get chilled. Colonies 

 that ai'e expected to be short of stores, 

 or are weak in appearance, should, 

 when the weather is warm enough to 

 admit of so doing, be examined, and 

 the brood-chamber contracted to suit 

 the size of the colony, and, if short of 

 stores, they should be fed. 



Colonies that are not doing as well 

 as they ought, or are not doing as well 

 as those around them, should be ex- 

 amined to see if they have a queen, 

 and if not, a queeli should be given 

 them, or a frame of eggs and brood, 

 so they can rear their own queen. 

 They ought also to be examined to see 

 if they are afl'ected with the disease 

 called " foul brood " (or bacillus alvei), 

 as we hear that there is a great deal 

 of that disease in the country. 



Appearance of Foul Brood. 



In its first stages, the larvaj when 

 attacked begin to move unnaturally, 

 and instead of being curled around on 

 the bottom of the cells, they sometimes 

 turn in such a way as to present their 

 dorsal to the eye of the observer, and 

 it may then be noticed that the color 

 of the larvsB is somewhat yellowish in- 

 stead of being pearly white. Larvaj 

 thus affected seldom are sealed over, 

 but such grubs as are further advanced 

 in growth before the disease strikes 

 them, arc in duo time sealed, but as 

 thej' die, their bodies turn brown and 

 become a putrid mass, the cell sealing 

 sinks, and a small, irregular hole may 

 be seen in the capping. The bees may 

 also be seen very energeticall}' fanning 

 at the entrance of the hive, and in ad- 

 vanced eases an indescribable odor 

 may be observed ; and if the cappings 

 of the diseased cells are removed, a 

 very brown, coffee-colored mass will 

 be seen at the bottom of the cell, which 

 is so tenacious that if a head of a pin 



is insei'ted into the mass, it may be 

 drawn out, a thread-like and rojjy sub- 

 stance. The foregoing are the general 

 inilications of the disease. 



Propagfatioii ot Foul Urood. 



Foul brood is a very contagious dis- 

 ease, and if started, and not properly 

 treated, so as to check its progress, it 

 will rapidly spread from cell to cell, 

 and from colony to colony. 



As to the propagation of this disease, 

 the conclusions are varied, and as yet 

 not fully understood ; but many of our 

 leading a])iarists have the idea that the 

 bees, while robbing the depopulated 

 colonies, carry the bacilli or spores on 

 their bodies, or in the honey from api- 

 ary to apiary, and from hive to hive. 

 Some go even so far as to think that if 

 a bee visits a llower that has been pre- 

 viously visited by a bee from a diseased 

 colony, the spores of the disease can 

 be picked up in that way, and carried 

 to the hive. I do not think that this is 

 quite correct, and my reasons are 

 these : 



About three years ago I noticed a 

 colony that was in advanced stages of 

 the disease, that was being robbed, 

 and upon investigation, I found that 

 the robber bees were located less than 

 half a mile awa)', and the robbing had 

 been going on for some time, as quite 

 a line of bees were going to and from 

 the hive, and most of the honey from 

 the outside frames had been carried 

 away by the robbers ; yet, strange as it 

 may be, no disease has appeared. This 

 shows that the honey contained no 

 spores ; also that the bees, b}" flying 

 less than half a mile, carried no spores 

 to affect the colonies that contained 

 the robber bees. Still, when the dis- 

 ease is once started in an apiar}-, it 

 spreadis very rapidl}'. 



Now if the honey contains no spores, 

 the question would arise, iiow is the 

 disease propagated ? Would it not be 

 reasonable to suppose that it is carried 

 from hive to liive through the air, as 

 an indescribable and nauseating odor is 

 emitted from the hives where the dis- 

 ease is somewhat advanced ? What is 

 odor, no more nor less than very 

 minute parcels from the substance 

 from whicli it arises ? and in these 

 progressive times in bee-culture, when 

 bees are sold by the pound, and bees 

 and queens are shipped and sent 

 tlirough the mails from State to State, 

 and from country to country, the dis- 

 ease may also in this way be carried 

 from one country to the other. 



It may, after being once started, if 

 not properly treated, become heredi- 

 tary ; as onc^ of our Professors has said, 

 that a queen reared in a foul-broody 

 colon}' would not live over one year, 

 which I know is not always correct, 

 from the fact that I have seen a queen 



that was reared in a very foul-broody 

 colonj', that lived a part of three years, 

 and lived through two winters ; yet if 

 not always treated in the brood-rear- 

 ing season, her progeny would be af- 

 fected, and foul brood again appear. 

 This colony was examined in the latter 

 part of August in the third summer of 

 her life, and tlie brood was all appar- 

 ently in a healthy condition, yet after 

 leaving them without treatment for 21 

 days, upon examining the colon)', it 

 was again found to be affected with the 

 disease, and upon giving them a heavy 

 dose of the treatment in the forenoon, 

 they swarmed out and left the apiary, 

 going in a southerly direction. This 

 shows that it would be very dangerous 

 to procure a queen that had been 

 reai'ed in a foul-broody col6ny. 



I think that I have shown some very 

 good reasons, as to how bacillus alvei 

 get into a colony. It is also quite cer- 

 tain that verj' many bees of a colony 

 may be diseased for weeks and even 

 nionths with this bacillus, and yet foul 

 brood may not be seen, as bees clear 

 out infected grubs so that the infection 

 may not be seen, and yet exist. As to 

 the method of treatment, it is varied, 

 as some use salicylic acid, and others 

 use phenol (carbolic acid) ; also cam- 

 phor, po^Ydered coffee, dairy salt, and 

 a preparation of salicylic acid, bi-car- 

 bonate of soda, daily salt, and soft 

 water ; also thyme, sulphuric acid, etc., 

 and the " starvation plan." It is evi- 

 dent that the disease yields very 

 readily when properly treated. 



Taylor Centre, Mich. 



S"W ARMING. 



A IVonian'^ Experience in Keep- 

 Ins Bees. 



Written for Die American Bee Journal 

 BY MRS. JIARTHA ANDERSON. 



We have had a mild winter, and my 

 bees, I think, are wintering nicely. 

 Last summer we had a very strange 

 season. My liees commenced swarm- 

 ing on May l(i, and kept it up until 

 Aug. 21. Tlicy stored no honey the 

 forepart of the season at all, but I sup- 

 pose they must have gathered enough 

 to stimulate the queen, and to feed the 

 young bees. I do not think I ever saw 

 "bees multiply like mine did all through 

 the season. The frames were full of 

 brood in different stages of develop- 

 ment, and I kept close watch of my 

 bees, so as not to lose any swarms, 

 until in July, when I thought they had 

 swarmed all they were going to, and 

 as there was no lioney for them to get, 

 I found out that they had been swarm- 

 ing all tlie time, and my neighbors had 

 been getting them. I knew that they 



