1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



241 



etable life, and entiroly different from 

 animal life. You may disinfect a sick 

 rcHim to a certain extent by merely 

 sprinklins carbolic acid about on the 

 floor, which will actually kill many 

 bacilli and prevent jirojiairation to a 

 certain extent, and not result ln.iurious- 

 l.v to even a weak patient. If you burn 

 sulphur in a beehive containing both 

 foul brood cerms and live bees you 

 will kill both bees and germs — in fact, 

 the bees will die much sooner than the 

 germs, but not from the same cause. 

 The bees would die of suffocation, 

 while the germs would die of formic 

 acid, and it would require at least 30 

 to no minutes to kill even non-sporing 

 bacteria. The formation does not kill 

 germs by the odor or suffocation, but 

 because, when in the air, it oxidizes 

 into formic acid. The bacilli are not 

 so hard to kill, except for the resist- 

 ance of the capsule or shell. Moisture 

 is verv necessary to en-ible eitlier gas 

 or heat to penetrate through this shell; 

 but with sufficient moisture, and at a 

 temperature of about 98 degrees F.. 

 formalin would soon kill all bacilli. 

 But right here is the important ques- 

 tion. The spores when dry are alniost 

 indestructible, except by tire. 



Koch, who is often quoted as author- 

 ity on bacteria, gives figures thus: 

 :Moist heat at 212 degrees F. for 15 

 minutes would equal dry heat at 284 

 degrees for three hours in killing ba- 

 cilli or spores. 



Now honey is very dense and I 

 doubt very much if this gas would 

 penetrate through even a thin layer of 

 honey and kill either bacilli or their 

 • spores in the bottom of a eel! contain- 

 ing honey, but the capping over brood 

 is porous and I feel certain the for- 

 malin will penetrate nil tlirough brood 

 comb filled with brood but containing 

 no honey. 



Furthermore I think I am safe in 

 saying that combs that are thoroughly 

 rotten with foul brood, if empty of 

 honey, would be easier disinfected 

 than dry combs full of dried-up scales 

 and dormant spores, unless the gas is 

 moist enough to soften the shell. One 

 thing more: It is very necessary to 

 have combs warm, about 98 degrees 

 F. Also it is necessary to continue 

 this gas for some time in order to. 

 as it were, manufacture this formic 

 acid by oxidation and so that same 

 acid may have time to penetrate the 



capsule or shell of the" bacillus and 

 spore. 



Another plan is this: By keeping 

 combs moist and in right temperature 

 (itl;)out US degrees F) the spores would 

 be in active reproduction, hence easier 

 killed. The question is not that the 

 life of either bacilli or spores can 

 stand the gas treatment, but the shell 

 nnist be penetrated and moisture is 

 the agent necessary. A very weak so- 

 lution would kill both bacilli and 

 sjiores if it were not for the resistance 

 of the capsule. Sunlight is one of the 

 best bactericides known and if a foul 

 brood infected comb be fully exposed 

 to direct sun rays for a few days mil- 

 lions of germs would be destroyed, but 

 not the spores. 



There has been considerable confu- 

 sion in regard to the terms formalin 

 and formaldehyde. Following is what 

 Prof. George Newman, of Kings Col- 

 lege, London, says of it: "Formalin 

 is a 40 per cent, solution of formalde- 

 hyde in water, a gas discovered by 

 Hofmann in 1869. This gas is produced 

 l),v imperfect oxidation of methyl alco- 

 hol and may be obtained b.v passing va- 

 por of meth.vl alcohol mixed with air 

 over a glowing platinum wire or other 

 heated metals, such as copper and sil- 

 ver. It is the simplest of a series of 

 aldehydes, the highest of which is pal- 

 mitic aldehyde. Its formula is C 

 H 2 O. It is readily soluble in water, 

 and in the air oxidizes into formic acid 

 (C H 2 O 2). This latter substance 

 occurs in the stings of bees, wasps, 

 nettles and various poisonous animal 

 secretions. Formalin is a strong bac- 

 tei'icide even in diluted solutions, and 

 is, of course, volatile. A solution of 

 one to ten thousand is said to be able 

 to destroy the bacilli of typhoid, chol- 

 era and anthrax. When formalin is 

 evaporated down, a Avhite residue is 

 left known as paraform. In lozenge 

 form this latter bod.v is used by com- 

 bustion of methyl spirit to produce gas. 

 Hence we have three common forms of 

 the same thing, formalin, formic alde- 

 hyde and paraform, each of which 

 yields formic acid and thus disinfects. 

 The vapor cannot in practice be gener- 

 ated from the formalin as I'eadily as 

 from the paraform. 



Now as to its penetrating power. 

 Professor Delepine 'recommends for- 

 maldehyde as being more penetrating 

 than any other gas disinfectant. Both 

 honey and pollen contain air, and it Is 



