420 BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



is here, and will surelj spread if some efficient measures are 

 not taken to stop it. We need a live State bee keepers' 

 association, with branch societies in every county ; then, by 

 a vigorous effort of our combined forces, we may insure pro- 

 tection and cure. 



The first signs of the disease are : failure of the young 

 bees to hatch ; dead larvce are dragged from their cells ; 

 capped cells are sunken or torn open. Later, as the disease 

 progresses, putrefaction sets in ; the once milk-white larvae 

 turn yellow, then brown and black, and sink, a slimy mass, 

 to the lower side of the cell. These putrid larvai have some- 

 times a characteristic "glue-pot" smell, and are viscid and 

 ropy, — characteristics which are not constant, and which 

 have for this reason caused people to believe there are many 

 kinds of foul brood. If the dead larval mass is allowed to 

 remain in the cell, it dries down to a chip or scale, which 

 closely adheres to the wall. The next larva raised in that 

 cell comes in contact with the disease, and dies, and thus the 

 colony dwindles away. 



The cause of the disease is definitely known to be a liacte- 

 rium, — hacillus alvei, a microscopic plant. It lives upon 

 the tissues of the larval bee, and when mature breaks up into 

 spores, also microscopic, capable of living a longtime, under 

 all sorts of conditions of temperature and dryness. The 

 spores correspond to the seeds of higher plants, and they 

 are found not only in the cells where the brood has died but 

 also in the honey, pollen, and upon the walls of the hive. 

 Thus it is important that no material from a diseased swarm 

 comes in contact with healthy bees. 



This may be prevented by isolating a diseased swarm as 

 soon as discovered. If the swarm is weak, it may be best 

 to burn the bees and disinfect the hive. If strong, they 

 may be cured by the following treatment, which has been 

 practised with success : open the isolated colony toward 

 night, when danger of spreading the disease by means of 

 robber bees is past, shake the swarm from the infected combs 

 onto fresh frames of foundation in a clean hive ; return the 

 new hive to the old stand, and allow the bees to use up what 

 honey they have in their honey sacs, drawing out the foun- 



