82 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



into water collected in a clean china dish ; for 

 if the water to be used is not perfectly fresh, it 

 will be impregnated with various organic sub- 

 stances, and the observations be consequently 

 unreliable. Pump water deposits crystals, and 

 is therefore not to be used. 



Of this absolutely pure water put a drop of 

 the size of a grain of millet on the fonlbroody 

 substance mentioned above, in order to let this 

 d'ffuse itself therein ; cover it with a small glass 

 plate not thicker than a poppy leaf ; and you 

 have a preparation with Avhich frequent and 

 careful observations may be made. Placing it 

 under the microscope, you will see thousands 

 of dust-like corpuscles, which every micologist 

 will recognize as fungi. They belong to the 

 species Cryptococcus (Kutzing). 



Should any one of the above-mentioned pre- 

 liminaries have been neglected, the fungi will 

 not be seen separately, and of course no proper 

 observations can be made. When the cor- 

 puscles seen are of different sizes, the larger 

 ones are globules of fat, remains of the chrysalis, 

 and only the smaller dust-like corpuscles are 

 fungi. 



The foulbrood fungus, which Dr. Preuss 

 names Cryptococcus alveario, belongs to the 

 smaller species of fungi. It is round, dust-like, 

 and has a diameter of 1-500 millimeter, 1-1,095,- 

 line. Thus 1,095 fungi find place on a Rhenish 

 line, and ov\ a line square, 1,095x1,095, that is, 

 1,199,825, or in ound numbers 1,200,000 fungi. 

 Hence a cubic line would contain 1,400,000,000,- 

 000 fungi. One. cubic inch is equal to 1,728 

 cubic lines, and consequently a cubic inch of 

 foulbrood substance contains 2,488,320,000,000,- 

 000 foulbrood fungi Now if you take into con- 

 sideration, further, that a cubic inch of comb 

 contains fifty cells, it shows that each cell con- 

 tains 49 766,400,000,000, or, in round numbers, 

 fifty billions of fungi ; or if one-fifth be allowed 

 for wax, still forty'billions of fungi. 



This enormous capacity of increase is the 

 reason why these fungi are so exceedingly dan- 

 gerous. It is the same with the fungi of the 

 cholera, typhus fever, small pox, &c. In itself 

 the foulbrood fungus is as little poisonous as 

 any luxuriant weed — it simply supplants that 

 which we desire should live and thrive. 



The closest affinity subsists between the foul- 

 brood fungus and the fermentation fungus, 

 Cryptococcus fermentum. The latter transforms 

 the fermentable fluids by its rankness, and se- 

 cerns itself as yeast, after having consumed 

 every particle serviceable to its own growth. 

 Beer and wine yeast are therefore but a con- 

 glomerate of billions of microscopic fungi. 



If the question regarding the substance of 

 foulbrood is fairly stated, everything else is but 

 its simple consequence. Of course the disease 

 is infectious, and easily transmissible. As long 

 as the substance lies in pap-like form sealed in 

 the cells, it is perhaps least infectious. But 

 when it dries up and hangs like a black crust on 

 the sides of the cells, or fal's to the bottom of 

 the hive, billions of seed-spores are scattered. 

 They attach themselves to the feet of the bees, 

 get into the cells containing young brood, are 

 carried to the flowers, and spread the disease in 

 every direction in a thousand ways. 



It is a well-known fact that, not the larva but 

 the sealed up chrysalis is destroyed by the foul- 

 brood. The fungus, however, is already in the 

 larva, but in comparatively small numbers, and 

 cannot do it harm. Some thousands of fungi 

 are not of power sufficient to destroy. Thus 

 the six days' life of the larva are passed ; it still 

 lives, but the germ of death is there alr< ady. 

 The chrysalis is killed by the enormous increase 

 of the fungi, and the httcr luxuriate, even after 

 the death of the animal, till this is entirely con- 

 sumed and transformed into its own substance. 

 The marked distinction made by Dzierzon be- 

 tween innoccuous and malignant foulbrood, is 

 therefore to be understood as stating that the 

 death of th^ larvse in the former case is attribut- 

 able to some other cause ; but the destruction 

 of the chrysalis in the latter is due directly to 

 the foulbrood fungus. 



As to the origin of foulbrood, we have ob- 

 served that the foulbrood fungus and the fer- 

 mentation fungus belong to the same species. 

 It is known, besides, that fungi — microscopic 

 especially — undergo some change, or pass into 

 each other, when getting on different ground. 

 It is therefore not improbable that Cryptococcus 

 fermentum changes into Cryptococcus alveario, if 

 it happens to get on, or, by feeding, into the body 

 of the larva?— influenced also^erhaps, by cer- 

 tain states of temperature or humidity. 



All bee cultivators concur in the opinion that 

 feeding fermenting honey is a principal cause 

 of foulbrood. Well, the fermentation of honey 

 is caused if, when in getting it, people do not 

 pay the strictest attention to removing and ex- 

 cluding from it every particle of brood, whether 

 sealed up or not. If that be neglected, the hon- 

 ey will contain albumen, and may consequently 

 not safely be used for feeding. Thus it is of 

 gi'eat importance to be very careful in feeding. 

 The fermentation fungus is to he found in 

 countless sporules almost everywhere in nature ; 

 therefore it is not necessary that it be intro- 

 duced en masse by fermenting fluids. It suf- 

 fices to give it congenial soil wherein to spread. 

 Dead larva? or chrysalids are particularly 

 adapted thereto. Brood dicing from any other 

 cause, would probably give rise to foulbrood, 

 if it remain any length of time in the 

 hive. Changing the places of hives, and caus- 

 ing thereby too great a loss of bees, so that the 

 young brood cau no longer be duly warmed and 

 fed, may generate foulbrood. Artificial swarm- 

 ing may also cause the disease, if the number 

 of the bees is too small in proportion to the 

 brood, because the latter easily becomes chilled, 

 and perishes. Dr. Preuss recommends a mode 

 of heating hives containing new swarms, 

 (Ableger), by means of bottles filled with hot 

 water. 



Great care is to be taken, moreover, that all dead 

 brood, particularly if sealed up, is removed from 

 the hive as soon as possible. It should even be 

 buried, because the fungi luxuriating on it al- 

 ready would rapidty multiply in the open air. 

 Dead bees should never be emptied out in the 

 vicinity of an apiary — they being the richest 

 food for the fungi. As a human corpse, if not 

 buried, would poison the atmosphere of a whole 

 town, and cause the deadliest epidemics, so 

 putri lying bees might poison an entire apiary. 



