( v 







American Bee Journal. 



EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL WAGNER, WASHINGTON, D. C. 



AT TWO DOLLAKS PER ANNUM. PAYABLE IN ADVANCE. 



Vol. IV. 



JANUARY, 1869. 



No. 7. 



[From the German.] 



Foulbrood . 



Its Cause, Source, and Cure. 



[conclusion.] 



In a preceding paragraph of this article we 

 have spoken of the composition of poll* n, and 

 shown its aptitude for and tendency to decompo- 

 sition under the influence of moisture and heat. 

 We have also sought to exhibit the effects which 

 this decomposing substance is qualified to exert 

 on other organic substances with which it comes 

 in contact. We shall now endeavor to demon- 

 strate the correctness of these views by the fol- 

 lowing convenient and conclusive experiment : 



Put about | of oz. of pollen in a small glass 

 phial or flask, and into another similar flask 

 pour pure water to the depth of an inch; then 

 connect the two flasks by a bent glass tube 

 passed through and fixed in the corks. Now 

 suspend in the first named flask a small strip of 

 paper which has been dipped in a saturated so- 

 lution of sugar of lead, and secure -it by the 

 cork so as to prevent it from touching the 

 water. If the changes which take place in the 

 course of a few days be now carefully noted, 

 the following will be observed : The mass in the 

 first flask becomes slightly turbid, and numer- 

 ous air-bubbles will be seen continually rising in 

 it. This is carbon 'which, uniting with the oxy- 

 gen liberated at the same time forms carbonic 

 acid gas which passes through the glass tube 

 into the second flask, where it is absorbed by 

 the water. The strip of paper there suspended 

 now assumes a brownish hue, as the lead it con- 

 tains has a stronger affinity for sulphur, the latter 

 is attracted from its just formed combination with 

 the liberated hydrogen, and forms sulphate of 

 lead. The nitiogen meantime arising from the 

 pollen combines with the hydrogen, forming 

 ammonia, which is retained temporarily by the 

 water in which it is generated. 



After this putrefactive decomposition of the 

 pollen has been fully completed, a small quanti- 

 ty of matter remains in the flask as a residuum, 

 which is called the ash. It contains the solid 

 mineral substances taken up by plants through 

 their roots. This decomposition may therefore 



be regarded as a species of combustion by hu- 

 mid procees, because when pollen is burned in 

 a platina cup, we obtain a residuum of ashes 

 precisely similar in quantity and weight. 



The principal elements contained in the pollen 

 may now be readily determined. The presence 

 of sulphur has already been detected by the for- 

 mation of sulphate of lead on the strip of paper. 

 The presence of nitrogen and hydrogen may be 

 shown by our search for ammonia, which is a 

 chemical combination of these two substances. 

 Take a portion of water from the second flask and 

 heat it in a porcelain cup, drop into it a small 

 piece of caustic lime, and the pungent odor aris- 

 ing betrays the discharge of ammonia. To show 

 the presence of carbon, combined to form car- 

 bonic acid, dissolve caustic lime in soft or rain 

 water, and when the solution has become clear, 

 pour some drops of it in a portion of the fluid 

 contents of the second flask. The carbonic 

 acid of this will immediately combine with the 

 lime in the solution, forming carbonate of lime 

 and rendering the water turbid. Thus are 

 shown the chief elementary constituents of 

 pollen. 



Next, to acquaint ourselves with the effects 

 which decomposing or putrefactive pollen has 

 on honey, we resort to the following experi- 

 ment : In a glass vessel place J- oz. of pollen 

 crushed and comminuted between the fingers. 

 Pour thereon f oz. of pure water, and let the 

 mixture stand several days in a warm place, 

 till a perceptible commotion is generated, and 

 numerous air-bubbles rise — the mass alternately 

 swelling and subsiding. Now pour it into 

 another glass vessel containing ^ oz. of honey 

 dissolved in f oz. of water, and set this also in 

 a warm place. In a short time the putrescence 

 of the pollen will have communicated itself to 

 the honey; alcohol and carbonic acid will be 

 evolved, and the former converted into acetic 

 acid by the free admission of oxygen. We may 

 also remark in passing, that by heating in com- 

 bination with nitric acid, chromic acid, sulphu- 

 ric acid, manganese, &c, we can produce the 

 volatile formic acid, which is the poison infused 

 by the bee into the wound when stinging. But 

 of this we shall treat more fully hereafter. 



From the foregoing it is evident that putres- 



