Dec. 20, 1906 



k. -l-T-LS. U<>.v> 



American Ttee Journal 



or 12 years ago, Prof. Harrison took up 

 again the subject and ted it 



thoroughly and verified in every detail 

 tin- assertions of Cheshire and Cheyne. 



In 1902 Lambotte, of Liege, Belgium, 

 announced that the Bacillus alveus pro- 

 ducing foul brood was the same thing 

 as the bacillus tnesentericus vulgatus 

 which is often met in decaying sub- 

 stances, lie described the experiments 

 that led him to tins,, conclusions 



A year or so later, Cowan, in Eng- 

 land, and Bertrand, in Sv itzerland, 



went over the ground and succeeded in 

 showing that Dr. Lambotte was mis- 

 taken. It is only just here to explain 

 that all the bacilli are very minute 

 things, barely visible with the strong- 

 est microscope, and very much alike. 

 Also that the bacillus tnesentericus vul- 

 gatus produces a glue-like or gummy 

 substance very much like that found in 

 the foul-brood disease. 



Recently Dr. Burri, of Zurich (Switz- 

 erland) made another investigation. A 

 first study on some samples of dis- 

 eased brood sent him showed three 

 stages of the disease. In the first, the 

 larvae are not changed in form, and are 

 full of bacilli, but no spores are pres- 

 ent. Gradually the larva; pass into the 

 second stage, die and become soft and 

 glue-like and turn to a brown color. 

 This substance is elastic and can 

 be pulled in threads. Numerous spores 

 are formed, and finally the dead larva; 

 dries up and nothing is left but a dry 

 scale adhering to the lower side of the 

 cell and full of spores. 



\n attempt at cultivation was a com- 

 plete failure, just such as Dr. Lambotte 

 met with. The bacillus tnesentericus 

 was occasionally found, but seems to 

 have gotten in accidentally, as it does in 

 other putrefying substances. But little 

 odor was observed. The impossibility 

 of cultivating the bacillus of that disease 

 and the accidental presence of the bacil- 

 lus Mesenttricus explain how Dr. Lam- 

 botte took the last for the cause of the 

 malady! 



Other samples gave entirely different 

 results. Bacilli and spores were found 

 together; the spores were much larger 

 than those described above, the rotten, 

 glue-like odor was very pronounced, the 

 cultures easily made, and the bacillus al- 

 vei fully identified. In a word, that was 

 the genuine foul brood. 



Accompanying foul brood, Prof. Burri 

 found what he has called "acid-brood." 

 This is caused by non-motile bacteria 

 which do not form spores. In the acid 

 brood, the larvae do not turn into any- 

 thing like a glue-like substance, but. 

 while very soft, retain their form and 

 can be pulled out of the cells at any 

 time. 



Some study of bee-dysentery has also 

 been made. Several kinds of microbes 

 have been seen but not yet studied. It 

 seems certain that the disease is at least 

 sometimes, if not always, of bacterial 

 origin. There are probably 2 or possi- 

 bly 3 different diseases in what is us- 

 ually called dysentery. 



Cheshire's Observations. 



As far back as Cheshire's times, it 

 was already known, or rather suspected, 

 that what was called foul brood covered 

 more than one disease. After describ- 



ing the regular foul brood, or rather 

 the disease produced by the bacillus al- 

 vei, and bee-paralysis, he gives a short 

 description accompanied with drawings 

 of the following cases (Vol. i., pages 

 571 and following ) : 



1. Prom a number of b( es ent b 

 Correspondent, two bacilli were found 

 growing side by side. One was quite 

 large and collected in dense plates (zoo- 

 gloca form), and the Other a very small 

 form. The large bacilli had been met 

 by him once before, and seems to be 

 sometimes excessively destructive. 



2. Another kind of bacillus was found 

 onlj once in a queen sent him, and was 

 remarkable for a peculiar form on its 



11a. 



3. A queen of very large size, but 

 with rather small legs, was found to be 

 too weak to continue on the comb. On 

 opening her body, a thin, milky fluid 

 escaped from the opening with astonish- 

 ing rapidity. Examination revealed it 

 to be full — not of bacilli, but of another 

 kind of fungus, of the class called micro- 

 cocci. This was the only case of that 

 kind that he ever met. 



4. Another queen sent him was young 

 yet, but scarcely laid at all. In her brood 

 were found millions of very minute and 

 very strange organisms. These multi- 

 ply by division and carry a compara- 

 tively thick envelope through which 

 darker cross-markings can be distin- 

 guished. Only one case of that sort 

 was met with. 



5. A distinction must be made be- 

 tween an overloading of the bowels of 

 the bees, due to long confinement, and 

 a distension produced by the multipli- 

 cation of fermentive germs. He gives 

 a drawing of an organism found in 

 multitudes in the bodies of dysenteric, 

 or rather diarrhetic, bees. That organ- 

 ism under cultivation showed itself to 

 be one of the phycomecetes. Other dys- 

 enteric bees contained a true torula. 



6. He also states that at the time of 

 the above writing, he had under ex- 

 periment another kind which had pre- 

 sented itself in the apiary of Rev. G. 

 Raynor, and which seemed to be about 

 as destructive as the bacillus alvei, but 

 the study was not yet sufficiently ad- 



any reliable details. 

 In Langstroth Revised, page 446 (edi- 

 tion .if t888), I find stated that accord- 

 ing to 1 . 1 oglish mien iscop I there 

 are two kin 1, the ma- 



im and the minor. 



A Bee-Hospital. 



The researches made at the U. S. De- 

 partment of Agriculture are, as far as I 

 know, very unsatisfacory. And I do not 

 wonder that it is so. All that they nave 

 to work on are samples of dead brood 

 sent them by Tom, Dick, and Harry, 

 who think it is foul brood; but in go. 

 cases out of 100, could not tell the dif- 

 ference between foul brood, small-pox, 

 and hog-cholera. By the time the sam- 

 ple reaches the Department, numerous, 

 germs from the atmosphere have come 

 in contact with it and multiplied at 

 pleasure; putrefaction has set in; the 

 disease probably run out of its course, 

 and the whole is nothing but a useless, 

 rotten affair of no account whatever. 



What makes Cheshire's observations 

 valuable is the fact that he had the colo- 

 nies right by him. He observed them 

 for several years, followed the disease 

 in the living bees at all the stages, ex- 

 amined bees, queens, and drones in alt 

 their organs and experimented thor- 

 oughly. Add to this his ability and 

 long experience as entomologist, micro- 

 scopist, and chemist; and it will be seen, 

 at once that his assertions deserve far 

 more consideration than those of a few 

 modern writers who lately have assailed 

 his teachings and posed themselves as far 

 ahead of him and other "old fogies." 



And that is the only kind of investi- 

 gation that will ever amount to any- 

 thing. Procure colonies of diseased 

 bees and study them thoroughly. In a 

 word, a kind of bee-hospital. Who can. 

 do it? The Government or the Na- 

 tional Bee-Keepers' Association? Need- 

 less to add that a first-class bacteriolo- 

 gist should be employed. Foul-brood in- 

 spectors, large and successful bee-keep- 

 ers, eminent writers, etc., do not amount 

 to anything when it comes to handling 

 the microscope. They might learn with 

 enough time, but their preconceived no- 

 tions would hinder them considerably. 



Conducted by Emma M. Wilson, Marengo, 111. 



A Holiday Greeting 



Here's wishing "A Merry Christmas" 

 and a "Happy New Year'- to each and 

 every one of the bee-keeping sisters. 

 And with the wish comes a glow of 

 thankfulness for the kind words that 

 have encouraged throughout the year, 

 and for the help from the many pens 



that have made this department more 

 enjoyable. 



May the coming year be better to all 

 of you than any year that has gone be- 

 fore ; may more sweetness flow for you ; 

 and may your interest in the busy little 

 bee never grow less. 



Emma M. Wilson. 



