a cell containing larva, the larva dies, 

 changing soon into a brownish, putrid 

 mass, settling into the lower corner of 

 the cell, and foul brood begins its 

 growth. It happens that larvae are af- 

 fected and die jnst before the cells are 

 capped, or while the bees are perform- 

 ing their usual labor, capping, uncon- 

 scious of the trouble below. We rind 

 these cells, a few weeks afterwards, 

 perforated at or near the centre, and 

 easily recognize them as diseased. Lar- 

 vae in uncapped cells, killed by this dis- 

 ease, settle into the lower corner as a 

 ropish substance, and dry up in a hard, 

 coffee-colored mass. They are easily 

 recognized. 



J5ees continually running over these 

 cells will soon carry the micrococcus to 

 a large number of others containing 

 larva-, until every comb is affected. 

 The putrid stench becomes so strong in 

 the hive that often the bees swarm out 

 in despair, unable, however, to rid them- 

 selves of the curse of foul brood adher- 

 ing to their bodies. The disease does 

 not affect old bees, but, killing off the 

 young, soon decimates a colony. 



Micrococcus dropped into empty cells, 

 or cells containing honey or pollen, may 

 remain dormant for years. As soon, 

 however, as the queen deposits eggs in 

 such cells, and they develop into larva?, 

 the trouble commences. I have had a 

 case where the spores from an infected 

 hive were hidden among the fissures of 

 a plank exposed to the weather for more 

 than 12 months, and were ready to do 

 the mischief the following season when 

 I put a hive on that plank. The bees 

 ran over it. and dragged in with them 

 the germ of foul brood. 



Br. Schcenfeld has taught us the true 

 nature of foul brood, and that its growth 

 is destroyed by salicylic acid, while Mr. 

 Emil 1 1 illicit found the proper propor- 

 tion and application whereby foul brood 

 is destroyed without injury to animal 

 life. Mr. Ililbert applied his medicine 

 by means of an atomizer, subjecting 

 every comb, cell and bee to a spray of 

 the same. Every infected cell had tit be 

 disinfected, as also every comb and 

 frame, and the inside of 'the hive and 

 adjoining surroundings. Several thor- 

 ough treatments of this kind will cure 

 a colony of foul brood. I have cured 

 quite a number of them in this manner, 

 and speak from experience. My modus 

 (yperandihua been given in an essay to 

 the meeting of our Association in ('lii- 

 cago, which makes a repetition here un- 

 necessary. See page 502 November No. 

 of American Bee Journal, 1879. 



The only objection I have to the above 

 method, is that bees from other hives 

 visit the combs under treatment in your 



hands, or the open hive before you. and 

 take the spores home with them, and 

 by the time that one colony is cured we 

 may find a number of others affected. 

 So it was with me in spite of the great- 

 estcare. Mr. Ililbert treats hisdiseased 

 colonies in a closed room, so that no 

 bees from other hives have access dur- 

 ing the time of treatment. 



I had come to the conclusion that it 

 was the cheapest and safest remedy to 

 destroy an infected colony, with all' the 

 brood, combs, and every bee belonging 

 to it. However, I learned a better 

 method this summer. A neighbor of- 

 fered me, in March, two empty hives 

 and combs, the bees from which had 

 died during winter and were robbed by 

 other bees, as he stated. 1 was con- 

 vinced at first sight that those bees had 

 died of foul brood, and sent a warning, 

 to look out, to my neighboring bee-keep- 

 ers, one of whom discovered one of his 

 hivesaffected afterwards and burned it 

 up. in April I discovered two colonies 

 in my apiary affected with the disease ; 

 I brimstoned the bees the same evening, 

 burned up the combs and frames, and 

 disinfected the hives. Another colony 

 showed it in May. Feeling sorry to kill 

 a beautiful queen, besides a very strong 

 colony of pure Italians, I brushed them 

 on 10 frames of comb foundation, into 

 a clean hive, and placed over them a jar 

 with food, as I shall describe hereafter. 

 The old combs and frames were burned 

 up, and the hive disinfected. Thisfeed- 

 ing was kept up until all the sheets of 

 comb foundation were built out nicely 

 and filled with brood and honey. It was 

 a beautiful colony of bees abo'utlweeks 

 afterwards, full of healthy brood, and 

 with combs as regular as can only be 

 made by the aid of comb foundation. 

 Four more colonies were discovered in- 

 fected, one after another. All went 

 through the same process, and every one 

 is a healthy colony at present. I was 

 so convinced of the completeness of this 

 cure, that I introduced into one i>[ these 

 colonies my first Cyprian queen sent me 

 by friend Dadant. 



All are doing finely now. and no more 

 foul brood. Should, however, another 

 one of my colonies show signs of the 

 disease, it would not be because it had 

 caught it from its neighbor which I at- 

 tempted to cure, but because the germ 

 of tool brood was hidden somewhere in 

 the hive, and of late had come in con- 

 tact with a larva. 



The formula of the mixture is as fol- 

 lows : 



16 gr. salict lie acid, 

 16 aw soda borax, 

 1 oz. water. 



I keep on hand a bottle of this mixture. 



