THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



101 



fects of the bereavement we had just suf- 

 fered, when, more from habit than be- 

 cause I thought anything- wrong, I drew a 

 pin and removed a cap which seemed just 

 a trifle too flat. A dead larvae was dis- 

 closed. Another, and another, and still 

 another, were uncovered in quick succes- 

 sion. Then I gently replaced the comb, 

 closed the hive, and walked into the house 

 to — meditate! 



I confes ■ that bee-keeping seemed to 

 me, just then, nothing but "vanity and 

 vexation of spirit." 



Next da)^ we mustered courage suf- 

 ficient to make a thorough examination. 

 We found that in most of these new white 

 combs, a fifth, or more, of the brood was 

 dead. Many of the dead larvae were still 

 while, though dull and flaccid, while 

 many others were but slightly discolored. 

 Usually, though not invariably, the more 

 suspicious the appearance of the cap, the 

 further had decomposition of the larvae 

 beneath it progressed. None of the caps 

 was perforated, and, in very many cases, 

 it was quite impossible to distinguish the 

 caps which concealed dead larva? from 

 those which covered the living. Prun- 

 ing — which has been recommended — 

 would, at this stage, have been an im- 

 possibility. 



Proceeding to examine the other col- 

 on}^ we found here also traces of disease ; 

 very slight, however, for, fortunately, the 

 queen had been lost about a week before. 

 This colon}'-, after contracting its hive- 

 entrance, we left to its own devices. , 



From the first, we removed the queen. 

 A few days later, we looked in to find that 

 the missing perforations had duly ap- 

 peared — made, of course, by the bees — and 

 that the work of removing the dead lar- 

 v£e had begun. By the time the healthy 

 brood had emerged, very nearly all the 

 dead brood had disappeared. 



We now selected from the twenty-two 

 condemned combs, still in the garret, ten 

 perfect combs. These we put in the 

 place of the new combs just emptied of 

 brood. We disinfected neither combs 

 nor hive. We left even the quilt un- 

 changed. 



That the remedy we had supposed in- 

 fallible — putting the bees into an empty 

 hive — had failed, was, to us, at first, as in- 

 comprehensible as it was discouraging. 

 But, that we should now hope to succeed 

 by leaving the bees in their infected hive, 

 and giving them presumably infected 

 combs, will be, perhaps, equallj^ incom- 

 prehensible to some of my readers. 



The explanation is simple. We as- 

 sumed that the hive and combs were not 

 infected ; that the disease, in that form in 

 which we had encountered it, was not con- 

 tagious. We explained its immediate 

 re-appearance in the new combs by sup- 

 posing that, at the time of the division, 

 the bees had access, still, to the honey, or 



the pollen, which contained the principle 

 so fatal to tlie brood. And it seemed 

 reasonable to suppose that this supply 

 must now — nearly four weeks later — be 

 exhausted. Consequently, should tlie dis- 

 ease at once re-appear, it would prove our 

 assumption, viz., that hive; and combs 

 were not infected, untenable. To have 

 this proven to our satisfaction would be 

 something gained, even though the col- 

 ony should be lost. 



We waited the result of our experi- 

 ment with some anxiety, and were pro- 

 portionately relieved, as the weeks went 

 by without the appearance of further 

 symptoms of disease. When prepared 

 for winter, this colony had, apparently, 

 as fair a chance for future prosperity as 

 any of its neighbors. 



The second colony was again unfortu- 

 nate with its queen, and became quite re- 

 duced in numbers. When free from brood 

 its combs were extracted and returned. 

 There was no appearance of disease after 

 this. After providing^ them a queen, the 

 mere handful of bees were left quite to 

 themselves. They succeeded in building 

 themselves up into a colony which has 

 wintered safely, and will, without doubt, 

 pass safely through the spring. 



Quite late in the season — about the 10th 

 of (September — a few cells of dead brood 

 were discovered in still another colony — 

 No. 1. The caps were perforated — the 

 larvse more or less decomposed. Perhaps 

 the most noticeable feature of this case 

 was the comparatively slight effect pro- 

 duced upon ourselves. (The unnecessary 

 loss of a favorite queen, in uniting two 

 colonies, a few weeks later, disturbed our 

 equanimity far more.) We at once re- 

 moved the queen, who, by the way, was 

 not a favorite, and allowed the bees to 

 immediately raise another. When pre- 

 pared for winter, Oct. 13th, no brood had 

 been reared. Yesterdaj', March 6th, we 

 looked into the hive, finding an unusually 

 strong colony, with plenty of capped 

 brood; and, in the one brood-comb we 

 examined, no trace of foul brood. 



That the disease may re-appear during 

 the coming season is, perhaps, not im- 

 probable. We have little fear, however, 

 that we shall not be able to eff'ect a dis- 

 lodgment of the unwelcome guest before 

 the visit shall have become a visitation. 

 We are fully persuaded that, when dis- 

 covered in its earlier stages, it may be very 

 easily eliminated from the colony in 

 which it appears, and that without the 

 loss of combs. 



It may not be out of place to add, in 

 conclusion, that we have no bee-keeping 

 neighbors within six miles; in fact, we 

 have no knowledge of any within a dozen. 

 We have never sold a colony, nor shall we 

 sell one to be taken beyond the limits of 

 our own neighborhood during the coming 

 season. Our apiary is becoming quite 



