AUSTRALASIAN BEE MANUAL 135 



larvcB, which, according to Dr. Maassen, of the 

 Imperial Biological Institute, Dahlen, Prussia, is 

 synonymous with B. Branden hurgiensis, Mausen, 

 and B. Buyri, Burri. The distinctive bacillus he found 

 in " black brood," and which was constantly present, 

 was Bacillus alvei, of Cheshire. 



FOUL BROOD IN AUSTRALASIA. 



On August 2nd, 1907, I sent six typical specimens of 

 diseased comb, three from each end of New Zealand, 

 to Dr. E. F. Phillips, in charge of Agriculture, U.S.A., 

 for examination, and on November the 23rd following 

 I received his report, which was subsequently published 

 in Bulletin No. 18. It will be sufficient for me to 

 observe that after a close investigation of the speci- 

 mens, making pure cultures from each, and feeding 

 them to healthy colonies, the same disease was pro- 

 duced that was present in the specimens, viz., 

 " American " foul brood {Bacillus larvcE). Dr. Phillips 

 wound up his report by saying : '' You are then able 

 to say distinctly that American foul brood exists in New 

 Zealand, and that it is caused by Bacillus larvce.'' 



Subsequent experience has not shown that we havt 

 any other form of foul brood, nor do I believe any 

 different form exists throughout Australasia at the 

 present time, or I should certainly have heard of it. 



SYMPTOMS OF FOUL BROOD (BacHlus larvce). 



Healthy brood in the larva stage — that is, before it 

 is sealed or capped — presents a clear pearly whiteness, 

 but when attacked, which is usually, as Dr. Phillips 

 remarks, " about the time of capping," changes to a 

 light buff, then to brown. It is, how^ever, when the 

 brood has been capped that the novice is better able to 

 detect the presence of disease. 



In the early stage of an attack a capped cell here 

 and there appears somewhat different from the sur- 

 rounding healthy brood. Instead of the cappings or 



