12 



GLEAJ^INGS IN BEE CULTURE 



in the apiary and all the apiaries in the 

 neighborhood at the same time. 



Dr. C. C. Miller has a theory which 

 accounts for the manner in which the dis- 

 ease is ordinarily continued in a diseased 

 colony. It is that, " when a larva becomes 

 diseased and dies, before it becomes putrid, 

 the nurse bees suck its juices and feed them 

 to the healthy larvae, which in turn become 

 diseased." The fact that the disease com- 

 mences to abate when a honey-flow is on, 

 at which time the larvae are fed on uncon- 

 taminated nectar and pollen, instead of 

 food that is used at times when no honey 

 or pollen is being gathered, seems to sup- 

 port this theory. 



Another theory may here be advanced, 

 which is that the peculiar sour-smelling 

 condition of European foul brood, before 

 the dead larvae become putrid, is attractive 

 to the bees, and that they not only suck the 

 juice from the dead and feed it to the 

 healthy larvae in their own hive, but that 

 silent robbing may be a condition brought 

 about, especially when the colony becomes 

 depleted by the ravages of the disease by 

 the liking of the bees for the peculiar fla- 

 vor. In this way it may not only be carried 

 from hive to hive in the same apiaiy, but 

 from apiary to apiary over a radius extend- 

 ing several miles. 



Those who have tried to get colonies of 

 uniform bees of some particular race for 

 exhibition purposes — Italian for example — 

 where most of the bees in the neighborhood 

 are of a different color, know how common 

 it is for bees of one hive to gain entrance 

 to and be accepted in another, even when 

 the different races are in apiaries some dis- 

 tance apart. It is probable that bees be- 

 come mixed to some extent in neighboring 

 hives and apiaries to a far greater extent 

 than is commonly supposed, and this when 

 not robbing. How much more, then, would 

 there be mixing of bees thru the several 

 apiaries in any given neighborhood when 

 the peculiar odor of European foul brood 

 is present, if it is attractive to them. This 

 silent-robbing theory is strengthened by the 

 fact that often the stronger colonies will be 



badly diseased while the weaker ones, hav- 

 ing comparatively few field workers, and 

 hence not in condition to engage in robbing, 

 will not take the disease or will be the last 

 to take it. If silent robbing is the cause 

 of the rapid spread of the disease it offers 

 an explanation as to why adjacent colo- 

 nies, or those near each other, are most 

 likely to be the ones infected rather than 

 a uniform distribution of diseased colonies 

 throughout the apiary. 



Messrs. M. G. and C. P. Dadant have 

 advanced the theory that the bacilli of 

 European foul brood are inherent in the 

 queen taken from an infected colony, and 

 transmissible by her. If this is true we are 

 wasting valuable time by employing the 

 shaking and brushing methods, a la Mc- 

 Evoy, unless we requeen at the same time, 

 regardless as to whether the stock is of the 

 resistant type. How are we to reconcile 

 this theory with the many cures that are 

 claimed where the shaking or brushing 

 treatment is practiced? and with Dr. Mill- 

 er's treatment by caging the queen in her 

 infected colony for a period of eight or ten 

 days, and then releasing her? and with Dr. 

 Miller's other treatment by brushing the 

 bees and queen of an infected colony on to 

 brood-combs that this colony had cleansed 

 above an excluder during a period of 21 

 days? Dr. Miller reports success in most 

 eases with both these treatments. May it 

 be that, with resistant colonies, the bees 

 prevent the disease from becoming notice- 

 able? That larvae that have inherited it 

 from the queen are so promptly cleared out 

 that it never becomes apparent, and that 

 only in susceptible strains of bees would it 

 gain headway? This point should be clear- 

 ed up by further experiments, not only bj' 

 individual beekeepers but by governmental 

 investigators. 



Kenmore, N. Y. 



[This is the first of a series of four arti- 

 cles by Mr. Hershiser on the history and 

 treatment of foul brood. In the next issue 

 he will discuss Dr. Dzierzon's method of 

 treatment. — Ed.] 



WINTER SCHOOL IN BEEKEEPING, MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL 



COLLEGE 



BY DR. BURT03sr N. GATES, 

 Associate Professor of Beekeeping, Amherst, Mass. 



The Massachusetts Agricultural College 

 announces its annual Winter School for 

 Beekeepers, which lasts ten weeks, com- 

 mencing January 3, 1916, and closing 

 March 10. This is one of twenty-eight 



short courses carried on simultaneously, 

 utilizing the strong ag'ricultural faculty. It 

 is possible for the students to arrange their 

 work so as to secure several of the 28 

 courses offered. 



