134 THE HONEY-BEE. 



to which it is imparted. If the disease appeared in 

 a straw skep, it was considered desirable to destroy 

 it with fire. If it found its way into a bar-frame 

 hive, every frame, every portion, even every crevice, 

 must be treated. Thorough boiling in a copper has 

 been found helpful in eradicating the mischief, but 

 could not alone be relied upon. A strong mixture 

 of chloride of lime and water, or of salicilic acid and 

 water, applied carefully to every part, has been found 

 more effective. The important facts to be remem- 

 bered are that, owing to the extreme minuteness of 

 the germs, their multitudes, and their great vitality* 

 it is very easy for some to escape destruction, and 

 to become the sources of future mischief, unless the 

 most radical methods of destruction are applied 

 to them. 



A new light has, however, just been thrown on this 

 important subject by Mr. Frank Cheshire, of Acton, 

 who has done so much good work in the anatomy of 

 bees, and in their practical management. He has 

 now satisfied himself, by long-continued and careful 

 microscopic investigation, that the origin of foul- 

 brood is a bacillus, not a micrococcus^ and that the 

 disease extends to all the inmates of the hive. But 

 what is of far greater moment to apiarians is, that 

 Mr. Cheshire claims to have discovered a means of 

 completely curing the dire plague. This consists in 

 the administration of phenol, which is one of the 

 components of carbolic acid. Syrup is made with 

 3 Ibs. of loaf-sugar to a quart of water, and to this is 



1 Those who wish for details on this and other points should read 

 Mr. Cheshire's admirable papers in the British Bee-Journal for 

 August, 1884. 



