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should protect bee-men from the possible contagion through neglect of 

 a diseased colony by some thoughtless neighbor. Massachusetts affords 

 no such protection, unfortunately, as is secured in New York, Michigan 

 and other States. In New York, inspectors, one to each of the four 

 divisions of the State, have been appointed by the State Department of 

 Agriculture, to visit everybody who keeps bees. Wherever a bad colony 

 is found it is either treated and cured or destroyed, according to the 

 discretion of the inspector. The result is that fewer cases of foul brood, 

 or as they term it black brood, have been found this year than last. It 

 is expected by this means to stamp it out entirely within a few years. 



Although the disease is not so general in Massachusetts it is here and 

 will surely spread if some efficient measures are not taken to stop it. 

 We need a live State Bee Keeper's Association, with branch societies in 

 every county. Then by a vigorous effort of our combined forces we 

 may insure protection and cure. 



The first signs of the disease are, — failure of the young bees to 

 hatch, dead larvre are dragged from their cells, capped cells are sunken 

 or torn open. Later as the disease progresses putrefaction sets in, the 

 once milk-white larvae turn yellow, then brown and black, and sink, a 

 slimy mass, to the lower side of the cell. These putrid larvae have 

 sometimes a characteristic "glue-pot" smell and are viscid and ropy, 

 characteristics which are not constant, and which have for this reason 

 caused people to believe there are many kinds of foul brood. If the 

 dead larval mass is allowed to remain in the cell, it dries down to a chip 

 or scale, which closely adheres to the wall. The next larva raised in 

 that cell comes in contact with the disease and dies, and thus the colony 

 dwindles away. 



The cause of the disease is definitely known to be a bacterium, bacillus 

 alvei, a microscopic plant. It lives upon the tissues of the larval bee, 

 and when mature breaks up into spores, also microscopic, capable of 

 living a long time under all sorts of conditions of temperature and dry- 

 ness. The spores correspond to the seeds of higher plants, and they 

 are found not only in the cells where the brood has died, but also in the 

 honey, pollen, and upon the walls of the hive. Thus it is important that 

 no matei'ial from a diseased swarm comes in contact with healthy bees. 



This may be pi'evented by isolating a diseased swarm as soon as dis- 

 covered. If the swarm is weak it may be best to burn the bees and 

 disinfect the hive. If strong they may be cured by the following treat- 

 ment, which has been practised with success. Open the isolated colony 

 toward night when danger of spreading the disease by means of robber 

 bees is past, shake the swarm from the infected combs onto fresh frames 

 of foundation in a clean hive. Return the new hive to the old stand and 

 allow the bees to use up what honey they have in their honey sacs, 

 drawing out the foundation. As soon as the bees begin to drop from 

 the frames from starvation you may begin to feed, but not before. By 

 this means none of the honey carried from the old hive is deposited in 

 the new cells. Bees treated thus are usually cured. 



Further care must be taken to destroy the germs in the old hive. 

 Cheshire says : " The destruction of the hive is never necessary. It 



