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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



indicated. This contamination with 

 formic acid is, in certain respects, harm- 

 ful as a dietetic, but highly useful — in 

 fact, necessary not in excess, for it keeps 

 the honey from fermenting as it does 

 when diluted with water, or gathers 

 damp. 



We all know indeed, that honey treat- 

 ed with any process called " purifying," 

 from which the formic acid has been re- 

 moved, very soon ferments, while real 

 honey, properly cared for, will keep 

 unchanged for years. Nature duly ar- 

 ranged the matter, and inspired bees 

 with the knowledge instinctively, and 

 therefore they do not carry this drop of 

 formic acid out of the hive. Bees always 

 add the acid to nectar they collect, for 

 the purpose of preventing fermentation. 

 Nectar, as it is when first gathered by 

 bees, is more or less watery, and would 

 readily begin to ferment while in a tem- 

 perature maintained in a hive were not 

 bees provided with the faculty of secret- 

 ing the non-fermentative formic acid. 



Here I record my discovery of what I 

 know to be a fact in Nature, well know- 

 ing, too, that none will believe my asser- 

 tion or doctrine at present, with the 

 superstition (believing without evidence) 

 that exists by false notions. My asser- 

 tion is this : 



Pure honey, while in comb-cells, never 

 is — never was — charged with foul brood 

 virus, nor has such honey ever been the 

 medium of conveying the foul brood 

 virus from one hive to others. Of course 

 I will be disputed in this, candidly, by 

 most, if not all, other writers. Belief 

 without evidence, is very common, and 

 leads us into mistakes. 



Some twelve years ago I set forth in 

 an essay on foul brood that it is a " germ 

 disease." The essay was read in conven- 

 tion, and Mr. D. A. Jones promptly re- 

 sponded thus by way of comment: "I 

 don't believe foul brood is a germ dis- 

 ease." 



Later, the report of the Northeastern 

 Bee-Keepers' Association held at Syra- 

 cuse, N. Y., on Jan. 9 to 11, 1883, 

 records Mr. Jones as saying while dis- 

 cussing the subject of foul brood : " I do 

 not believe there is such a thing as a 

 parasite or living germ in foul brood. 

 There are certainly two kinds of foul 

 brood." This idea was entertained by 

 most bee-keepers at that time. Later 

 still, after Mr. Cheshire's announcement 

 of bacteria in foul brood, Mr. Jones and 

 other skeptics shouted " foul brood 

 germs." Much more can yet be learned 

 concerning foul brood. 



Formic acid, or so-called " bee-poison," 



is a powerful antiseptic that kills the 

 germs or renders them powerless to do 

 injury, and those who have had experi- 

 ence with foul brood have observed that 

 the disease does not make much head- 

 way in large colonies during active 

 honey-gathering — the time bees are 

 making use of large quantities of formic 

 acid. 



BEE-STINGS AND RHEUMATISM. 



Bee-stings are often spoken of in cur- 

 rent literature as a remedy for rheu- 

 matic affection, and numerous cures are 

 adduced to prove it. If the formic acid 

 can be looked upon as the principal 

 agent in the cure, it would be worth 

 while to try the experiment of rubbing 

 the troubled spot with this acid, or in- 

 jecting it under the skin by means of 

 hypodermic syringe, so as to avoid the 

 inconvenient method of applying live 

 bees. Formate of ammonia (formic acid 

 and ammonia) is a drug used by physi- 

 cians in treating cases of nervous 

 troubles, particularly of the head when 

 not inflammatory. 



WHAT IS FORMIC ACID ? 



Two hundred years ago formic acid 

 was obtained from the brown wood ants, 

 by tritulating them with water, and 

 then distilling it. The same might be 

 done with honey-bees. The acid liquor 

 was used to irritate the skin as a coun- 

 ter irritant. The reddening of the skin, 

 when using baths of pine leaves, is also 

 due to the action of formic acid present 

 in the leaves. The formic acid of com- 

 merce is formed by artificial distillation. 



As regards the irritating action of 

 stinging nettles and other similar plants, 

 it depends, as already stated, upon its 

 formic acid. The point of the nettle is 

 as brittle as glass, and by the slightest 

 touch pentrates the skin and breaks off, 

 pouring out its acid and causing the 

 burning sensation. 



Some species of caterpillars have 

 formic acid in some of their hairs, which 

 they seem to be able to shake at will, 

 and when a person touches such a cater- 

 pillar, the poison penetrates the skin 

 wherever it is moist, and causes burning, 

 itching and inflammation. These pois- 

 onous members preserve their irritating 

 powers even after the death of the worm. 

 This accounts for reliable statements 

 that visitors to collections of caterpilfars 

 have suffered from exanthematus erup- 

 tion on the neck. 



Many hairy caterpillars cause itching 

 and burning of the skin when touched, 

 and sometimes it gives rise to swelling 



